Set in the sweltering heat of rural Georgia, “If the Creek Don’t Rise” glimpses a pivotal coming-of-age story through the eyes of nine-year-old Tommy. Alongside his stepsister Mabel, Tommy fantasizes an ideal childhood within the half-finished remains of an abandoned home discarded in the wake of the 2008 recession. However, as economic realities of the time close in, Tommy’s fragile refuge is abruptly shattered, forcing him to face the stark realities of the world around him. With his mother, Leslie, a struggling realtor, battling financial instability and a turbulent marriage, the film paints a bittersweet portrait of childhood imagination confronted by the harsh truths of places left behind.