This film is part of Rentals
Iona
Scott Graham’s follow-up to Shell follows a woman whose return to a Scottish island arouses dormant passions.
Director: Scott Graham
Overview
Following his acclaimed debut Shell, director Scott Graham returns with another story positing a wilful female lead amid the rugged beauty of the Scottish landscape. The title refers to both a Hebridean island and the young woman named after it (Ruth Negga - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), who is forced to return home after years away, following an implied violent upheaval.
But now she’s returning to the town she left as a teenager with an adolescent son of her own. And her reintroduction into the conservative, Christian community resurfaces festering recriminations and desires among the tangled web of family and friends she left behind. Scott Graham’s script traverses its various characters’ intricate histories with subtlety and ambiguity, presenting an impressionistic collage of interconnecting dramas that feels closer to the texture of European art cinema than the traditions of British social drama. Anchored by an arresting lead performance from Negga, Iona was selected as the closing film of the prestigious Edinburgh Film Festival in 2015.
Related
Rodeo Rodeo
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Lola Quivoron
French debut director Lola Quivoron revs up with a ferocious tale of a woman kickstarting a new life in the world of guerrilla motocross racing.
Clemency Clemency
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard is quietly devastating as a weary prison warden presiding over her twelfth execution, in this Sundance-winning death row drama.
Ida Ida
Drama 2014 82 mins Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
An exquisitely shot, moving drama about a Polish nun exploring her family past, which won a BAFTA for director Pawel Pawlikowski.
Plan 75 Plan 75
Science Fiction 2022 113 mins Director: Chie Hayakawa
Faced with a rapidly ageing population, a government in near-future Japan rolls out an unsettling agenda.
Cairo Conspiracy Cairo Conspiracy
Drama 2022 126 mins Director: Tarik Saleh
A fisherman’s son is offered a place at a prestigious Islamic school in Cairo and finds himself drawn into a religious and political power struggle.
The Night of the 12th The Night of the 12th
Drama 2022 114 mins Director: Dominik Moll
A newly promoted detective is assigned to a young woman’s chilling murder in this deeply arresting crime thriller based on true events.
Dog Eat Dog Dog Eat Dog
Comedy 2001 93 mins Director: Moody Shoaibi
David Oyelowo makes his first feature film role as one of posse of DJs who enrage a local drug baron after stealing his dog.
I Am Not Your Negro I Am Not Your Negro
Documentary 2016 94 mins Director: Raoul Peck
Raoul Peck’s penetrating and acclaimed documentary reconstructs an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin, chronicler of America’s Civil Rights Movement.
All Night Long All Night Long
Drama 1962 91 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Othello is transposed to the 1960s Soho jazz scene as a malevolent drummer sows mistrust between husband-and-wife jazz luminaries.
Billie Billie
Documentary 2019 98 mins Director: James Erskine
Part film-noir, part tragedy, this mesmerising documentary uncovers the true life of the legendary Billie Holiday.
Rocks Rocks
Drama 2020 93 mins Director: Sarah Gavron
A vibrant and hugely engaging portrait of female friendship and growing up in London from director Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane, Suffragette), with magnetic, BAFTA-nominated performances from its young cast of non-actors.
Seeking Mavis Beacon Seeking Mavis Beacon
Documentary 2024 102 mins Director: Jazmin Jones
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions of people touch typing in the late 80s and through the 90s. But who was the real Mavis Beacon?
Shell Shell
Drama 2013 87 mins Director: Scott Graham
In a remote part of Scotland, teenager Shell develops an intense relationship with her reclusive father.
Rodeo Rodeo
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Lola Quivoron
French debut director Lola Quivoron revs up with a ferocious tale of a woman kickstarting a new life in the world of guerrilla motocross racing.
Clemency Clemency
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard is quietly devastating as a weary prison warden presiding over her twelfth execution, in this Sundance-winning death row drama.
Ida Ida
Drama 2014 82 mins Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
An exquisitely shot, moving drama about a Polish nun exploring her family past, which won a BAFTA for director Pawel Pawlikowski.
Plan 75 Plan 75
Science Fiction 2022 113 mins Director: Chie Hayakawa
Faced with a rapidly ageing population, a government in near-future Japan rolls out an unsettling agenda.
Cairo Conspiracy Cairo Conspiracy
Drama 2022 126 mins Director: Tarik Saleh
A fisherman’s son is offered a place at a prestigious Islamic school in Cairo and finds himself drawn into a religious and political power struggle.
The Night of the 12th The Night of the 12th
Drama 2022 114 mins Director: Dominik Moll
A newly promoted detective is assigned to a young woman’s chilling murder in this deeply arresting crime thriller based on true events.