Down to the Dirt is a 2006 film based upon Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

 author Joel Hynes' first novel of the same name. The movie has been shot largely in Newfoundland. The film won two awards at the Atlantic Film Festival

Atlantic Film Festival

The Atlantic Film Festival is an international film festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Held annually, the ten-day celebration of film and video from Atlantic Canada and around the world is committed to screening an inspiring and engaging collection of films and videos from Canada and the...

, one for the best feature film and other for the best screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

.

Plot

Keith Kavanagh is a rowdy hooligan known for his hard drinking throughout the Southern shore. He also has a shattered relationship with his father. But when he meets Natasha (Mylène Savoie), his life changes. Both fall in love. But soon Natasha leaves Keith, fed up of his ways. Later Keith realizes that he himself is responsible for all his failures in life and thus embarks on a mission to find Natasha, where he not only finds her, but also himself and realizes he needs to make a change for the better.

Release

Mongrel Media

Mongrel Media

Mongrel Media is a Canadian film distributor established in 1994. It is also the exclusive Canadian theatrical distributor for Sony Pictures Classics and is represented in Quebec by Métropole Films Distribution.- External links :*...

 provided Canadian distribution for the film. Running time is 115–116 minutes. The public debut was at the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

 on 9 September 2008.

Reception

Toronto Star

Toronto Star

The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

 film critic Patricia Hluchy panned the film , noting it attempted "few too many narrative strands and characters" and also critical of its length, though crediting its "raw energy". Sun Medias Liz Braun had a more favourable assessment describing the production as "uneven" yet possessing "a strange appeal, like some kind of Newfie version of a Charles Bukowski story". Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

lists the feature at a 50% approval level on its tomatometer with an average 5.4/10 rating.

Film classification boards in Ontario and Quebec issued content advisories regarding the production's strong language and violence.

Awards

Down to the Dirt received two awards at the Atlantic Film Festival.

• Justin Simms won the Atlantic Canadian Award for the best feature film
• Justin Simms and Sherry White won the Atlantic Canadian Award for the best original screenplay.