Rat Film

"There's never been a rat problem in Baltimore, it's always been a people problem.”

two men outside at night with fishing pole and baseball bat
Series
Independent Lens
Premiere Date
February 26, 2018
Length
60 minutes
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2017 Cinema Eye Honors-Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2017 Cinema Eye Honors-Outstanding Achievement in Debut Feature Film
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2017 IFP Gotham Awards-Best Documentary
    • Director

    Theo Anthony

    Theo Anthony is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker currently based in Baltimore, MD. His work been featured by The Atlantic, Vice, Agence-France Presse (AFP), and other international media outlets. His films have received premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film… Show more Festival, and Anthology Film Archives. In 2015, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film”. Show less

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    The Film

    From its opening with a new creation myth - “Before the world became the world, it was an egg. Inside the egg was dark. The rat nibbled the egg and let the light in. And the world began.” Rat Film boldly explores the human and rodent denizens of the city of Baltimore. It is both a record of the rat infestation as well as a meditation on the class and racial disparities affecting the city. Guided by a monotonous and hypnotizing narrator and an astonishing orchestral score, Rat Film weaves together many innovative threads to reveal a rich tapestry that shows so much more than just the rodent of its title.

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