Urchin (CTC)

Written and directed by Harris Dickinson, Urchin is a haunting, compassionate odyssey of survival, redemption, and the fragile architecture of hope.

On the streets of London, Mike is hustling to get by. Roadside evangelizers won't let him sleep in peace, his slippery friend won't pay up the money he stole, and before long, he finds himself in trouble with the law. As he struggles to reintegrate into society, shuffling between gigs as a line cook and a trash collector, he must balance a newfound sense of community with his own itch for self-destruction.

Premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025, Urchin claimed the FIPRESCI Prize, and Dillane earned the Best Actor award for his luminous, raw performance, cementing the film’s place as one of the year’s most striking discoveries. A lean yet unflinching portrait that resists easy answers while demanding empathy, Urchin heralds Dickinson as an audacious new voice in British cinema and a filmmaker to watch.

Cast: Frank Dillane, Karyna Khymchuk, Harris Dickinson

Director: Harris Dickinson

★★★★★ "This powerful British drama is one of the most accomplished, brilliant debut films in recent memory." COMMON SENSE MEDIA

★★★★★ "offers a highly original, thoughtful, affecting account of the endless cycle of misfortune and institutional ineptness that can trap someone in homelessness" ARTS DESK

★★★★★ "Urchin avoids the common stereotypes and tropes found in stories about addiction, opting for something much more abstract and powerful" DISCUSSING FILM

★★★★½ "writer-director Harris Dickinson has crafted something quite unique" IRISH INDEPENDENT

★★★★ "A surprising, vivid, and painful drama not without tragic humor." EL MUNDO

★★★★ "In tackling homelessness with deep empathy, one of our most exciting young actors proves himself to be a bold new voice in British filmmaking." EMPIRE

★★★★ "A striking character portrait." RADIO TIMES

★★★★ "a film that encapsulates both the sorrows and the joys of the human experience." LOUD AND CLEAR

★★★★ "Harris Dickinson makes a terrifically impressive debut here as a writer-director with this smart, thoughtful, compassionate picture about homelessness. It is engaging and sympathetically acted and layered with genuinely funny moments." GUARDIAN