After winning one of the world’s top singing competitions, a young musician from rural Jamaica struggles for stardom whilst battling life-threatening allegations about his sexuality.
DALTON’S DREAM
A film by Kim Longinotto
& Franky Murray Brown
IN SELECT CINEMAS 2 FEBRUARY
COMING SOON
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Synopsis
In 2018, a young musician from rural Jamaica called Dalton Harris became the first black man and non British man to win “The X Factor” UK and, with it, a lucrative record deal that promised to transform his life. Filmed over four years, this coming-of-age documentary follows Dalton as he struggles for fame, love, and acceptance whilst battling dangerous allegations about his sexuality and spiraling mental health. Charting an extraordinary rise, the film follows Dalton’s new life in London. The film explores the challenges he faces after his single fails to make the top 40 chart, the constant homophobic death threats he receives because of assumptions of his sexuality and the added stress of trying to keep his career afloat in a foreign country where all friends and family are out of reach. Gradually, Dalton starts to write more personal, revealing lyrics and becomes more open about his ongoing battle with his mental health. He tries to come to terms with his difficult upbringing and the fear and shame he experienced growing up in a very homophobic atmosphere in Jamaica. Dalton’s Dream is a coming-of-age film about a young man’s search for love and acceptance. It shows his determination to fight on despite the great prejudice he faces every day. It is an inspirational story and a celebration of musical excellence.
FILMMAKERS
KIM LONGINOTTO & FRANKY MURRAY BROWN
Among her more than 20 films, Kim Longinotto challenged the tradition of female genital mutilation in Kenya in 2002’s THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET and told the story of an Indian Muslim woman who smuggled poetry out to the world while locked up by her family in 2013’s SALMA. SISTERS IN LAW celebrates two female judges in Cameroon and DREAMCATCHER looks at the life and work of a former sex worker who rescues Chicago girls from the street. Her latest film SHOOTING THE MAFIA premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale 2020.
Franky Murray Brown is a Scottish documentary filmmaker making his directorial debut with Dalton’s Dream. Previous work includes documentaries for Netflix, HBO, the BBC and Channel 4, where he produced the acclaimed OUR BABY: A MODERN MIRACLE, documenting transgender couple Jake &; Hannah Graf as they navigated starting a family through surrogacy. His most recent project WHEN THE WORDS AWAY WENT captures the lives of three people living with Aphasia, a loss of language caused by a stroke.