One of the more singular British filmmakers working today, Mark Jenkin has built a cult following on an analog, handmade sensibility that feels almost beamed in from another time. After the BAFTA-winning “Bait” and the lo-fi folk horror curio “Enys Men,” Jenkin is back with “Rose of Nevada,” a new time-travel-ish mystery starring George MacKay and Callum Turner.
Following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, “Rose of Nevada” went on to play TIFF, the New York Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival, giving Jenkin’s latest a strong festival run before its U.S. theatrical bow. The film takes place in a remote fishing village where the Rose of Nevada, a ship that vanished at sea three decades earlier with its crew, suddenly returns. The local citizens take its reappearance as a sign that their economically devastated community might finally see its luck change, but only if the ship sails again.
MacKay plays Nick, a young man desperate to provide for his family, while Turner plays Liam, a mysterious drifter looking to outrun his past. The two join the crew, head out to sea, and return after a successful voyage, only to find that the harbor is no longer the place they remember.
Jenkin writes, directs, edits, scores, shoots on a 16mm Bolex camera, and constructs the film’s sound in post, continuing the tactile, highly controlled approach that has made his work so distinctive. The result, according to our Venice review, “represents an undeniable leveling up for Jenkin,” with the filmmaker recruiting bigger-name actors while still holding onto his idiosyncratic Cornish sensibility.
The film also stars Rosalind Eleazar, Francis Magee, Mary Woodvine, and Edward Rowe. “Rose of Nevada” opens in New York and Los Angeles on June 19. Watch the exclusive clip below and check out some limited-release dates beyond NY and LA.
