Wild Summon film-makers on their ‘method directing’ approach to telling a salmon’s story
Film-makers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed took a “method directing” approach to their latest film – an eco-fantasy about the life cycle of a wild salmon.
Pitching Wild Summon to the British Film Institute, the husband-and-wife team took a bold approach: “We went into the office and just said, ‘We want to become fish’.”
Pic: Karni Arieli and Saul Freed. Pic: Sulkybunny
It paid off and they got the gig.
Moving to Iceland to learn how to dive in a bid to get the most authentic portrayal, it was a true family affair, with their eldest son, Yuli, taking on the role of drone cinematographer on the shoot.
The 14-minute animated short, which premiered at Cannes film festival and is executive produced by Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay, went on to be shortlisted for an Oscar, and is up for a BAFTA this weekend.
Hailed as a new form of a nature documentary, it combines animation with live-action underwater photography, anthropomorphising the salmon, and her babies.
Taking us on a journey through rivers and out to sea, our heroine is transposed into the body of an athletic female swimmer.
Freed says it was a new approach they felt compelled to try out: “We’re always looking for fantasy in our work… when you come to think about the life of the salmon as a human, all these situations come to light, which are just brilliant…
“We’ve seen a lot of beautiful natural history documentaries showing nature in its glory. We think we can build on top of that, show a new angle, let people connect to wildlife in a different way.”
Arieli adds: “It’s flipping the narrative on its head, because in the end, we empathise with things that are like us, that are in human form. And so, giving a salmon that you might not look too closely at a human female form, creates a sense of connection and empathy.”
She says getting the animation just right was critical: “Not too fish, not too women, not too live action, not too animation.”
Sadly for the salmon, our close association with them as a source of food doesn’t lead us to naturally connecting with their fight for survival.
Arieli explains: “The salmon is super sensitive, and they’re overlooked because people love to eat them.”
Depicting the negative human impact on their world – in addition to growing threats caused by climate change – was an important part of their message.
Pic: Sulkybunny
Arieli says: “Beyond the 50 predators that the salmon has on this journey from birth to death, man is one of its biggest problems – pollution and farming and overfishing.”
Nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish are at risk of extinction, according to a report published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature late last year.
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Additionally, it showed that wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% since 1970, and more than 41,000 species are under threat of extinction.
A moment in the short where the heroine finds herself confronted with a fish farm is according to Freed “probably one of the most powerful moments in the film” and one which they could give more weight to that moment, thanks to her human-recasting.
Pic: Sulkybunny
Pic: Sulkybunny
Arieli says: “Once you give a fish human form and you put them in a cage and it’s too crowded, you get these other metaphors, not only about how we look at nature but about how we look and treat each other as humans. And that’s another deep meaning within the layers of the film.”
With the self-scored music as the film’s emotional heartbeat, blending Middle Eastern influences with the Nordic landscape visuals, the narration was provided by singer and actress Marianne Faithfull.
Searching for an “iconic voice”, Arieli says she was the perfect casting as an “artist, a mother, a woman, a fighter and a survivor”.
Pic: Sulkybunny
Before plumping for Faithfull, they “went through a lot of different options” including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, English anthropologist Jane Goodall and Icelandic singer and composer Bjork.
So, what’s the message they hope audiences will take from the film?
Arieli explains: “We’re not trying to tell people what to do or to be preachy… We’re trying to tell people to just look closely at these things, and how we interact with these elements, whether it’s farming or fishing or what we’re eating, and to make small choices, because I think we have to.
“We’re a lot more interconnected than we’re led to believe in the Western world.”
She says the short had a real impact on their youngest son, Teo, who “stopped eating fish and any seafood after making this film with us”.
Pic: Sulkybunny
And while the climate crisis message can sometimes seem a little bleak, Freed says there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“The story’s hard… but although we do see her die in the end, the last shot of the film is the new generation, a new baby, so for us, it’s a happy end.”
With a potential eco-series in the pipeline, Freed and Arieli are philosophical about their BAFTA hopes this weekend, borrowing a metaphor from the fish star of their film: “It’s all about the journey.”
Wild Summon can be streamed for free on Bafta’s YouTube until 20 February.
Watch the full interview on The Climate Show with Tom Heap, Saturday and Sunday at 3.30 and 7.30pm on Sky News.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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