RITA DI SANTO assesses the winners of the most politically charged festival to date
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Horrific home truths
MARIA DUARTE recommends the disturbing narrative of a family struggling against the odds in the wilds of 19th-century Snowdonia
KATARZYNA KOSMALA introduces a retrospective by one of the most significant figures in contemporary US photography
MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script
New releases from Sam Carter, Spell Songs and Les Thomas
Gwen (15)
Directed by William McGregor
THE MORNING STAR’S new ambassador Maxine Peake stars in this dark and disturbing gothic folk tale set in 1855 Snowdonia during the industrial revolution.
Teenager Gwen (a revelatory Eleanor Worthington-Cox) is trying to keep her family and home together against all the odds. Her father has not returned from war and she is struggling with her mother’s mysterious illness while looking after her younger sister (Jodi Innes) and battling a ruthless mining company hell-bent on taking their farm and land.
Bleak and gritty, writer-director William McGregor’s debut feature is a slow-burning mystery-cum-horror which explores the plight of women in 19th-century north Wales.
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