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Dirt

2008 1 h 21 min
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This feature documentary is an exploration of the concept of dirt and impurity. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque joint in Central Texas, Dirt digs deep into the webs of meaning and feeling attached to that deceptively simple 4-letter word. An odyssey into all things unclean, the film features animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush and music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

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This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
Dirt

Details

This feature documentary is an exploration of the concept of dirt and impurity. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque joint in Central Texas, Dirt digs deep into the webs of meaning and feeling attached to that deceptively simple 4-letter word. An odyssey into all things unclean, the film features animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush and music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
  • writer
    Meghna Haldar
  • director
    Meghna Haldar
  • producer
    Tracey Friesen
  • editor
    Carmen Pollard
  • cinematographer
    P.J. Raval
  • composer
    Clinker
  • sound designer
    Dennis Burke
  • lead animator
    Myron Campbell
  • line production
    Meghna Haldar
  • additional cinematography
    Mrinmoy Nandi
    Kirk Tougas
  • location sound recordist
    Partha Pratim Barman
    Chris Keyland
    Ben Lazard
    Merce Williams
    Girjashanker Vohra
    Jeff Henschel
  • 3D animator
    Trent Noble
  • 3D compositor
    Daniel Gies
  • assistant camera
    Jeremy Rodgers
    Robert Sands
    Monickumar Gandhi
    Robert Simpson
  • additional crew
    Rajesh Dham
    Chanpreet Singh
    Tapan Sikdar
    Tarun Mukherjee
    P. Chandrasekhar
    R. Murali
    Arun Roy
  • production manager
    Sugata Choudhari
    Rebecca Hope Siegel
    Kaushik Guha
  • production assistant
    Anne Margaret Reid
    Brian Beal
    Jesse Fleming
    Felix Cheng
  • film tests - development
    Brian Johnson
  • graphic artist
    Carmen Pollard
  • transcription
    Pamela Pellegrini
  • consultant
    Manfred Becker
    Annie Reid
  • participant
    Puja Haldar
    Subroto Haldar
    Anila Bhaduri
    Mierle Laderman Ukeles
    William Cohen
    Pooja Kumar
    Govind Nath
    Abha Bahadur
    Sudama Das
    Mohammad Noor Islam
    Andrew J. Schorr
    Juliet M. Dervin
    Eileen Cleere
    Kevin M. Anderson
    Patricia Q. Richardson
    Julie Dulani
    Casimira Roca Y Toscas
    Ross Martinez
    Michael A. Armenta
    Susan Davis
    Robert Joseph
    Ruth Witt
    Michael V. Smith
    Gloria Burke
    Xavier Benoit Benjamin
    Sarah Theresa Frances Moran
  • clearances
    Found Images Research
  • musician
    Gary James Joynes
    Cory Melnychuk (Les Robot)
  • music editor
    Dennis Burke
  • dialogue editor
    Andre Iwanchuk
  • sound effects editor
    Mike Paprocki
  • re-recording mixer
    Greg Stewart
    Don Mann
  • re-recording facility
    Post Modern Sound
  • Super 16mm processing
    Video Post & Transfer
    Technicolour Toronto
    Prasad Film Labs
    Rainmaker Digital Pictures
  • post-production services
    Shaman Digital Media
  • production coordinator
    Teri Snelgrove
    Christine Sears
  • technical coordinator
    Wes Machnikowski
  • production supervisor
    Kathryn Lynch
  • marketing manager
    Kay Leung
  • program administrator
    Bruce Hagerman
  • executive producer
    Rina Fraticelli

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Education

Ages 15 to 18
Study Guide
School subjects

Warnings: Language (repeated use of the word “shit,” use of the word “cunt” (53:45), “fucking” (56:44. Disturbing images (photographs of dead/decaying bodies, naked Holocaust victims, dead fetus, artistic renditions of monsters defecating, fornicating). Topics covered:  Sex workers, sex, defecation. 

This documentary film features conversations about what it means to feel dirty and what dirt represents. A range of people from all walks of life are interviewed. Teachers will need to preview this film to ensure the students are able to handle the mature material. Students could choose one of the angles in the film to research further, such as waste management, agricultural practices, the caste system and discrimination. The class could discuss or debate these topics.

Dirt
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