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If you watched the extras on the Dead Man’s Shoes DVD, you would have seen director Shane Meadows talking about how the bullying and victimisation in the film was loosely inspired by his own childhood. Meadows became a skinhead when he was 12, and found himself on the periphery of some violent incidents before he decided to apply himself to the world more positively, and his new film draws more literally from his experiences.

Set in July 1983, This Is England follows 12-year-old Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), who lives in a less-than-glamorous coastal town, lost his dad in the Falklands war, and has a hard time at school. Walking home, he meets some friendly skins who induct him into their group and rescue him from his grim existence, and it’s all shits and giggles until the National Front rears its ugly head, with a terrifying ex-con (Stephen Graham) introducing impressionable Shaun to a world of hate.

“When you’re 12 and no-one in your town can get a job, and someone comes up to you and says, ‘These people are to blame,’ it’s easy to believe,” explains the director. “I did for about three weeks – some people still believe it as adults. That’s frightening.” This Is England is an important film, and not just because of its racist content; it concerns tribalism, peer pressure, masculinity and identity, and Meadows is frustrated with the 18 certificate it has been given, having wanted a 15: “I actually made the film in the hope that teenagers who may find themselves in similar positions might be moved to question themselves, their actions and the real consequences that follow such acts of violence,” he says. The BBFC says the 18 certificate was awarded because of “the very strong language used in conjunction with violence”, and it is true that due to the strength of the performances and Meadows’ naturalistic directorial style, the small amount of violence that does occur is appropriately harrowing.

This Is England has everything you’d want from a film – as well as the social, political and moral issues it investigates, it’s both very funny and properly scary. Meadows has made five feature films now, including the fantastic A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man’s Shoes. This one, for my money, cements his status as Britain’s greatest living filmmaker.