'She Sells Shellfish' Interview with Director Lily Tiger Tonkin-Wells

She Sells Shellfish is a short film exploring the history of cockle gatherers in South Wales and the lives of two modern women working locally within aquaculture. Exploring the wonders of seaweed and shellfish, the documentary is a collage of archival film, contemporary super 8mm footage and some playful experimentations with analogue film. The film is threaded together with a dreamy, watery soundscape evoking the Welsh coastline.

—

The film explores themes of history, community and ecology, all while introducing a Welsh way of living. How did you weave climate themes?into the film and what would your advice be to other filmmakers?

I started the project while still at art school, so the film was originally going to be more of a moving image art piece rather than a typical climate doc. I see the film’s final form as a sort of crafted blend between the two. In the planning and editing, I knew I didn’t want to make the film didactic or an advertisement for sustainability. I think people are wise enough to understand a message without spelling it out in capitals.

I’m pretty new to this game and feel like I’m still just trying to soak up as much advice from others! She Sells Shellfish emerged from a period of reflecting on sociopolitical power imbalances as forces of a capitalist society which are catalysing the ecological and climate breakdown.

If I had to impart anything around weaving in climate-conscious narratives, maybe try leaning towards the weirder, wider, more sideways or subtle approach. I find it helpful (although sometimes existential) to think about how everything is connected to the climate; many environmental issues, be it land rights, food sovereignty or access to clean air are also tied in with gender, race and class. Nothing is ever in isolation.

Are intergenerational stories of women important to you as a filmmaker and why?

The intergenerational aspect of the film was more a result of thinking about women’s historical prominence within smaller-scale fisheries in an otherwise male-dominated industry. Some histories create a kind of romance which is quite hard to resist; the archive footage of the cockle women with long skirts pulled up to their ankles, barefoot and balancing baskets on their heads was too beautiful not to include within the film. But it was also the fact that the archives portrayed the lives of these strong, resilient women whose livelihoods seemed to defy other culturally gendered norms of the time.

What did you learn from the seaweed development experimentation process and what do you want to try next??How do you think filmmakers could bring more materiality to the medium of film?

The attempt at developing the film using a seaweed developer was probably the most stressful part of the project but luckily, I wasn't at it alone! Ed Thomas, a local photographer in Wales and friend had achieved stunning results using seaweed in his still images, so I contacted him to guide me through the process; it was a dive into the deep end for both of us attempting to use it on 50ft reels of super 8mm film. It taught me that everything is a variable in DIY developing; types of seaweed, temperatures, film stock, etc. I think we ruined maybe 3 reels of film in the testing process. The colour section within the film is watercolour painted onto the blank reels so it wasn’t completely wasted.

I was keen to explore the process to reduce the film's environmental impact. Working with film is material and chemical-intensive. I wanted the steps of making the film to reflect the film's internal philosophies. Plus the possibility for the Welsh sea being imbued directly into the materiality of the film was too poetic a concept not to try.

Holding long ribbons of tiny frames of images lined up on top of each other provides a better understanding of what digital video is. It's just generally a fun material to play with (painting, scratching, drawing) and the results can be really unexpected. I want to start working with other plants as well as seaweed.

—

It was amazing to collaborate with so many different people, to learn and be influenced by their respective practices. I'm immensely grateful for the hours poured into this work.

Starring Carol Watts in Swansea Market and Meg Haines at Car-Y-M?r

Editor - Tom Oliver

DOP - Si?n Marshall-Waters

Sound Design - Camilla Isola

Sound Mix- Organic Audio

Seaweed Film Development - Ed Thomas, Teahouse Photography

Opening Vocals - BlueBelle

—

She Sells Shellfish debuted at Aesthetica Short Film Festival this week after being officially selected. The film was commissioned by WOW Wales One World Film Festival and is part of an international partnership with Dhaka DocLab, funded by a 英国文化协会 international collaboration grant.

Tom Oliver is Associate Creative Director at DUNA Films and a freelance Film Editor of projects like this.

Lily Tiger Tonkin-Wells is a freelance Director and Artist based in London.

—

'Duna Spotlight' is a showcase of outstanding creative work within Duna's wider network that nudges the dial on social and environmental change.

Submit your project, hear more about us or say hello at [email protected].