Graham McTavish Thriller ‘Dirty Boy’ Heads to Raindance

Dirty Boy, a psychological folk horror rooted in religious extremism and fractured identity, is set to receive its UK premiere at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival on 22 June. Directed by Doug Rao in his feature-length debut, the film has been nominated for four major awards, including Best UK Feature and Best Director of a UK Feature, as well as a Best Performance nomination for Graham McTavish, who plays a central role in the film.

Blending psychological tension with folk horror and cult symbolism, Dirty Boy follows Isaac, a reclusive man raised in an insular religious sect. As ritualistic killings unfold, Isaac comes to suspect he is being framed by those who once controlled him. Schizophrenic and isolated, he must confront the secretive community he escaped from and unearth the full extent of his own fractured identity in order to stop a murder and prove his innocence.

The cast includes Stan Steinbichler, Susie Porter, Honor Gillies and Graham McTavish, supported by Marek Lichtenberg, who also co-produced the project. The film was produced by Giles Alderson, Sarah Ann Grill and Lichtenberg through a collaboration between Mystic Dream Story Studio, Stone Hill and Saint Halo Productions. It was shot in the Ausseerland-Salzkammergut region of Austria, a location long associated with cinematic grandeur and perhaps best known as the setting for The Sound of Music.

Rao has described Dirty Boy as a deeply personal project, one that explores themes of self-fragmentation, religious indoctrination and emotional repair. “Dirty Boy was written from a place of intense darkness,” he explained, “but I wanted to find the light and humour within it.” Rao’s approach centres on the idea that identity is fluid and shaped by trauma, particularly through the psychological concept of an alter ego created to compartmentalise pain. The line between who Isaac is and who he fears himself to be becomes a core element of the film’s psychological terrain.

Graham McTavish, best known for roles in Outlander, The Witcher and The Hobbit, takes on a character he has described as being part of a film that is “the bastard offspring of The Sound of Music.” His performance has been singled out ahead of the festival, where it will compete for Best Performance in a UK Feature.

The UK premiere at Raindance will mark the film’s first public screening in Britain, and Rao believes it is a fitting venue. “Raindance has always championed wild, independent voices, and Dirty Boy is certainly that,” he said. “To be screening in the heart of the West End, a million miles from the isolated world of the movie, feels strangely right.”

Raindance, which has become a key platform for independent British and international cinema, has previously launched or celebrated titles from filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Ben Wheatley and Gareth Edwards. Dirty Boy enters this year’s competition as one of the most high-profile British psychological features in the programme.

Dirty Boy will screen in London on 22 June as part of Raindance Film Festival 2025.

Dirty Boy trailer

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