Documentaries
My passion lies in non-fiction storytelling through film, whether threading together the lives of a community, capturing an epic journey, or crafting and distilling the nature of an individual’s outlook on life. I aspire to reflect the lives of people and places as sensitively and authentically as possible. I invite you to scroll down to take a look at some of the films I’ve made over the last few years and hope that you enjoy the stories here.
Moving With (2022)
My latest collaboration, Moving With, is a short film to capture a precious moment in time between mother and son and their local landscape. A celebration of simple things: being together, moving together, listening and watching all we have on our doorstep. It aims to document dance artist Lucy Nicholson and her son, Benji’s, regular journeys out and about in their local village of Staveley, Lake District, Cumbria.
Moving With acts as an alternative perspective on how we can be with our children in our natural spaces, on what outdoor activity can look like and how the appreciation of our natural world can be nurtured.
You can read an interview with myself and Lucy about the making of the film here.
In autumn 2022, the film screened in schools and community centres around north-west England accompanied by workshops and has since appeared at the following festivals:
Kendal Mountain Festival 2022, UK
Osprey Short Film Awards at Keswick Film Festival 2023, UK (JUDGES’ CHOICE WINNER)
LA1 Shorts 2023, Lancaster UK
Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema 2023, Colorado USA
LA1 Docs Health Film Festival, Health Innovation Campus, Lancaster UK
It is currently available to watch online via subscription on the Kendal Mountain Player.
A Conversation with Em Strang (2022)
A filmed conversation with the poet, Em Strang, in which she reflects on her creative practice.
For more on her approach to life and poetry, I encourage you check out her website!
Eat the Archives (2021)
For over two years, theatre chef Leo Burtin has taken up residence in Manchester Jewish Museum’s archives, seeking to find ways to animate their collection through making and sharing food. Using diverse examples of Jewish food as a starting point, he has been investigating cultural food connections related to the Museum themes of Journeys, Identities, and Communities.
In collaboration with the Museum team, Leo has explored food as cultural identity, food as art, and food as a means of bringing people together. Working with diverse participants, they have hosted community feasts, held workshops on and offline, produced films, and shared stories in a myriad of ways.
This feature-length film documents 'Eat the Archives', a series of unique dinner parties hosted in people's homes animating the remarkable stories of Jewish Mancunians through taste.
Adelphi (2020)
A short documentary exploring the possibilities of a new public space in Preston, UK.
Commissioned by In Certain Places, University of Central Lancashire on behalf of Capital Projects.
You can watch some conversation about the making of Adelphi and the issues around the use of public spaces at this link to the online launch of the film, hosted by Blog Preston. The virtual event features a Q&A with myself and Charles Quick, who is Professor of Public Art Practice at UCLan and co-curator of In Certain Places.
Good Appetite (2020)
Good Appetite is a series of three short documentaries, created in collaboration with Making Room chef and artist, Leo Burtin. The series explores the stories of three individuals and their personal connections with food. The films were premiered in the Manchester Art Gallery café in March 2020, as part of the Manchester Jewish Museum’s Festival of Belonging.
You can read more about the project on Leo’s website here.
give me today, anytime (2018)
Oral history meets Creature Comforts in a warm celebration of domestic life in the northern towns of Lancaster, Preston and Barrow. In collaboration with Tom Diffenthal, his short creative documentary presents a collage of vignettes within contemporary households, held in conversation with voices from the past. From ‘curtain-twitchers’ to aficionados of ‘cheapy-Nandos’, a cross-section of Lancashire and Cumbrian urban society reveal their daily rituals with warmth and humour.
The film was commissioned by Mirador Arts and won the Inspiration Award at the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Research in Film Awards in 2018, which you can read about here.
The Thousand Mile Dress (2017)
Costume maker Katie Duxbury walks 1000 miles in a Victorian-style dress across the landscapes of the UK, exploring how weather, wear, time and people impact upon the journey with her unusual clothing.
Public screenings hosted at:
Dukes Cinema, Lancaster, UK (2018)
Wasatch Mountain Film Festival, Utah, USA (2018)
Halton Mill, Lancashire, UK (2018)
Staveley Unwrapped Film Festival, Cumbria, UK (2019)
You can watch the trailer here.
I’ve written a piece for the Dark Mountain Project on the process of making the film, which you can read here.
For more on the dress and Katie’s other work: www.duxburydesigns.co.uk
For more on the project: facebook.com/thousandmiledress
“A striking documentary about an abandoned Icelandic road. Óshlíð is easily my film of the year.” - Nancy Campbell, Writer
Óshlíð: River Mouth \\ Slope (2017)
This collaborative project with writer and filmmaker, Sarah Thomas, explores the stories of Óshlíð, an abandoned coastal road which is considered to be one of the most dangerous in Iceland. Following the construction of a mountain tunnel in 2010, the road was closed and is now in the process of rapidly being reclaimed by both the mountain and the sea. The film explores some of the stories and relationships with the people who maintained, traveled and died upon Óshlið through voices reflecting upon a post-human landscape and the nature of mortality.
Screenings:
Maailmafilm - Tartu World Film Festival, Estonia (2019)
The Factory - Djúpavík, Iceland (2019)
Edinborgahús - Ísafjörður, Iceland (2018)
Óshlíð tunnel - Ísafjörður, Iceland (2018)
Trailer opposite.
You can read more about the film on its website: www.rivermouthslope.net.
The Climate Cultures website also features a blog in which Sarah and I discuss the making of the film.
Young Voices of Staveley (2017)
A short film commissioned by the Sustainability and Energy Network for Staveley and funded by South Lakeland District Council. The film presents the perspectives of young people on rural communities and explores the nature of their roles in contributing to the future of the Cumbrian village of Staveley.
Hideyuki Sobue: Portrait of an Artist (2016)
A short documentary portrait of the Lake District-based Japanese artist, Hideyuki Sobue, in which he talks about his unique approach towards painting.