Effi o Blaenau, which stars Leisa Gwenllian, offers an intimate look at society and community against the backdrop of North Wales
After a successful run at Glasgow’s Fim Festival earlier this year, a Welsh language film from the director of Mr Burton is returning to Wales for its hometown premiere. Effi o Blaenau, which stars Under Salt Marsh’s Leisa Gwenllian as Effi, offers an intimate look at society and community against the backdrop of North Wales.
The Welsh language film which was made by Tarian for S4C, will have its local premiere at Cellb in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd on Wednesday, June 17 before being released in cinemas across Wales and the rest of the UK on June 19.
Later this year the film will be broadcast on S4C, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
Funded by S4C and Creative Cymru, the film has been directed by BAFTA-nominee Marc Evans and adapted from Gary Owen’s 2015 Iphigenia in Splott.
The original drama was a reimagined version of the Greek tragedy heroine Iphigenia as a young working-class woman from Cardiff.
The Welsh language adaptation follows Effi, a woman from Blaenau Ffestiniog who discovers the costs of society and class whilst living in rural Wales.
Film Hub Wales said: “The film follows Effi, a young woman desperate to escape a town where the pubs are closed, the jobs have vanished and her grandmother works night shifts in the local chip shop just to get by.
“A chance encounter in a Llandudno nightclub with injured soldier Lee, played by Tom Rhys Harries, briefly opens a door to something better.
“For a moment, Effi glimpses a life she never imagined. The reality that follows is far tougher.
“As she faces the future as a single, unemployed mother-to be, Effi’s story exposes a stark social crisis: a system with too few maternity wards, too few midwives and too many impossible choices made out of necessity rather than care. Leisa Gwenllian gives a searing performance as Effi, evoking condemnation and sympathy in equal measures.”
The film is being broadcasted at the multi-arts space Cellb, which is located in the old Police Station and Court House in the heart of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The event will be attended by writer/director Marc Evans, producer Branwen Cennard and lead actress Leisa Gwenllian.
If you’re keen to attend the homecoming of Effi O Blaenau, you can find tickets and more information about the event at CellB here.
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