After writing award-winning features for years, Rebecca Lenkiewicz turns her hand to directing. The Ida (2013) and She Said (2022) writer adapts the 2016 novel Hot Milk, which sees Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) travel to Spain in an attempt to heal Rose of her mysterious illness.

Just before Hot Milk screened at the BFI Flare Festival, FILMHOUNDS spoke with Lenkiewicz on the red carpet to find out why she made this adaptation her directorial debut. She told us “Because it was very female. It was four incredible women and I could just sort of see it in my head, I could feel it, taste it. I felt like this was inviting me. I felt I could help it and navigate it as a film. And I didn't want anyone else to direct it, so that was the main thing!”

Lenkiewicz is no stranger to producing challenging stories, and Hot Milk is no exception. The book's ambiguity is present here, and it's something she particularly enjoyed exploring. “I don't like a closed book. I like an open ending. I like questions more than answers in a way. I think we make things because we're inquisitive, and I think if anyone wants to see this film and sort of box into a certain type of film or give it a label, I don't think that'll really work because it's quite a strange creature.”

You can watch the full red carpet interview with Lenkiewicz below, where she also discusses the film's incredible cast and the most important aspect of adapting the book.