The Cleansing
Set in a small isolated village in 14th century Wales, Alice is a sixteen year old girl who is accused of being a witch and causing the plague that has ravaged the village, taking the lives of many, including Alice's own father. When it is revealed that Alice has been hiding her mother's infection, she is forced to watch The Cleanser, an ominous masked figure, brutally dispatch her mother. The town preacher and de-facto leader Tom has eyes for Alice, and subjects her to five torturous trials after she spurns his advances. Escaping the night before her execution, with the help of her mother's friend Mary, she flees into the forest and discovers the secluded hut of a mysterious healer, with his own troubled past and demons to face. He nurses her back to health, and teaches her how to exact revenge upon those that persecuted her.
Wayfinder
Set during a pandemic, the film tracks the movements of its central protagonist – The Wanderer, a young girl, on an intrepid journey across England. Presented across six chapters, including ‘The North’, ‘The Land of Smoke’ and ‘The Kingdom of the East’, this epic film builds a dialogue around the themes of class and economic exclusion, belonging and displacement, cultural heritage and the meaning of home.
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Antony Smith
Director
Abbie Hirst
as
Mary
Luke Bailey
as
The Wanderer
