Shank

Shank is 21 year-old Pearce’s debut feature, based on a script co-written and produced by Christian Martin. In working class Britain, gang member Cal runs with a disaffected mob of heavy-drinking, drug-dependent hoodies, preying on the weak to feed their habits. His ‘manly’ bravado hides the truth about his sexuality, a risky revelation at odds with the gang’s homophobic bent. Rescuing a French exchange student from a gay-bashing by the gang sets him dangerously apart from his so-called friends and on a path as punishing as it is potentially promising. Pearce’s explicit, shocking, largely hand-held film has already picked up an international award and breathes new life into British independent, alternative cinema.