By Paul Salfen, Christine Thompson for AMFM Magazine
In a recent conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, acclaimed theater director Polly Findlay discussed her feature directorial debut, Midwinter Break—a tender, character-driven adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty’s beloved novel. Starring Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds as Stella and Gerry, a long-married Scottish couple, the film follows their winter trip to Amsterdam, where the city’s quiet beauty and stillness open space for reconciliation, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of grace.
Set against Amsterdam’s wintry light, Midwinter Break explores how moments of pause allow for honest reflection, humility, and healing—reminding us that restoration often begins with compassion and accountability.
Findlay described the profound privilege of working with her two leads. “We were extremely lucky,” she told Salfen. “I can’t imagine anybody doing it better than those two.” She recalled the daily wonder of watching Manville and Hinds at work: “I was pinching myself on set… the entire crew felt it. Even the grip would stop and watch, completely entranced.”
A celebrated theater director known for her work at the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, Findlay had never directed a short film before stepping onto the set of Midwinter Break. The project arrived through a stroke of good fortune when producer Guy Heeley, impressed by her stage work, offered her the script. “I’d never made a short,” she admitted. “Walking onto that first day at the Rijksmuseum—with trailers, catering, roads closed—and realizing I was the one saying ‘cut’… it felt like a moment where you just have to act like you’re the person who can do it.”
One of her most vivid memories was filming overnight in the Rijksmuseum, alone with Rembrandt’s Night Watch. “To have the place to yourself… was amazing,” she said. “An incredible way to begin.”
Findlay’s primary goal was to capture the novel’s distinctive “undertow”—a quiet sense of longing, the brevity and beauty of life. She returned often to a passage in which Stella, a former English teacher, compares life to a bird flying through a grand hall: a fleeting, luminous moment before it vanishes. That image shaped the film’s emotional atmosphere, with special attention to subtext and the communication that happens without words.
Faith plays a central role in Stella’s character, drawn precisely from the book’s depiction of her background and personal history. Findlay kept those details forensic and accurate, yet the story’s deeper resonance lies in something universal: the awareness of a “life unlived” and the contradictions within enduring relationships. “One minute you think, I can’t stand being married to you for one more second,” she explained, “and the next you think, I’m so glad we’re together. The film is honest about those contradictions… but in the end, it’s a film about hope. The last word is ‘hope.’”
Findlay highlighted the contrast between theater and film direction. In theater, she builds repeatable structures; in film, she aimed to create conditions for authentic, in-the-moment truth—capturing performances that felt alive and unrepeatable.
Her advice to aspiring directors is straightforward: only take on projects you truly believe in. “It’s only worth doing if there’s something about the piece where you can honestly say, ‘I’m the only person who can make this in this way.’”
After Midwinter Break (in theaters February 20, 2026), Findlay is already developing a thriller and looks forward to returning to theater. For now, she invites audiences to experience the film’s subtle power and the extraordinary performances at its heart.
Midwinter Break is a quiet reminder that even in the depth of midwinter, hope can still break through.
