Set in London’s East End and based on a true story, Apprenticeship of a Criminal is an artist’s film about a young man’s introduction to a world of violent crime. Amidst the architectural splendour of Shoreditch’s Arnold Circus Estate, the film follows its main protagonist, Arthur Tresadern, through stages in his youth. From a childhood spent in a notorious Victorian slum in extreme poverty, through inevitable encounters with the law, to eventually becoming a youthful but hardened criminal. Exploring the development of criminal psychology and deviant behaviour in adolescence, the film’s portrait of Arthur emerges through a range of experimental and dramatic means. An archive of voiced audio recordings from Arthur, his biographical recollections heard throughout the film, will augment the dramatized character constructions, mixing historical and contemporary, reflections and imaginings, to establish the social and historical context of his apprenticeship. The resulting stark, visceral and uncompromising narrative will defy linear and genre conventions, interrogating Arthur’s criminal activity and the continuing dilemma of those lured into the commonalities of lawlessness.Phillip Warnell
