NZIFF - Beats

As EDM and ecstasy-fuelled raves are targeted by 90s lawmakers, two downtrodden Glasgow teenagers are determined to taste the action. Director Brian Welsh (The Entire History of You) makes it a night to remember.

Dour reality meets its nemesis in 90s rave culture in this exuberant memoir of teenage bonding from Scotland. Cowed by his mother’s allegiance to her super-straight new boyfriend, 15-year-old Johnno (Cristian Ortega) is persuaded to abscond by his genially unhinged mate Spanner (Lorn Macdonald). Their destination? An outdoor all-night rave newly rendered illegal by Britain’s Criminal Justice Act, which authorised police to break up events where music was “wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats.” Truly.

Tickets are available online through Ticketek, from the front desk at MTG or the box office at the Napier Municipal Theatre. Door sales will also be available at the MTG Century Theatre one hour prior to the screening.

Rating: R16 Restricted to persons 16 years and over.

Presented by: New Zealand International Film Festival.