One night, one family, one empty chair at the head of the table.
When the father of the family, Conrad, has to spend the night in hospital after a minor operation, the rest of the family gather to spend the evening together at home.
Acting
Tara Fitzgerald's layered performance as the matriarch masking everything.
Direction
Chipperfield's restraint lets silences scream louder than dialogue.
Director
Raphael Chipperfield
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title refers both to the mineral and the wounds—family gatherings seasoned with old hurts.
Part of a wave of post-2016 British shorts examining repressed middle-class dysfunction through the 'polite dinner' trope.
US
