Cornish-Welsh folk horror short Pen Mari set for global digital debut – Bloody Flicks

A darkly comic folk horror about the desperate search for a horse’s skull to lead an ancient folk procession is set for a global digital release on WeTransfer’s WePresent and Short of the Week from Thursday 29th October, and Vimeo Staff Picks the next day. Based on a true story, Pen Mari (Mare’s Head) follows a man who is drawn into the black market for animal body parts as he tries to honour a Celtic folk tradition. The 13-minute film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and its UK premiere at Bristol’s Encounters Film Festival in 2025, before screening at London Short Film Festival 2026. It was made with the support of the BFI NETWORK, awarding National Lottery funding, and in collaboration with WePresent, the arts platform of WeTransfer. Directed by Welsh filmmaker Siôn Marshall-Waters, written by Cornish writer Callum Mitchell and produced by Denzil Monk, founder of Cornish ecosophical production house Bosena, Pen Mari merges the Welsh folk tradition of the Mari Lwyd with elements of Montol, Penzance’s midwinter celebration, home to its own `Obby `Oss (horse-skull figure) tradition, Penglaz. Starring Rhodri Evan, Jowan Jacobs and Robert Pugh, the film plays the banal against the surreal, setting a
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