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Effi o Blaenau<\/p>\n Effi o Blaenau<\/p>\n
Stephen Price<\/p>\n
One of the most talked-about films to come from Wales this decade, Effi of Blaenau, hits cinemas from today \u2013 with showings across the UK, from Glasgow to London and right across Wales.<\/p>\n
S4C\u2019s Welsh-language feature film, Effi o Blaenau has received widespread critical acclaim, with the Times<\/a> describing it as a \u2018bleakly brilliant drama\u2019 and \u2018an extraordinary portrait of a woman on the edge\u2019.<\/p>\n The Welsh language film was co-funded by Welsh Government via Creative Wales, and the film received its World Premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 3 along with a homecoming premiere in Blaenau Ffestiniog just ahead of its release.<\/p>\n Effi o Blaenau will release widely in cinemas across Wales and the UK through MetFilm Distribution on June 19, before being broadcast on S4C, Clic and iPlayer at the end of this year.<\/p>\n The film is an adaptation of Gary Owen\u2019s critically acclaimed play, Iphigenia in Splott, but transported to the wide-open mountainous landscape of Eryri.<\/p>\n Directed by Marc Evans (Mr Burton) and produced by Branwen Cennard (Tarian) in her debut feature, the film follows Effi, a young woman who learns firsthand the personal costs of our societal shortcomings, with a tour-de-force lead performance by up-and-coming actor Leisa Gwenllian (S4C\u2019s Itopia, On the Sea and Sky\u2019s Under Salt Marsh). It also features Tom Rhys Harries (Netflix\u2019s White Lines, Apple TV\u2019s Suspicion) ahead of his lead role in the new DC Studios film Clayface.<\/p>\n Grappling with her weekly loop of unemployment, clubbing and hangovers, Effi has a chance encounter in a Llandudno nightclub with injured soldier Lee, briefly opening a door to something better. For a moment, Effi glimpses a life she never imagined. The reality that follows is far tougher.<\/p>\n The film has received positive reviews at its Film Hub Wales preview day, with Welsh exhibitors describing it as \u201cAtmospheric\u201d, \u201cFantastic\u201d and \u201cgrounded in its community.\u201d Another praised its \u201cCompelling story and realistic characters\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n S4C\u2019s head of Film and Drama, Gwenllian Gravelle, said: \u201cS4C is proud to support Effi o Blaenau and is grateful to the production team and to Creative Wales for helping to bring it to the big screen in Wales and beyond.<\/p>\n \u201cThe film is a cinematic experience that originates from a specific place but resonates emotionally everywhere. Shaped by a strong landscape and details of everyday life, the film transforms the familiar into something moving and epic.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said: \u201cEffi o Blaenau is set against the dramatic backdrop of Blaenau Ffestiniog, with its misty, moody landscapes really adding to Effi\u2019s challenging story. Another great benefit of this North Wales production is the economic value and job opportunities that were created locally.<\/p>\n \u201cThis film demonstrates what can be achieved when industry partners \u2013 in this case S4C \u2013 and Creative Wales work together to support ambitious creative projects, giving them every chance of commercial success and reaching global audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic that Effi o Blaenau has been selected for the Glasgow Film Festival, where it will premiere in front of key decision makers and influencers from across the world\u2019s film industry. What an exciting moment for filmmaking in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n MetFilm Distribution added: \u201cWe are delighted to be spearheading the theatrical release of Effi o Blaenau across the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cThe filmmaking team have produced a faithful and truly cinematic adaption of Gary Owen\u2019s seminal play, anchored by an electric performance from Leisa Gwenllian. We can\u2019t wait for audiences everywhere to meet Effi\u201d.<\/p>\n Reviews<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s Peter Bradshaw wrote: \u201cThe visceral one-woman play Iphigenia in Splott by Welsh dramatist Gary Owen has overwhelmed audiences and critics since it premiered in 2015, reimagining the sacrificial heroine Iphigenia from Greek tragedy as a young working-class woman in Cardiff who likes a drink and a laugh, defiant in the face of pity, condescension and curtain-twitching.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it has been recreated as a blistering Welsh-language movie by director Marc Evans, who has co-written the screenplay with Owen, with a live-wire performance from Leisa Gwenllian as Effi, a child of austerity and the Covid lockdown, reclaiming her rights to immediate pleasure and happiness in the face of long-term deprivation.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Effi o Blaenau is part of a British social realist tradition that extends from Ken Loach\u2019s Poor Cow to Clio Barnard\u2019s The Arbor, and it turns on that kitchen-sink staple no longer often found in modern drama and movies: the unplanned pregnancy. It also has what social realism often doesn\u2019t have: an absorbing, propulsive story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. And it\u2019s a film that doesn\u2019t flinch from the burden of tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt is a tremendous performance from Gwenllian as Effi, pursuing what appears to be the dissolute life of irresponsible adulthood and yet, when finally and inevitably coming into contact with authority figures from whom she needs help \u2013 her grandmother, a hospital nurse, a disapproving but yet kindly neighbour \u2013 Effi regresses to a desperately childlike state.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is infantilised by her own choices, yes, but also the grim way in which society has forced the choices on her. Interestingly, the male patriarchal power figures from Euripides\u2019 play, such as Agamemnon and Achilles, are largely replaced by women; these are the people who hold sway over Effi. It\u2019s an absorbing and affecting drama.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Eye for Film Where to watch<\/p>\n 19.6.26 Aberystwyth \u2013 Aberystwyth Arts Centre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Bangor \u2013 Pontio Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Blaenau Ffestiniog \u2013 CellB Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Bridgend\u00a0\u2013 Odeon Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Bristol \u2013 Watershed Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Broughton \u2013 Cineworld Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Caernarfon \u2013 Galeri Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Chapter Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Cineworld Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Showcase Nantgarw Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Everyman Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Odeon Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Cardiff \u2013 Vue Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Chester \u2013 Picturehouse Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Edinburgh \u2013 Cameo Picturehouse Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Glasgow \u2013 Glasgow Film Theatre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Liverpool \u2013 Picturehouse at FACT Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Llandudno Junction \u2013 Cineworld Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Llanelli\u00a0\u2013 Odeon Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 London \u2013 Curzon Bloomsbury Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 London \u2013 The Garden Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Manchester \u2013 HOME Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Merthyr Tydfil \u2013 Vue Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Newcastle \u2013 Tyneside Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Newport \u2013 Cineworld Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Port Talbot \u2013 Reel Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Sheffield \u2013 Showroom Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Swansea\u00a0\u2013 Odeon Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Swansea\u00a0\u2013 Vue Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Tywyn \u2013 Magic Lantern Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 19.6.26 Wrexham\u00a0\u2013 Odeon Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 26.6.26 Cardigan -Theatr Mwldan Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 26.6.26 Ipswich \u2013 King Street Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 26.6.26 London \u2013 Art House Crouch End<\/p>\n 26.6.26 Pwlhelli -Neuadd Dwyfor Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 27.6.26 Porthmadog \u2013 Y Ganolfan Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 3.7.26 Maesteg \u2013 Town Hall Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 3.7.26 Fishguard \u2013 Theatr Gwaun Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 3.7.26 Llanfairfechan \u2013 Luxor Community Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 3.7.26 Ystradgynlais \u2013 The Welfare Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 4.7.26 Milford Haven \u2013 The Torch Theatre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 5.7.26 Penarth \u2013 Pier Pavilion Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 7.7.26 Swansea \u2013 Taliesin Arts Centre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 8.7.26 Monmouth \u2013 Savoy Theatre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 10.7.26 Birmingham \u2013 MAC<\/p>\n 10.7.26 Edinburgh \u2013 Filmhouse<\/p>\n 10.7.26 London \u2013 ActOne Cinema<\/p>\n 10.7.26 Oxford \u2013 Ultimate Picture Palace Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 13.7.26 Newport \u2013 Riverfront Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 16.7.26 Falmouth \u2013 Poly Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 17.7.26 Bradford \u2013 Pictureville Cinema<\/p>\n 17.7.26 Oswestry \u2013 Maona Cinema<\/p>\n 17.7.26 Abertillery \u2013 The Met Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 18.7.26 Stoke \u2013 Stoke Film Theatre<\/p>\n 19.7.26 Woodbridge \u2013 Riverside Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 24.7.26 Plymouth \u2013 Arts Cinema<\/p>\n 24.7.26 Pontypridd\u00a0\u2013 Y Muni Cinema Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 27.7.26 Wellinton \u2013 Orbit<\/p>\n 4.8.26 Builth Wells \u2013 Wyeside Arts Centre Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n 1.9.26 Bracknell \u2013 South Hill Park Tickets<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Effi-O-Blaenau.jpeg\")
Effi o Blaenau<\/p>\n
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 The Guardian
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Time Out
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Heat Magazine
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 The Scotsman
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 The Upcoming
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 The Skinny<\/p>\n