Fanny Lye Deliver'd
Synopsis
One morning, when the family are out at church, two uninvited visitors take refuge in their barn: the charismatic Thomas Ashbury and his young ‘wife’ Rebecca Henshaw, who come running from the forest naked as Adam and Eve. Thomas tells a story of robbery by vicious highwaymen. Although suspicious, John offers clothes and shelter for the night - which satisfies Fanny’s compassionate nature.
Whilst the young couple are polite, almost obsequious at first, soon Thomas’ carefree manner can’t help but reveal itself: he makes seductive eyes at Fanny and then draws Arthur into a food fight, for which - despite Thomas’ protestations - the house patriarch disciplines both wife and child. The next day, as Thomas and John coppice wood, Rebecca accidentally reveals to Fanny that she and Thomas are unmarried.
Soon after, three more strangers approach the farm: a Sheriff and his Deputy, accompanied by the local Constable, hunting members of a blasphemous ‘Ranter’ sect. From here, events quickly escalate in ways that will change all their lives forever.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Official Competition - World premiere
Big Screen Competition, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020
Details
- Year
- 2019
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 110 min
- Director
-
Thomas Clay
- Producer
- Zorana Piggott
- Co-Producer
- Robert Cannan, Philippe Bober, Michel Merkt, Joseph Lang
- Executive Producer
- Thomas Clay, Lizzie Francke, Celine Haddad, Richard Holmes, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross
- Editor
- Thomas Clay
- Screenwriter
- Thomas Clay
- Director of Photography
- Giorgos Arvanitis
- Production Designer
- Nenad Pecur
- Sound
- Thomas Clay, Steven Bond, Vincent Watts, Konrad Kassing
- Principal cast
- Maxine Peake, Tanya Reynolds, Charles Dance, Freddie Fox, Zak Adams
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
UK, Germany co-production
A PullBack Camera (UK) production in co-production with Essential Filmproduktion (DE)
Pull Back Camera Ltd
49 Berriedale AvenueHove
BN3 4JG
Sales Company
Coproduction Office
24, Rue Lamartine75009 Paris
France
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
Director: Thomas Clay
Year: 2005
Three teenage boys are led into violence and temptation on a journey that will shock their sleepy community yet also express its deepest jealousies and divisions. The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael is a brutal and unflinchingly honest portrayal of life in a post-9/11 world. Filmed in long stylised takes, the narrative is elliptical and poetic, yet infused with a dark and ironic wit. Selected for Critics' Week, Cannes 2005.
Chork
Director: Shane Meadows
Year: 2026
Set and shot along the East coast of England, from Kent through Lincolnshire, to Scotland, CHORK follows fifteen-year-old Kit and eleven-year-old Ani as they leave their foster home and trek across the coastline in hopes of a brighter future. With the police in pursuit and a national search underway, Kit must use all her determination and wits to protect Ani and fulfil their mission.
Black Church Bay
Director: Rhys Marc Jones
Year: 2026
In a remote Welsh coastal village, the disappearance of an openly-gay sixth form student disrupts the delicate balance of local life for one deputy head teacher, exposing long-buried secrets and threatening to tear the community apart.