Director: Edward Rowe, Producers: Ella Turner & Edward Rowe, Executive Producers: Denzil Monk, Laura Canning, Laura Giles, Mark Trevethan Production: Screen Cornwall, UK, Language: Cornish, 2022, 11′, Rights: World except for UK
Mab Hudel is a Cornish language film written and directed by Edward Rowe featuring; Mary Woodvine (BAIT, POLDARK) Susan Penhaligon (A FINE ROMANCE, DOCTORS) Craig Russel (HOLLYOAKS, DOCTORS) and Edward Rowe (BAIT, THE WITCHER).
Enys Penrose, is a fantastic rugby player, farmer and young gay man who lives with his mum and gran on their farm under the shadow of his dead father. He leads his local rugby team, Penryn RFC, to the final of The Cornwall Cup where he not only faces the love of his life but his sexuality and the rugby legacy that his father left behind.
Review
“This heartfelt tale of gay love and Cornish rugby boasts great performances from its two leads (Chris Jenkins and Rick Yale). Jenkins’ portrayal of Enys is impressively restrained, perfectly capturing the conflicting feelings boiling beneath the surface. This restraint is broken during the harsh physicality of the rugby scrum, which lends a real heft to the short’s final scenes, a play-off against rival team St Just. The film’s conclusion ties together its emotional threads with satisfying intensity, cleverly comparing the aggression of sport to the closeness of intimacy. The decision to film in the Cornish language brings an immersive authenticity to the short, as does the earthy photography of the protagonist’s farmland home. Mab Hudel is a promising addition to the independent productions emerging from Cornwall, spearheaded by the trailblazing work of Mark Jenkin (Mab Hudel features his collaborators Edward Rowe, as writer-director and actor Mary Woodvine, star of the upcoming Enys Men).”
Chris Childs Encounters Festival
About the creator
Edward Rowe is a Cornish actor, known for the lead role as a struggling fisherman in the BAFTA-winning film Bait and for the Kernow King character. Rowe is from Roche in Cornwall[1] where he started his standup routine and YouTube video series.
Cast
Mary Woodvine (BAIT, POLDARK)
Susan Penhaligon (A FINE ROMANCE, DOCTORS)
Craig Russel (HOLLYOAKS, DOCTORS)
Edward Rowe (BAIT, THE WITCHER)
Festivals
Official Selection at London Film Festival 2022
Encounters Festival 2022
Queer Screen Australia 2022