British filmmaker Scott Graham’s follow-up to his BAFTA-nominated debut Shell (2012) is a stunning, Hebrides-set drama which was selected to close the Edinburgh Film Festival this year.
The film follows young mother Iona, played by the brilliant Ruth Negga (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) who is returning to the island of her birth, from where she takes her name. With her teenage son, Billy, she is seeking refuge after a series of events have forced them to leave Glasgow. Their move exposes the tormented Billy to the more gentle way of life Iona rejected when she left as a teenager, and sends shockwaves through the family and friends she left behind.
With powerful performances from all the cast – including Negga, Douglas Henshall, Tom Brooke, Michelle Duncan, and with excellent debuts from young Scottish actors, Ben Gallagher and Sorcha Groundsell – Iona is an intense and beguiling story touching on family trauma, religion and relationships, and set against a backdrop of outstanding natural beauty.
