Dark River, Clio Barnard’s third feature is going to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year as part of their “Platform” programme.
“One of contemporary British cinema’s most distinctive filmmakers, Clio Barnard follows The Selfish Giant and The Arbor with this searing and eloquent Yorkshire set drama exploring the fragility of familial relationships.
Inspired by Rose Tremain’s novel Trespass, Dark River follows two siblings as they struggle to come to terms with their inheritance, following the death of their Father. Fiercely holding on to a promise made long-ago, independently-minded Alice (Ruth Wilson) returns home for the first time in 15 years to claim family farm. Her grieving brother Joe (Mark Stanley) has spent years looking after their father (Sean Bean) and has scarcely kept the property afloat. Estranged for so long they can barely communicate, Alice soon incurs her brother’s wrath when she claims legal tenancy. As tensions mount, troubling memories surface and the real reason for her prolonged absence is revealed.” Clare Stewart – BFI
