This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Matt Johnson's "The Dirties" has just been awarded the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative and the Spirit of Slamdance Award by his fellow filmmakers.
The film, according to the festival, is a "controversial and stark look at high school bullying, and has been the talk of the festival since its premiere screening on Saturday." As described by the festival jury, the film is "terrifyingly timely and brutally honest.[The film] uses film references to the extreme as dreams of youth and intense growing pains collide." Here is the link to the trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYUkdYYy3-UOfficial Site: http://www.thedirtiesthemovie.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thedirtiesfilm Synopsis provided by Slamdance:Matt and Owen are best friends who live in a world of endless movie references and hijinks. It would be perfect, if not for the cruel bullies at their high school who make their lives hell. While working on a movie for class, the lines between fiction and reality blur together in this horrifying look at high school bullying.
— David Burger