The screenings that were held last Autumn went well & based on the feedback created from those screenings we've sculpted On The Push into a final 50min edit. Now the real work begins! A copy of the film will go to the distributor for broadcast distribution & in the mean time we will be taking the film to the public through screenings & workshops throughout the summer. I'll put more information & dates up as they come in.
If you would like to know more or put on a screening of your own please get in touch.
Cheers, Anne
Monday, 8 June 2009
Friday, 30 May 2008
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
In South Wales Evening Post today
DUO FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
09:00 - 11 July 2007
Local movie-makers are monitoring Gower's shifting sands to gauge the effects of climate change on the region
We've all seen the pictures on the TV news - hurricanes, flooding, superstorms and typhoons.
Most of this wild weather seems to happen thousands of miles away from Swansea, in the Caribbean or in the middle of the Atlantic.
So, we may ask, what has it got to do with us? What can we do about hurricanes in Florida or melting ice caps?
Click here to view a video extract on the effects of climate change on Gower.
These are dramatic examples, but the effects of climate change are starting to hit a lot closer to home.
We've all seen the terrible scenes of devastation that the recent floods have caused in the Midlands and North of England.
But what if climate change started affecting our beautiful Gower beaches? Is it happening already?
This is exactly what two award-winning Swansea film-makers want to find out.
Anne Gallagher and Helen Iles have just started work on a new eco-film about the effect of global warming on Gower beaches.
The project came about when Helen, who works for independent film-making company Undercurrents, took a walk on Caswell Beach, near where she lives.
"I noticed the sand was depleted and it looked like it was almost down to the bedrock," said Helen. "I spoke to the chap who runs the cafe at Caswell Beach. He is a surfer and he told me about destructive and constructive waves."
Destructive waves are large waves which take sand away from the beach while constructive waves are smaller and bring sand back onto the beach.
Helen wondered whether global warming was responsible for more larger or deconstructive waves depleting the sand on her local beach.
"I thought this was really interesting and it was through this that the film idea came about," she said.
Helen decided to look around for someone to help her make the film - and she needed somebody who could surf.
She got together with keen surfer Anne Gallagher, another award-winning film-maker, who had already been making her own observations about surfing conditions on Gower beaches.
"My observations in Gower over last winter were that the waves were bigger and more consistent, and the sea temperatures warmer," said Anne.
"There's a lot of anecdotal evidence from ordinary people noticing changes in weather patterns. We'd like to draw attention to what's happening in Gower."
Helen said she and Anne would be filming at Gower beaches for a year.
Every month Anne and Helen's findings will be put onto the web as an internet blog. The whole thing eventually will be put together in a hour-and-a-half long film.
"The film charts the journey of a surfer - it is an anecdotal piece, which Anne will be presenting," said Helen.
Each monthly film will be four-and-a- half minutes long.
"In this we'll be talking about what has happened in the past month on the beach," said Helen.
But the film won't only be about the beaches, Helen and Anne will be talking to environmental experts on Gower and further afield in Cornwall.
They will also be talking to organisations such as Surfers against Sewage and visiting the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Anne and Helen's film will be called Tonnau - the Welsh word for waves.
"It is a really powerful title," said Helen, "and tonnau is a really great word. It's almost got a wave in it when you say it.
"It is also appropriate because the whole film is about waves - constructive and deconstructive."
Helen said that viewing the effects of climate change through the eyes of a surfer was an ideal medium for the film.
"Surfers are in tune with the climate. As a group, they are very aware and very conscious of the environment."
Helen said now was an ideal time to make an eco-film because people were becoming more aware of threats to the environment, albeit slowly in some cases.
"People are still at the stage where they need convincing that climate change is a reality. There is anecdotal evidence coming from all corners of the world to convince us."
Undercurrents has been making films on ethical subjects for the past 15 years and has been based in Swansea's Environment Centre since 2000.
Anne hopes Tonnau will make people think about climate change in Swansea.
"This film will show the impact of climate change on Swansea," she said.
Helen and Anne are now looking for ethical businesses that may be interested in sponsoring the film.
"We are willing to do a bit of product placement," said Helen. "We are not usually up for sale but this film gives us a lot more scope to accept sponsorship."For further information contact Helen on 01792 455900 or email: helen@undercurrents.org
Monday, 2 July 2007
Starting our surf movie
June has been a manic month. Helen and I have both agreed we want to do this project together and have committed the next year to the filming of this documentary.
The Swansea Bay Film Festival ran on the first week of June and included a screening of my last documentary. The film was well received and at the award ceremony on the 8th it won a 'Tinny' for best film in the Environment and Ecology category. It was a lovely night and nice for the last 2 years of hard work to be recognised. But now that's done and dusted its time to
concentrate on this new film.
The end of May/beginning of June saw South Wales having nearly 2 weeks of consistent surf and lovely weather a rare combination in the summer. The rest of the month hasn't lived up to the earlier promise and has been pretty much flat or so windy that what little swell was there has been blown out.
The flat spell has been accompanied by torrential rain. From what I've seen on the news we¹ve got off lightly on Gower with little in the way of flooding but that doesn¹t mean there¹s been no side affects to the heavy rain. For water users and surfers it was probably a good thing that there was no surf when the rain started. With the ground already baked hard from weeks of sunshine and no rain the first torrential rainfall would have had difficulty infiltrating the soil and would have just run off quickly instead into rivers, storm drains and the sea. The problem with this is the flash floods that were seen in the north of England and pollution. The pollution comes from 2 sources:
Direct run off from the land, for example, after a big tide or heavy rainfall sheep poo can be found in the line-up around Gower from the sheep that graze the coastline. Other pollutants aren¹t so visible such as pesticides and fertiliser.
Rain in built up areas can¹t infiltrate the soil anyway so the water runs into drains and in most towns and cities these storm drains are linked to the sewage system with overflow outlets going straight into the sea. So during periods of heavy and extended rainfall the sewage system carnt cope and sewage is mixed with rain runoff in the overflow pipes.
With perditions for climate change in this country including longer dry spells followed by more volatile storms and heavier rainfall this occasional problem might become a permanent one with major effects on marine life and the health of surfers.
This is one of the key concerns of Surfers Against Sewage a group that have
successfully battled for cleaner waters around Britain for the last 3 decades. They have also released a report this week on how climate change is and will possibly affect surfers and the coastal environment. It makes for interesting reading and is clearly set out for the average surfer or to understand.
Another point they mention in their report is the changing path of storm over the British Isles normally low pressure systems which come in off the Atlantic arrive in the south West first which is why Wales is known for it's rain and why Cornwall, Devon, Pembrokeshire and Gower are know for their surf. Their report predicts that the new path that the new path that storms would take would be further north so the first landfall the storms hit would be northern Ireland, West Scotland and the North of England the place hardest hit by this months storms. The change in the track of the recent storms also accounts for the lack of surf in the last couple of weeks. I'm finding this all a bit scary that predictions are coming true in the same year that they are being published isn¹t this something that isn't supposed to happen for years yet?
Next week Helen and I are off to Cornwall to meet up with the SAS guys and find out what they have to say. I'm also hoping to make the most of now and score some waves after a barren 2 eks.
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