Matt Sharman’s short film ‘Land’ was shared for the first time in Glenridding Village Hall in July, at the opening of the Watershed exhibition. The audience was made up of people who had taken part in the project through interviews and conversations, and their families. During the exhibition, the film was shown on a monitor, with a fairly constant stream of viewers. Matt created the film in response to five interviews, and his own impressions of the valley which for Matt is home: members of his family have lived here for generations. Here, Matt reflects on the process:
“Many things start with a good conversation. In this case a series of conversations, some recorded, some not. Five people, on different days, sat chatting in the woods and fields surrounding Ullswater, kindly providing insight and perspectives. The conversations were ranging and varied, covered lots of ground and, I hope, will continue. The amount of information though presents a problem: to include everything, to provide the space for all the valid, thoughtful and multi-faceted elements would mean a 5-hour film, at least. The mindset during editing has to be one of distillation, a sifting through of the ideas and leaning into the challenge of choosing what to retain, and what to lose. It’s a difficult debate, and rarely provides clear answers. You’re often left with a creeping sense you’re oversimplifying – worried that to distil is to dumb down.
However, in the end this is a beginning – a way in, or an invitation, to consider the prompts, suggestions and feelings that made the cut and take them as places to start, doorways to look through, positions to consider, thoughts to ponder. It is, as with everything, an ongoing process.
The Ullswater watershed is a complex system. It defies simple explanation, and insists on holistic, respectful and nuanced thinking. Without a willingness to embrace this complexity, to acknowledge the various pressures, demands, motivations and realities across all communities, human and non-human, you’ll always only ever have a partial picture. This ecosystem, if we’re committed to its evolving health, asks something of you: What is our place in this place? How might we connect in order to thrive?”
In the course of his research, Matt spent time with five different people, each of whom appears on the film. Between them they bring experience in farming, artistic heritage, land management and tourism, with some living in the valley, and some just outside. In his introduction to the film at the opening event, he explained that he did not want to indicated the individual’s connection to any specific organisation; rather he wanted their perspectives to be shared irrespective of their job titles. Matt also shared his thoughts about how it could have been possible to spend a year on the film. This shorter film is a beginning, but something else may grow from it …
For more about Matt’s process, read his blog here.
For more about Matt, check his artist profile here.
Find out more about the Watershed project here.
