Harris Dickinson closes Film Fest Gent 2025 with Urchin
With Urchin, the 29-year-old filmmaker delivers a social (sur)realist portrait of Mike (Frank Dillane), a young man drifting through the streets of London. Begging for change, fleeing the police, and shuttling between shelters and prison, he struggles to break the vicious cycle of poverty, addiction, and self-destruction. One of an estimated 12,000 homeless people in the British capital, Mike gets through the day chatting with fellow rough sleepers and is chased out of local businesses whenever he tries to charge his phone.
He has long forgotten how to accept help. When a kind stranger offers him support, Mike repays the gesture with a violent theft. Thus he oscillates between prison, the street, and the dilapidated hotels provided by social services. Mentally and physically scarred, he clings stubbornly to the hope of breaking free and finding a place in a society that repeatedly rejects him.
© Freddie Stisted“Five years ago, I started working in my local community, supporting people dealing with homelessness and addiction. I got involved in volunteer-led outreach projects and met individuals battling themselves. That experience made me want to tell a story with empathy, nuance, and humility.”
Harris Dickinson - director
His commitment laid the foundation for a film that raises pressing questions about Britain’s homelessness policies and the systemic shortcomings of social services. While echoing Ken Loach, Urchin is far from a stereotypical social realist drama. Dickinson blends his influences - the rebelliousness of Mike Leigh, the humor and humanity of Agnès Varda, even the kinetic street films of the Safdie Brothers - and occasionally lets go of realism altogether in favor of humorous dialogue, awkward dances, and surreal sequences that transport us into Mike’s inner world.
Harris Dickinson
Urchin marks Dickinson’s first feature as a director. Since his debut performance in Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats (2017), his career has been on a rapid rise. A breakthrough came with his role as the naïve male model in Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness - a part and a world far removed from the gritty British social realism that inspired him in Urchin. He has since demonstrated his versatility in films such as Where the Crawdads Sing, Scrapper, and The Iron Claw, and earlier this year took a bold turn as Nicole Kidman’s lusty intern in Halina Reijn’s much-discussed Babygirl.
Urchin will have its Belgian premiere on 18 October 2025 as the Official Closing Film of Film Fest Gent. Harris Dickinson will travel to Ghent to present his debut, gracing the red carpet alongside producer Archie Pearch, and both will engage with audiences during an introduction and a post-screening Q&A.
Distributor The Searchers will release the film in Belgium on 4 March 2026.
The 52nd edition of Film Fest Gent takes place from 8 to 19 October 2025. The full programme will be announced on 18 September.
