Credits

Director: Brian Welsh
Producer: Camilla Bray
Executive Producer: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: Kieran Hurley, Brian Welsh
Cast: Cristian Ortega, Lorn Macdonald

Sales

Wild Bunch International Sales
Altitude Film Sales

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REVIEWS

★★★★ "While never deviating from its brilliant young stars, BEATS is a tribute to the rave revolution communicating via its emotion, sounds and a hefty whack of psychedelic visuals exactly what it felt like — it’s miraculously authentic… an ode not just to human gatherings but to youth itself"
– TimeOut

★★★★ ”If any rave movie is only as good as the character beats its built on, be assured, as Underworld almost said, you’ve found the right stuff. BEATS splices specifics of period, place and class as lived in frameworks for a rites of passage buddy movie that bursts with ragged energy and raw feeling. And, crucially, a roaringly good playlist”
– Total Film

“Welsh's frequently funny and moving BEATS...So begins a beautifully photographed black-and-white odyssey that takes place over the course of an evening, in which our teenage protagonists discover new comfort zones, psychedelic trips, and that their heroes aren’t infallible. Welsh makes a point to highlight the importance of music and the power of mass communication by making the tiny, lit, red power button on the radios the only thing in color...Watching Johnno and Spanner release themselves from the shackles of responsibility and the rule of law is one of the great joys of the year and a reminder that we all need that little push toward growth. An act of rebellion against any system can foster that in unexpected ways, no matter how old you are.”
-Roger Ebert

★★★★ “What an impressive film this is. It has the look and feel of an instant classic.”
– The Big Issue

Film and Soundtrack Available on Amazon

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS

“Watching Brian Welsh’s marvelous coming of age/end-of-rave film Beats got me remembering that time in the 1990’s when the UK had a genuinely happening club scene… all rammed with kids like the characters from Beats, best mates Johnno and Spanner liberated by ecstasy and coming together, their euphoria stoked by the era’s immortal sounds — as brilliantly cherry picked by veteran DJ JD Twitch for the soundtrack.”
– Electronic Sound

“Welsh resoundingly succeeds where others have failed is in the depiction of and relationship to the music. Whether that’s a character dancing about their room to a belter of a track or a group dropping Es and dancing at a rave, it all feels lived, authentic. The vitality of the music is successfully communicated through the medium of cinema, which is a rare feat indeed.”
– Concrete Islands