A 20-minute gut punch about boys who break in silence.
Northern England, 2004. 16-year-old Mark plays football to stay connected to his late father. But after a teammate’s suicide, the silence around him grows louder. Burdened by a brutal coach and the weight of buried grief, Mark begins to unravel, caught in a game that’s abused him rather than healed him.
Acting
Jude Pollitt's silent unraveling speaks volumes.
Direction
Pease turns football pitches into emotional battlegrounds.
Sound
The silence IS the score. Devastating.
Director
Austen Taylor Pease
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title 'Dogbone' references football drills where players exhaust themselves running patterns—mirroring how Mark runs from grief with nowhere to go.
Shot in post-industrial towns where men's mental health resources remain scarce, the film channels real UK suicide statistics among young men that peaked in this era.
GB
