The Snow Spider at BFI Southbank

Lonely Gwynn Griffiths lives in a remote farmhouse in the Welsh countryside; his family are distraught because of the disappearance of his beloved sister Bethan on the mountains nearby. But when his eccentric gran (Sian Phillips) gives him five strange objects for his ninth birthday, everything changes. ‘Its time to find out if you’re a magician,’ she proclaims. Suddenly channelling elemental forces, he draws upon the incredible power of a small silver spider, all in the name of an ancient Welsh mythology to which he is heir. Life will never be the same again. Eerie, odd and quietly powerful, this wintry, atmospheric drama for children and adults alike (adapted by Julia Jones from the novels by Jenny Nimmo) was originally shot in Wales before it was broadcast nationwide in the late 1980s.