Andrew Haigh’s highly anticipated adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s acclaimed short story will screen at the New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival
MUBI has unveiled the first look stills from award-winning filmmaker Andrew Haigh’s upcoming feature A Long Winter, offering audiences an early glimpse at the intimate family drama starring Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitríona Balfe, Kit Connor and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. The film will make its New York premiere at the New York Film Festival later this fall and its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Adapted by Haigh from acclaimed Irish author Colm Tóibín’s short story of the same name, A Long Winter is set in the mountains as autumn draws to a close and a family prepares for the difficult winter ahead. The film brings together a cast that spans some of contemporary cinema and television’s most acclaimed performers, with Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Furr and Martin Freeman also appearing in supporting roles.
The story unfolds against a remote mountain landscape, where the approaching winter creates an atmosphere of isolation and uncertainty. Haigh uses the setting to explore the emotional dynamics within a family preparing for a season that promises to test both their relationships and their ability to confront what lies beneath the surface.
Andrew Haigh Returns With Another Intimate Character Drama
A Long Winter marks another collaboration between Haigh and producers with whom he has established a strong reputation for emotionally precise, character-driven filmmaking. The director’s recent feature All of Us Strangers, released by Searchlight Pictures, received six BAFTA nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Haigh.
The film won six British Independent Film Awards from fourteen nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Haigh, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Paul Mescal. It also received nominations from the Gotham Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, while the Los Angeles Film Critics Association recognised Haigh with its Best Screenplay award. The Guardian and Empire both named All of Us Strangers their Best Film of 2024.
Haigh’s filmography also includes Lean on Pete, released by A24 in 2017, 45 Years, released by IFC’s Sundance Selects in 2015, and his breakthrough feature Weekend from 2011. 45 Years earned Charlotte Rampling an Academy Award nomination for her performance.
His television work includes serving as executive producer and lead writer-director on HBO’s Looking, as well as directing all five episodes of the BBC and AMC limited series The North Water, starring Colin Farrell and Jack O’Connell.
A Strong Ensemble Cast
At the centre of A Long Winter is Fred Hechinger, whose recent credits include Thelma and Gladiator II. He is joined by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, known for The Bear and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Caitríona Balfe, whose film and television work includes Belfast, Ford v Ferrari and Outlander.
The ensemble also includes Kit Connor, best known for Heartstopper, as well as appearances in Warfare and Rocketman. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, whose credits include Warfare and Reservation Dogs, rounds out the principal cast, with Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Furr and Martin Freeman also featured in the film.
Together, the cast brings considerable dramatic range to Haigh’s adaptation, which places family relationships and personal tensions within an increasingly isolated mountain environment.
Filmed in Alberta
A Long Winter was filmed on location in Alberta, Canada, with an experienced creative team working to capture the atmosphere of the film’s mountainous setting. Cinematographer André Turpin, whose credits include Mommy and Incendies, oversees the film’s visual language.
Production designer Emmanuel Fréchette, known for Wayward and The North Water, contributes to the film’s physical world, while editor Jonathan Alberts, who previously worked on Haigh’s All of Us Strangers and 45 Years, handles the editing.
The film is produced by Tristan Goligher for The Bureau, Chad Oakes and Mike Frislev for Calgary-based Nomadic Pictures, and Michael Elliott. A Long Winter was developed by MUBI and co-financed by MUBI and Film4.
MUBI and Film4 Behind the Production
MUBI, the global streaming service, production company and film distributor, has increasingly expanded its role in producing and distributing distinctive international cinema. The company describes its mission as supporting visionary filmmakers and bringing ambitious films to audiences around the world.
Its production slate includes projects from filmmakers such as Jane Schoenbrun, Paweł Pawlikowski, Jim Jarmusch, Kelly Reichardt and Felix van Groeningen. MUBI also owns The Match Factory, an international sales company acquired in 2022, as well as a majority stake in Benelux distributor Cinéart.
Film4 Productions, Channel 4 Television’s feature film division, has also played a significant role in supporting acclaimed filmmakers and international cinema. Since its launch in 1982, Film4-backed productions have collectively won dozens of Academy Awards and BAFTAs.
Recent Film4 projects include Poor Things, The Zone of Interest, Earth Mama, How to Have Sex and Haigh’s All of Us Strangers. The company has also developed and co-financed films including The Favourite, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Room, Amy, 12 Years a Slave, American Honey, Cold War, Under the Skin and Slumdog Millionaire.
The Bureau’s Continued Collaboration With Haigh
The production also reunites Haigh with The Bureau, the BAFTA-winning production company known for working with distinctive filmmakers including Asif Kapadia, Harry Wootliff and Aleem Khan.
The Bureau previously produced Haigh’s 45 Years, as well as films including Supernova, After Love and True Things. Its upcoming projects include Rhys Marc Jones’ debut feature Black Church Bay, Corinna Faith’s Unspeakable, and A Long Winter.
What Comes Next for Andrew Haigh
Haigh’s creative slate extends beyond A Long Winter. The filmmaker is set to write and direct an adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s book Leonardo Da Vinci for Universal. He is also developing a television series about legendary American artist Keith Haring, based on Brad Gooch’s biography Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, with Working Title producing.
For now, A Long Winter marks another significant addition to Haigh’s growing body of work, combining his interest in intimate human relationships with the dramatic possibilities of an isolated natural landscape.
With first-look images now released, anticipation is building for the film’s festival appearances later this year. A Long Winter will screen at the New York Film Festival for its New York premiere and at the Toronto International Film Festival for its Canadian premiere before its eventual theatrical release in the United States.
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