BFF25: Dead of Winter

Australian premiere

A storm is coming — and it’s bringing more than snow.

Emma Thompson delivers a powerhouse turn in Dead of Winter, UK director Brian Kirk’s icy, nerve-shredding thriller. Barb, a widowed fisherwoman, sets out across the frozen backroads to scatter her husband’s ashes. But when a blizzard cuts her off from help, her solitary journey collides with terror: a kidnapped teenage girl hidden in a remote cabin, guarded by a desperate and volatile couple.

What follows is a gripping descent into survival where every gust of wind and creak of wood tightens the noose. Thompson grounds the film with steel and vulnerability, while Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca radiate menace in roles that twist unpredictably. Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb’s script crackles with tension, and Kirk’s stark direction transforms snowbound isolation into a character of its own. Visually striking, emotionally fierce, and utterly relentless, Dead of Winter is not just a thriller — it’s a storm of suspense you’ll feel in your bones long after the end credit rolls.

OFFICIAL SELECTION | Locarno Film Festival 2025
OFFICIAL SELECTION | Warsaw International Film Festival 2025