The Dirties
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by The Dirties
Just two weeks after the horrific events at the University of California in Santa Barbara, releasing a film about a school shooting has the potential to be highly controversial. Shot in mockumentary style with handheld footage, The Dirties captures two friends, Matt and Oliver, who respond to constant bullying by making their own cop movie in which they murder all the ‘bad guys’ in their school. Fiction slides all too easily into reality as the fantasy becomes real.
Director Matt Johnson defends the decision to release the film in the wake of the recent mass shooting. “This film is trying to get at solutions to this problem,” he says. “It makes sense to release it when it’s in the public consciousness, when people want to talk about this. This issue is not going to become less relevant. I think the normalisation of this type of violence in the United States is not going anywhere until we start looking at the problem differently. I think this film should be a part of that discussion.”
The Dirties is in UK cinemas from Friday, June 6th.
You might like
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
Rab’s adventures on film at Love Trails Festival
Adventure Film Night — Taking place between July 2-6, Rab are screening six documentaries at the festival that explore the remarkable world of the adventure sport community.
Written by: Roxana Diba
A portrait of the UK’s oldest boxing club
Learning the Ropes — A new documentary by Ryan Pickard chronicles the hard-edged history of Repton Boxing Club in Bethnal Green, while asking poignant questions about the present and future of the sport in the UK.
Written by: Sydney Lobe
New film spotlights London’s Bubble Club, the party by people with learning disabilities
Radically inclusive clubbing — Produced by Muddled Marauders and currently fundraising for completion, the feature documentary focuses on the inclusive night, which has been in operation since 2005.
Written by: Roxana Diba
Confronting America’s history of violence against student protest
Through A Mirror, Darkly — In May 1970, two separate massacres at American college campuses saw deaths at the hands of the state. Naeem Mohaiemen’s new three-channel film memorialises the brutality.
Written by: Miss Rosen
