Based on Gary Owen's much lauded and widely performed monodrama, Iphigenia in Splott, 'Effi o Blaenau' is director Marc Evans' cinematic interpretation set against the wide open landscapes of North Wales. 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.
"A really powerful film…Leisa Gwenllian gives an extraordinary performance"
Mark Kermode, Kermode on Film
“A tremendous performance from Gwenllian”
“Blistering”
“An absorbing, propulsive story that keeps you on the edge of your seat”
★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Brilliant” ★★★★ The Times
“Gwenllian is revelatory” ★★★★ The Financial Times