WENDY Carroll is driving to Alaska, in the hope of a summer of lucrative work at the Northwestern Fish cannery and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy. But when her car breaks down in Oregon, she finds herself desperately short of money. Shot on a

WENDY Carroll is driving to Alaska, in the hope of a summer of lucrative work at the Northwestern Fish cannery and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy.

But when her car breaks down in Oregon, she finds herself desperately short of money.

Shot on a shoestring budget and starring the always watchable Michelle Williams, WENDY AND LUCY (15) is based on a short story and looks at sympathy and generosity in tough times.

Director Kelly Reichardt says: "Wendy's limited monetary situation was certainly relatable as far as the production went. It's just a very fragile situation making a film on such limited funds. There's not a lot of room for mistakes.

"Anything that goes wrong, if any bad decisions are made or any unplanned events occur, then everything is in jeopardy. And that's true for Wendy as well.