The Reality Asylum single on Crass Records being held in two hands

NEW SCREENING DATES for the ‘Reality Asylum’ documentary The Sound of Free Speech are being announced by film distributors Doc’n Roll.

The film will be screened at Duke’s at Komedia, Brighton (13 April); Rio Cinema, Dalston, London (14 April); at The Deer’s Head, Belfast (6 May); Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin (1 June); and Mockingbird Cinema, Birmingham (15 June). The film will make its North American debut at a screening at Nitehawk Cinema, New York (6 May). See the full details below.

In an unintended co-incidence, the London screening is on the same day that a collection of Mick Duffield films is being shown at The Horse Hospital. However, as The Sound of Free Speech is being shown in the afternoon and Duffield’s screening does not start until 19:30, it would be possible for any committed Crass cinephile in the capital on the day to attend both.

Celebratory, shocking and raw, this film is as close to the story of the anarcho-punk band as you’re going to get…

Crass were an art collective and punk band that formed in Essex in 1977, and disbanded in 1984. They promoted anarchism and a movement of resistance that awakened and appealed to many. They inspired many bands and artists such as The Levellers and Charlatans’ singer Tim Burgess, and seem to be more relevant now than ever.

Artist and director Brandon Spivey tells the tale of Crass’ ‘Reality Asylum’, the story and the inspiration behind the album from Spivey’s point of view through interviews with Crass co-founders Steve Ignorant and Penny Rimbaud, and Small Wonder record label owner Pete Stennett. The film doesn’t beat around the bush and highlights what it means to be artists and in the midst of a movement of anarchists no longer biting their tongue to protest against the few. Spivey also tells the broader story, expanding on the narrative of anarchism and a broken system. Through open-hearted interviews he touches upon subjects such as assaults carried out by the church, Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, the biggest war that threatens humanity; class war, and of course what it was like to be a punk band in the 70’s and the 80’s.

Made with the blessing of Crass members, it dives into 1970’s Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music and ethos, plus its impact on those who were trying to make sense of a brutal hostile society they had no place in.

Dir. Brandon Spivey | UK | 2023 | 90 mins

Doc’n Roll

The Sound of Free Speech, Brighton + Q&A
Duke’s at Komedia, 44-47 Gardner Street, Brighton BN1 1UN
13 April 2024, 18:00
More details | Tickets

The Sound of Free Speech, London premiere + Q&A
The Rio, 107 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB
14 April 2024, 15:45
More details | Tickets

The Sound of Free Speech, Belfast premiere + Q&A
The Deer’s Head, 1-3 Lower Garfield St, Belfast BT1 1FP
6 May 2024, 20:00
More details | Tickets

The Sound of Free Speech, North American premiere
6 May 2024, 19:00
Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, USA
More details | Tickets

The Sound of Free Speech, Dublin
1 June 2024, 18:30
Lighthouse Cinema, Market St South, Smithfield, Dublin 7
More details | Tickets

The Sound of Free Speech, Birmingham
15 June 2024, 18:00
Mockingbird Cinema, The Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham B9 4AA

Doc’n Roll will be announcing additional screening dates at locations across the UK in April, May and June 2024.

An interview with director Brandon Spivey is now available on this site.