Love Cake

Director: Eleanor Yule

Year: 2004

Running from a dark secret, Danish backpacker Mike Hammershoi (Anders W. Berthelsen) arrives at Black's estate in the Scottish Borders, looking for work. Cut off from the outside world, Francis Black) Peter Mullan, the blind owner, lives there in a shuttered-up, decaying mansion, with his elderly mother Bella (Phyllida Law).   Francis reluctantly offers the traveller a low-paid job in the yard. Put off by the unsettling atmosphere, Mike declines the offer. But as he turns to go, he sets eyes on Rachel (Jodhi May), Francis' enigmatic young wife, and changes his mind. Mike starts work on the farm, dumping the debris of the Blacks' once-successful business into the mud pit - a bottomless vortex of quicksand at the end of the land.   Mike soon realises that Francis, increasingly embittered by his blindness, exerts a domineering power over Rachel. Rachel, emotionally suffocated by her husband, is increasingly attracted to Mike, whose presence awakens her pent-up sexual desire. Unable to resist each other, they become lovers. As the sexual tension increases, so too does Francis' jealousy rage. In a fit of anger, Francis sacks the traveller. The threat of Mike's departure forces Rachel to choose between her husband and her lover. Unaware of his dark past, Rachel decides to run away with Mike. Seething with fury, Francis stands, knife in hand, by the edge of the mud-pit waiting for the unsuspecting lovers as they prepare to make their escape.

Director: Leo Bill

Year: 2022

Ruth, a weary teacher, suffocated by the safety of middle class life, recounts a disturbing event at a dinner party that leaves her friends questioning her sanity.

Director: Jerusha West

Year: 2026

In the midst of a city woodland, 16-year-old Iris explores her attraction to an older man. Their passion turns into a dangerous power play when Iris must indulge his cravings with a humiliating performance. Official Selection London Short Film Festival 2026