Clio Barnard returns with a powerful portrait of friendship and modern Britain in I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

After winning the Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning is set to arrive in UK and Irish cinemas on 4^th December through Curzon. The latest feature from the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Selfish Giant and Ali & Ava explores the hopes, disappointments and enduring bonds of a generation navigating life in contemporary Britain.

Adapted by Tony Award-winning playwright Enda Walsh from Keiran Goddard’s acclaimed novel, the drama follows five childhood friends who grew up together on a Birmingham estate dreaming of a different future. Now in their 30s, those ambitions have slipped further out of reach, forcing them to confront the realities of adulthood while relying on one another for support.

Barnard brings together an ensemble cast including Anthony Boyle, Lola Petticrew, Daryl McCormack, Joe Cole and Jay Lycurgo for a story that examines the social and economic pressures facing young people, while celebrating the resilience found in friendship, love and chosen family. Continuing the director’s signature blend of intimate character studies and social realism, the film offers a compassionate portrait of lives shaped by circumstance without losing sight of hope.

The editorial unit

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning is released nationwide on 4^th December 2026.

Watch the trailer for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning here: