Synopsis
London, present day: Dr. Alison Evans (38) has dedicated her life to finding a cure for the hereditary skin disease fatal to men in her family for generations. While on a bad blind date with obnoxious property lawyer Guy Matthews (52), Alison meets the posh restaurant’s elegant owner, Vivienne Prescott (67), who observes Alison’s fascination with a painting of her ancestor Charles Taylor, painted by Eleanor Hallward in 1883. Haunted by the portrait, Alison embarks on a quest for answers outside her lab, retracing the life of this forgotten painter. As her quest deepens, Alison meets Jonathan Hallward (27), and a romantic relationship ensues.
Kent, 1883: Eleanor (43) meets Charles (28) when her twin brother James Hallward (43) is commissioned to paint the young art dealer’s portrait against the Kentish landscape. James is a widower, and Eleanor is responsible for raising his three children with little support from her and James’s sharp-tongued mother Elisabeth Hallward (67). During his stay, Charles learns why Eleanor gave up her professional career as an artist – illness, heartbreak and sexism – and discovers that she is Elzeario, a gifted painter whose identity is hotly debated. Eleanor and Charles embark on a professional relationship which will change their lives, and the lives of others, across generations.
Writer/Director – Nadia Cavelle
Originally from Switzerland and France, Nadia Cavelle is an award-winning playwright as well as a filmmaker and actor who trained at Drama Centre London. She is currently completing a MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths University.
Her second stage play, Subject Mater, received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019, and won a Scotsman’s Fringe First Award for innovation and outstanding new writing. Her debut short, Lascivious Grace, received nominations for the Best Screenwriter and Best Actor Awards at the BAFTA-qualifying Underwire Festival and was selected for the BFI Flare and the Oscar-qualifying BIFF 2018.
In addition to A Relative Woman, which was nominated for the Mubi Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List 2022, Nadia is developing another feature and has two short films in the making.