Dealer (2014)

Short film Dealer is a powerful piece of storytelling of the life and atmosphere of crime world.

Short film Dealer follows a dealer during a rough night in London’s underground. The excellent title track from Burial’s Rival Dealer is the inspiration and soundtrack to a new short film. Dealer, written and directed by Ben Dawkins, is a gritty short made with the blessing of

Burial

and Hyperdub. A raw and powerful piece of storytelling of the life and atmosphere of crime world. West London vibes, incredible lighting, great vibe, amazing direction and performances. Made with the kind permission of William Bevan aka BURIAL. Thanks to Will, Marcus and all the good people at Hyperdub for their enthusiasm. When Will Bevan dropped Rival Dealer fans and critics went ballistic – and not just because it was a new Burial release. The three track EP was divisive for the right reasons; a sonic minefield as dark as you’d expect from Burial, but with more human inflections than anything we’d heard from him before. Scattered with vocal samples, meddled with symptoms of both hope and confusion, Rival Dealer sounds as right for the dance floor as it does on the lonely night bus home.

Short film Dealer Review:

There’s a scene I draw from in Takeshi Kitano’s Violent Cop. It’s a very shocking moment, as you don’t in any way see it coming. I wanted to do something similar for Dealer that in essence would keep the audience hanging. If I’m honest I was a little disappointed with the final shot, as it was exactly what I intended. Time is never on your side when delving into budget filmmaking, and we were already 2 hours over at this point. A lesson learned, I think. – Ben Dawkins

Brilliant mood setting everything. Awesome sound design, the aerials, and time lapse usage. It is slow in a few areas but still, it’s essentially a music video. And an amazing one!