117-119 Clerkenwell Road, London
Tue 18 Aug · 20:40
After arriving in a quiet English seaside town, the enigmatic Clara and her withdrawn teenage daughter Eleanor attempt to build new lives while concealing a secret that has bound them together for generations. As Eleanor forms her first genuine friendships and begins to reveal the truth about their existence, the violent past they have spent centuries fleeing threatens to catch up with them once again. Directed by Neil Jordan and adapted from Moira Buffini's play A Vampire Story, Byzantium reimagines vampire mythology through a distinctly female perspective. Rejecting many of the genre's familiar conventions, the film blends Gothic horror, dark fantasy and intimate character drama while exploring themes of power, exploitation and motherhood. Led by acclaimed performances from Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton, it has become recognised as one of the most distinctive British vampire films of the twenty-first century. Introduced by writer Susan Jonusas.