Telling stories about the present through the lens of the past: Director Philip Stevens, writer Laura Turner and actress Hannah Douglas on Lapwing

Lapwing is the rural historical drama following a selectively mute young woman nicknamed Lapwing who faces physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her brother-in-law, a ruthless salt farmer. The story unfolds against the backdrop of 16^th century England when it was ruled Egyptian “gypsies” must leave the country or face execution.

In the vein of Lady Macbeth and The Nightingale, this stylised, slow-burn, atmospheric film traverses the bleak, brutal and beautiful, both in the Lincolnshire coastal landscapes it sets its story in and in the aspects of the human condition it studies, uncovering themes of misogyny, bigotry and xenophobia but also hope, love and finding one’s identity in the face of hardship.

The Upcoming sat down with director Philip Stevens, writer Laura Turner and actress Hannah Douglas to discuss the genesis of Lapwing, how they see their movie within the trend for female-centric period dramas and what such films have to say to a contemporary audience.

Sarah Bradbury

Lapwing is released in select cinemas on 26^th November 2021.

Watch the trailer for Lapwing here: