Matter of Britain. 2026. UK. Directed by Peter Treherne. World premiere. DCP. 103 min.
Shot over one year, in collaboration with over 300 members from the parish of Mayfield, East Sussex, Matter of Britain, the sly and surprising debut feature of English artist and filmmaker Peter Treherne, recasts the Arthurian myth of the Holy Grail. Shot with an eye attuned to both the quiet beauty of the English countryside and naturally lit interiors, Matter of Britain interweaves documentary and performance. Treherne revels in the anachronistic while cleverly foregrounding the atemporal; we repeatedly encounter modern-day speech and technology amid medieval garb and recitations. The film’s core pivots on a resonant echo between the initial myth’s concern with a ravaged wasteland and our contemporary agricultural crises.