Film

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Name: The Ballad of Wallis Island
Director: James Griffiths
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Released: 2025
Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carey Mulligan, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen

James Griffiths · UK · 2025

Comedy Drama Music 2020s

Charles, an eccentric and almost suspiciously enthusiastic lottery winner, lures washed-up folk musician Herb to a remote Welsh island for a private one-man concert. What Charles hasn't told him is that he's also flown out Herb's former musical partner and ex-girlfriend Nell, forcing the long-estranged duo back into each other's company. Built around the long-running double act of Tim Key and Tom Basden — who expand their 2007 short into a full feature — this small, gentle British comedy was one of the most quietly loved films of 2025.

About

James Griffiths' The Ballad of Wallis Island premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Focus Features for international distribution shortly after the festival. The film is co-written by and stars Tom Basden and Tim Key — both veterans of the British alternative-comedy circuit, with Basden having created the BBC series The Wrong Mans and Key being well known for his work on Stath Lets Flats and his deadpan poetry tours.

The screenplay is an expansion of Basden and Key's 2007 short film of the same name, which had won the BIFA for Best Short. Carey Mulligan plays the third lead — Mulligan and her real husband Marcus Mumford, of Mumford & Sons, also performed several of the film's original songs together; the soundtrack EP was released by Focus alongside the film. Cinematography is by Adam Suschitzky and the score is by composer Will Lyman.

The film was shot on the Welsh island of Anglesey across spring 2024, partly at Llanddwyn Island and on the Menai Strait. It is one of the highest Letterboxd-rated UK comedies released in 2025 and entered into BAFTA awards consideration for early 2026. Griffiths — best known for the comedy series Episodes and the Cuba Gooding Jr. comedy Cuban Fury — has called it the smallest and most personal feature he has directed.