Dirty (2020 film)

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Dirty is a 2020 short LGBT coming-of-age romantic drama written and directed by Matthew Puccini. The 11-minute film from the United States stars Morgan Sullivan as Marco and Manny Dunn as his boyfriend, Graham.

Plot
Marco cuts class to spend the afternoon with Graham, but things don’t go as planned.

Release and reception
- Premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film.
- SXSW held a virtual screening after the festival was canceled due to COVID-19, and the film received a Special Jury Award for the performances of Sullivan and Dunn.
- It later screened at BFI Flare, Outfest Fusion, the Atlanta Film Festival, and Palm Springs International ShortFest (where it was nominated for Best LGBTQ+ Short).
- The Criterion Channel acquired the streaming rights in October 2020.

About the creator
Puccini has described Dirty as personal, exploring intimacy, loneliness, and queer connection. It sits with his previous short Lavender (2019) as part of a period of his life focused on these themes.

Note
The opening scenes feature a group of students, adding context to the film’s setting.