Emmott & Rowland

Emmott and Rowland is a short film by Aneel Ahmad, set in the Derbyshire village of Eyam when plague struck with devastating effect in 1665. The film movingly conveys the anguish experienced by the villagers as they selflessly decide to close the village in order to contain the plague. The tragic events are glimpsed through the story of the young lovers, Emmott and Rowland, and through the agonised decision-making of the rector at the time, William Mompesson, together with his predecessor William Stanley. As a memorable illustration of the human cost of the decision to stay in the village, Mompesson and his wife Catherine also have to confront the stark possibility of their own children's deaths from the plague. Aneel gets the best out of the cast, most of whom have little or no experience of film, while Emmott and Rowland is much enhanced by the musical score of Mark T Payne.