Washed Up Review: BFI Flare 2026

‘’Washed Up is Mark Jenkin’s Bait meets Goldie Hawn’s Splash’’ jokes the announcer at BFI Flare film festival. Intrigued? Lock in.

Struggling artist Morwenna (Anna Ivankovic) lives in a Cornish fishing village slowly being overrun by rich London tourists. Hawking her kooky art from a stall set up on the beach and not even making enough money to scrape by, Morwenna is desperately working on a portfolio she hopes will win her the coveted ‘artist in residence’ position offered by a local gallery. The residency is a last-ditch effort to stay in the home town she knows and loves. Morwenna has recently inherited her grandfathers house but can’t afford the property tax, meaning she’ll soon be forced out, leaving her home to become someone’s second house.

After prepping for the move and going through a box of her ex-girlfriend’s things she’s feeling more despondent than ever and goes down to the beach for a good cry. It’s here she meets the mysterious Inga (Carys Glynne.) Inga is a selkie – a creature of Celtic folklore who shapeshifts into a seal to swim in the sea but can walk on land as a human. Selkies are never meant to visit the same place twice and Inga has had a lover in many a port, but she’s also not your average selkie – if such a thing exists.

An Ariel for the modern age, Inga is different than her kin. She’s a voracious reader, fascinated by humans and their stories, and soon finds herself drawn to Morwenna as the two begin to form a relationship. As Inga returns to Cornwall over and over again her siblings warn her that if she’s not careful she’ll become trapped on land, unable to turn back into a seal if she leaves the sea for too long. Too in love and too desperate to tame this wild thing, the two women soon risk messing with the laws of nature.

Washed Up is clearly a labour of love, a kooky, quirky romcom put together by a small team who are nearly all pulling double or triple duty. Jointly written by lead actor Glynne alongside first time director Isabel Daly and artist Issy Brett – who also does all of the film’s adorable animation – the three have done much of the production and editing work themselves. It’s a crowdfunded project that was made on a tiny budget, sourced purely from the passion these film makers had for this project. And that passion shows on screen.

With a humour and visual styling reminiscent of early Taika Waititi (complimentary) Washed Up is an absolute charmer of a queer fairytale. The characters are loveable, the jokes mostly land, and considering that this is a romcom about a mythical creature, it manages to balance tone brilliantly to become a bittersweet story about very real, human issues.

The gentrification of Cornwall and the manner in which it is forcing local people out of their homes is just as big a plot device as the summer romance. Morwenna’s fear of abandonment is something she really has to face if she wants to move on in her life – and not just because her girlfriend turns into a seal every time she steps out of her sight. Alongside her, we come to learn that sometimes there are things we love in life that we have to let go; be they a person, a place, a dream or simply a childhood home.

Washed Up is of course constrained by its tiny budget in places. There some wonky bits of ADR or sound mixing that feel a bit off, and the cast are clearly not all professional actors. While Ivankovic and Glynne lead well and create sweet characters, there are also some very hammy performances in the mix that at times take you right out of it. But considering this film was made for under £40k, it’s actually remarkable what this production has managed to pull off.

Signalling the birth of fresh and exciting new voices in indie film making, Washed Up is a little bit of a delight. A sapphic love story for all the folklore fans. It might not all be plain sailing for our two leads, but rest assured no one will be left adrift.

Washed Up was reviewed as part of the BFI Flare Film Festival 2026. Wider release details are yet to be confirmed