Through hard work and unwavering discipline, mussel farmer Jack keeps the family business running along the rugged coast of North Wales. Over the years, he has built a stable life with his wife, Maggie, without ever really asking himself what he truly wants from life. He finds answers when Daniel, a younger deckhand, arrives in the remote community and makes no secret of how attractive he finds Jack.

With her second feature film, writer-director Helen Walsh (The Violators) delves into the emotional world of a man whom life has taught to conceal his feelings as best he can—a man who must first learn what it means to be himself, all while wondering if that would actually make him happier.

On the Sea is a sensitive, insightful story about learned masculinity, the places that shape us, and the secret desires we ultimately cannot deny.

The film bears a distant resemblance to God’s Own Country, though it takes much longer to draw the viewer in and allows its characters to liberate themselves and embrace their true selves only at a late stage (perhaps too late?).

Lorne MacFadyen, who plays Daniel, will be present at this MonGay screening.

Original version with subtitles.

More information here.