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LONDON — U.K. production and finance house Pulse Films has secured its first U.K. movie acquisition for distribution, The Dirties, a dark comedy written and directed by emerging filmmaker Matthew Johnson and endorsed by Kevin Smith.
The Dirties is billed as reinventing the found-footage film, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
VIDEO: Kevin Smith Champions Columbine-Inspired ‘The Dirties’
It details the story of two movie-obsessed best friends who are the key targets for a group of high school bullies they call “the dirties.” When the pair are assigned a class project, they set out to make their greatest epic film to date about their revenge.
Pulse plans to roll out the movie via its distribution arm in the U.K. and Ireland June 2014. The banner is finalizing an exact date.
Launched in 2012, Pulse’s distribution wing is set up to handle the U.K. distribution of its own film productions as well as other third-party acquisitions.
Following on from their first release, the LCD Soundsystem concert documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits, Pulse is now scheduled to release a slate of features over the next 12 months, including The Dirties and Who Is Dayani Cristal, starring Gael Garcia Bernal.
STORY: U.K.’s Pulse Films Ramps Up U.S. Operations
“We are delighted to have The Dirties as our first narrative acquisition for distribution. It is very important to us that Pulse becomes a trusted home for these new directorial voices. We are committed to building long-term relationships with talented young directors and will continue to help introduce their work to the world in effective and innovative ways,” says Pulse CEO Thomas Benski.
The Dirties made its U.S. premiere at last year’s Slamdance Film Festival, where it was awarded both best feature narrative and the Slamdance spirit awards.
In the U.S., Distributor Phase 4 has teamed with Kevin Smith’s Movie Club to release the film, with Smith out empathetically promoting the film himself.
The cult filmmaker said: “Not only is The Dirties an astonishingly great first film, it has the stones to deal with some very real subject matter in a mature, important way. … I’m crazy proud to be associated in any way with The Dirties — a landmark achievement in not just indie film, but cinema in general.”
The deal was negotiated by Anna Sissons, Sam Sniderman and Paul Grindey on behalf of Pulse Films and Flavio Donnini, managing director at Ellipsis Media on behalf of the producers.
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