Starring Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, and Willem Dafoe, with Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, and Caleb Landry Jones in supporting roles, it was many of the cast members' first film appearance.

The slice of life plot focuses on the summertime adventures of a six-year-old girl who lives with her unemployed single mother in a budget motel in Kissimmee, Florida.

Their struggle to make ends meet and stave off homelessness takes place in a surreal environment dominated by the nearby Walt Disney World, which was code-named "The Florida Project" during its planning stages.

[4] It juxtaposes this with the local residents' less glamorous day-to-day lives and the children's joyful adventures as they explore and make the most of their surroundings while remaining blissfully ignorant of the hardships their adult caretakers face.

[10][11] Moonee, a six-year-old girl, lives with her young, single mother, Halley, at Magic Castle Inn and Suites, a budget motel in Kissimmee, Florida, near Walt Disney World.

Moonee spends most of her summer days unsupervised and making mischief with her downstairs neighbor, Scooty (whom Halley is supposed to watch while his mother, Ashley, works as a waitress at a diner), and Dicky, who lives at the nearby Futureland Inn.

Halley has recently lost her job as a stripper after refusing to have sex with clients, but this now affects her eligibility for TANF benefits; she begins relying on food that Ashley obtains from work.

When they return to Magic Castle, the investigators, having found evidence of Halley's sex work, are waiting with two police officers to take Moonee into foster care while they finish their inquiry.

[18][19] To maintain secrecy, the shoot at the resort used a skeleton crew consisting of Baker, Bergoch, cinematographer Alexis Zabe, acting coach and associate producer Samantha Quan, actors Valeria Cotto and Brooklynn Prince, and the girls' guardians.

When a rainbow or a group of sandhill cranes suddenly appeared, the cast and crew quickly improvised scenes that were highly praised for their cinéma vérité qualities.

[27] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote, "Dafoe delivers his finest performance in recent memory, bringing to life a levelheaded, unsanctimonious character who offers a glimmer of hope and caring within a world markedly short on both.