Making its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival ahead of its run at the Toronto International Film Festival, A Long Winter, the latest feature written and directed by Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers, 45 Years, Weekend), emerges as a quiet, painterly examination of mid-century frontier life, familial disintegration, and latent queer awakening.

Adapted by Haigh from the novella by acclaimed Irish author Colm Tóibín, the 117-minute period drama is set in the early 1950s on a secluded mountain homestead in the Rocky Mountains. The narrative centers on Mikey (Fred Hechinger), a gentle young man devoted to the rustic life of raising livestock alongside his pragmatic younger brother Tom (Kit Connor), who is on the verge of deploying for Army service in the Korean War. The domestic core of the household is maintained by their stern, unyielding father, Lester (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and their radiant but emotionally isolated mother, Louise (Caitríona Balfe).

The fragile domestic balance unravels when Lester, determined to enforce puritanical sobriety, discards Louise’s hidden alcohol supply to force her into cold turkey withdrawal. Chafing against the isolation of rural domesticity and her husband’s rigid control, Louise vanishes into an oncoming blizzard. Her sudden absence casts a lingering, ghost-like shadow over the family, precipitating a grueling three-month search across the frozen terrain as Lester and Mikey confront the emotional fallout of her departure.

In her absence, the narrative pivots into an intimate character study of Mikey’s evolving interiority. Shielded from modern society, Mikey navigates emergent romantic and sensual impulses toward men without contemporary cultural framework or shame—sparked through charged glances with a local police officer (Anthony Timpano) and an unspoken bond with Jimmy (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), a stoic housekeeper and cook hired to assist the splintered home.

Lensed on location by cinematographer André Turpin (Mommy, Incendies), the feature captures the stark expanse of the alpine wilderness, emphasizing psychological containment against grand natural architecture. Jonathan Alberts edited the feature, with an original score by Paul Haslinger. The supporting cast includes Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Camille Sullivan, and David Furr.

A Long Winter is produced by Haigh and longtime collaborator Tristan Goligher alongside Chad Oakes, Mike Frislev, and Michael Elliott. Farhana Bhula and Efe Cakarel serve as executive producers on the joint production from Mubi, Film4, Nomadic Pictures, and The Bureau. Mubi is handling global distribution.