On The Sea

Directed by Helen Walsh
Starring Celyn Jones, Leisa Gwenllian, Lisa Jên Brown, Lorne Macfadyen, Robert Gwyn Davin

Helen Walsh’s second feature is a profound and moving exploration of masculinity and desire in a remote yet savagely beautiful North Wales fishing community. Filmed in Ynys Môn with Welsh cast including Celyn Jones and Leisa Gwenllian.

Jack has been married to Maggie for over half his life. He works as a Hand Raker on the mussel beds in North Wales alongside his younger brother, Dyfan, and Dyfan’s three sons. Jack has always assumed that his own boy, Tom, will join the family business on leaving school but Tom’s resistance to follow in his footsteps creates familial tension. Tensions are further inflamed by the arrival of an itinerant deckhand, Daniel, who makes known his feelings for Jack. In this remote, rural community where life revolves around Church and fishery, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma. On The Sea is a beautiful, sensual and at times, tragic exploration of masculinity, place and desire.