Set in 2012 amid recession and the Afghanistan conflict, Emily and Oliver flee London for a northern town in search of authenticity and relief from pressure. A neighbourly gathering with Alan and Dawn erupts into ideological conflict, triggering spiralling tensions. As relationships fracture, a vanished cat, dubious behaviour and Emily’s relapse deepen the chaos. A final tragedy pushes Dawn to collapse, while Oliver seeks a move back to London, leaving devastation behind.
Technical details
Narrative Feature - UK - One hour 49 minutes - English (with subtitles)
Cast and Credits
Director - Emma Croft
Writer - Torben Betts
Producer - Samantha Seager
Producer - Emma Croft
Executive Producer - Samantha Seager
Executive Producer - Emma Croft
Executive Producer - Paul Whitehouse
Executive Producer - Stephen Shaw
Key Cast
Laura Howard - "Emily"
Samantha Seager - "Dawn"
Daniel Copeland - "Alan”
Torben Betts - "Oliver"
Sound Design - Guldem Masa
Cinematographer - Ariel Artur
Editor - Edmund Swabey
Original Music - Lol Hammond - Eva Abraham
LVFF 2026 award nominations
Best Actress - Laura Howard
Best Supporting Actor - Daniel Copeland
Best Supporting Actress - Samantha Seager
Best Narrative Feature
Best Film by a Female Director - Emma Croft
Screening Details:
girls in film. April 26th 2026. 12:00pm-8:30pm. Venue to be announced.
Director biography
- emma croft
Emma feels this is her time to make films. Her obsession, starting as a child, watching classic films on TV in the 70's, ignited her passion for drama and led her against the odds to pursue a successful acting career. She continued to study art, photography, writing as an adult as well as acting in films and mainstream TV.
Being around filmmakers and on film sets feels like home to Emma. Her experience playing Rosalind in the film of As You Like it for Christine Edzard (Sands Films 1991) gave her an insight to filmmaking that continues to inform her today. A writer also, Emma is keen to develop projects to direct that use drama to comment on social issues as well as entertain. Having missed the opportunity to attend film school, Emma continued to study many courses including Directing, Writing, Basic Cinematography, Producing, with film schools as well as attending Film London Labs .
Emma directed the short film 'Honest Lies,' (LSFF 2015 Hackney Picturehouse) and the 5 mins short 'Left Hand Side' (WOF FF 2017).
Emma is committed and passionate about the stories of unheard voices, women's stories and difficult subjects being brought to the screen.