Effi O Blaenau

In the North Welsh slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Effi is trapped in a vicious cycle of drunken nights and hungover days. When she meets a soldier named Lee on a night out and ends up in bed with him, there is a brief glimmer of hope for a better future. Unfortunately, that hope is dashed when the unemployed Effi discovers she is pregnant and finds that local healthcare services leave a great deal to be desired. A potential compensation payout offers a new opportunity, but Effi faces a choice: leave her godforsaken hometown or stay for the sake of the community. The raw Effi o Blaenau is a painfully realistic film about moral choices, solidarity, and resilience that unflinchingly addresses the issue of social neglect.

Effi o Blaenau premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this year and is a Welsh-language adaptation of Gary Owen’s play Iphigenia in Splott (2015). Director Marc Evans has already achieved considerable success with films such as the rom-com Snow Cake (2006)—starring big names like Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver—which earned him a Golden Bear nomination at the Berlinale in 2006.