Review by Ben Nicholson January 31st, 2024

“Daphne was a torso ending in leaves has its origins in a Greek tale most famously retold in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Taking the classical source material as inspiration, Catriona Gallagher has created an almost wordless essay film that acts as an ode to Daphne both in her original form as a nymph and her subsequent life as the laurel tree. Shot on grainy 16mm that was developed in a solution containing bay leaves, Gallagher’s film takes a particularly embodied story and crafts a haptic cinematic experience that communes with it…”