Black Samphire – an environmental horror about water pollution – premiered at the buzzing Ritzy cinema in Brixton just before World Water Day – but its subject was far from the urban sprawl of south London.
Filmed in West Sussex, the modern-day monster the short film portrays is water pollution and its suffocating effect on Britain’s rivers.
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
The filmmakers behind the project – Silicon Gothic co-founders Cathy Wippell and Joseph Archer – say it’s a message they felt compelled to shout about.
“Our world faces so many huge, complex, intangible problems out there, and what Silicon Gothic does is we take those problems and ‘monstify’ them, so we make them physical and understandable.”
As rivers around the country are polluted by sewage, caused in part by a changing climate and extreme weather patterns, it offers a timely message.
A keen open-water swimmer, Wippell – who is both the co-star and author of the film – was inspired to write it after stretches of water she was once able to swim in in her home county were closed off due to rising water toxicity levels.
Wippell tells Sky News: “It’s not something that’s really obvious when you look at a river and you don’t really see what’s sort of lurking under the surface. So, to make something like that tangible and like a threat was really important with the story.”
More on Stephen Fry
Related Topics:
And the production’s eco-credentials ran deeper than just its storyline, with two beach cleans during pre-production to help raise funds and a strict sustainability policy practiced throughout the shoot.
The production company has pledged to carry out at least one climate positive action per film, not only trying to complete a swifter shoot and produce less waste, but proactively trying to fix damage already caused.
Advertisement
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
All cast and crew were asked to sign a green rider ahead of the shoot, detailing the sustainability measures in place on set and basic conduct measures, including bringing a refillable water container to set and agreeing to separate rubbish.
Pass it on, don’t burn it
All meals available on set were vegetarian or vegan, and in place of plastic-wrapped crisps or cereal bars, over 160 flapjacks were homebaked for the shoot.
In the spirit of a “circular production”, assets from bigger TV and film productions were re-used for the shoot, and after wrapping, items were passed on or donated onwards.
Archer admits items from fast turnaround movies and shows are sometimes burned rather than passed on – a crying shame amid a cost of living crisis and pressing concerns around overconsumption of the world’s resources.
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
Even the month of the shoot – October – was chosen to ensure that no birds were nesting in the marshes, with priority given to the natural cycle of the marshland, not to the film production.
‘Forget trailer sizes – it doesn’t matter’
Fittingly for a film commenting on the damaging effects of over-consumption of resources, battery-powered generators, rather than traditional gas ones were used as well as LED lights over fluorescent lights in an attempt to be more efficient.
Australian actor Ishtar Currie-Wilson, who stars in the film alongside Wippell, tells Sky News it was a joyful production to work on.
She explains: “The green rider was really refreshing to me, I think because it’s really small, simple, actionable changes. And I think from an individual and like an actor’s perspective, it’s something that we can bring on to all other sets moving forward.”
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
The First Omen star goes on: “I know on big productions, there are conversations about trailer sizes and things that really don’t matter. But you can make little changes and it feels quite good as an actress to be able to have control over the variables.”
National treasure Stephen Fry
Comparing it to other jobs, Currie-Wilson says: “After being on this project, I went and did reshoots for a bigger project and was completely aware of my, just single use plastics. So, I made sure that I had a keep cup and my water bottle, and I kind of looked into the past of how much waste I personally would use on a set without thinking about it.”
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Another element in the film is actor and comedian Stephen Fry, who voices an unseen character – a less than supportive media boss.
Describing him as an “absolute delight”, Wippell says his involvement “made a massive difference”, with the recognition and gravitas of his voice “really adding something to the film”.
A micro-budget film with big ambitions, the part-crowdfunded project hopes it will set an example to larger studios.
Setting an example to other studios
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
Wippell explains: “It’s so important to do these things at a smaller indie level because it holds the bigger companies accountable as well for their own sustainability measures on their sets. If we can do it with this amount of money, [they] can do it with millions of pounds.”
Away from its eco-credentials, the 13-minute production uses its short screen time to lay bare the plight of our precious river habitats.
The equivalent of more than 1,270 years of raw sewage has been dumped into Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas since 2016, according to Environment Agency data.
But despite hitting the headlines, both water companies and regulators seem slow to take action.
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
Campaigning group River Action UK, which partnered with the production, hope those in charge will now sit up and take notice.
‘Delving down into the murky depths’
James Wallace, chief executive of River Action UK, who came on board during production to executive produce the film, says that while they’d previously used animation and short documentary films in their work, this was the campaigning group’s first venture into the world of horror.
He told Sky News: “I couldn’t resist [the film]. It delves down deep into the murky depths of what’s going on in our rivers when it comes to sewage pollution, agricultural pollution, other nasties that lurk in our water.”
He goes on: “It’s going to tell a very powerful story, one that’s going to be really hard to ignore if you’re a politician, if you’re a polluter, or if you’re a member of the public. Hopefully this will really get into the heart of what’s going on in this world.”
Image: Pic: Silicon Gothic
But decades of underinvestment in the sewage and water systems, mean it’s an issue no one seems quite ready to deal with head on.
With the clock ticking as dirty water is pumped into seas and rivers, this green tale about dark forces, strives to highlight the potential horror story flowing through our waterways, and the consequences of ignoring the signs.
Watch the full interview on The Climate Show with Tom Heap, Saturday and Sunday at 3.30 and 7.30pm on Sky News.
Black Samphire is now being developed into a full-length feature film. For more info on the project’s progress visit @blacksamphire on Instagram.
Salt Path author Raynor Winn has said claims she lied about her story are “highly misleading” and called suggestions her husband made up his illness “utterly vile”.
A report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the hit book, billed as an “inspiring and life-affirming true story” about a couple’s coastal trek.
Winn released a lengthy statement denying the paper’s claims and shared medical letters apparently sent to her husband, Moth, that appear to support a diagnosis for a rare neurological condition, Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).
One letter mentions his prior “CBS [Corticobasal Syndrome] diagnosis”, while another concludes he has “an atypical form” of CBD.
The author said accusations he lied about having CBD/CBS are false and have “emotionally devastated” him.
Image: Raynor and husband Moth (centre) with actors Jason Isaacs (L) and Gillian Anderson (R). Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty, that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website.
The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of his story, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”.
PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, ended their relationship with the family following The Observer’s claims.
Winn said she had never suggested walking was “some sort of miracle cure” and that there can be “symptoms for many years before they finally reach a diagnosis”.
“Even then, many sufferers’ symptoms present in an atypical way,” she wrote.
“They might not present with the same symptoms, occurring in the same order, or with the same severity.”
Image: The memoir was turned into a film, released. Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
Winn also posted the letters on Instagram and said they are grateful Moth’s condition is slow-progressing.
She clarified it is now commonly referred to by specialists as CBS, “which describes the symptoms observed during life”.
The bestselling book was also recently released as a film, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson, charting the couple’s 630-mile trek along the Cornish, Devon, and Dorset coast – a journey sparked by the devastation of losing their house.
The Observer claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true, rather they lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer, Martin Hemming, and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action.
Winn’s statement said the dispute with Mr Hemmings wasn’t the reason they lost their home – but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.
“For me it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.”
She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged.
Winn added: “I reached a settlement with Martin Hemmings because I did not have the evidence required to support what happened. The terms of the settlement were willingly agreed by both parties.”
The author reiterated the book’s version of events: that the loss of their home in Wales stemmed from an investment in a friend’s property portfolio that went sour.
Her statement goes into legal detail about how it transpired and admits – as The Observer suggested – that the couple at one point tried to raffle the house.
However, the author said they “quickly realised it was a mistake as it clearly wasn’t going to work. We cancelled it and refunded the few participants.”
The 63-year-old also denied having any outstanding debts and said it was “blatantly untrue” the couple were hiding behind pseudonyms after The Observer quoted people who said they knew them by the surname Walker.
“Winn is my maiden name and like most women who have married I’ve used both my maiden name, Winn, and married name, Walker,” said the statement.
She also explained she preferred the first name Raynor, rather than her birth name Sally Ann, so took that as her pen name; while Moth is an abbreviation of her husband’s name, Timothy.
“The legal names we use on our bank records, our utility bills etc. Our friends and neighbours use Sal and Tim interchangeably with Ray and Moth – there is nothing hiding in our names,” she said.
Sky News has contacted The Observer for a response to Winn’s statement.
Raynor Winn had been scheduled to make numerous appearances over the summer, performing with Saltlines, her collaboration with Gigspanner Big Band.
However, the band has since announced on social media that she will no longer be taking part in the tour.
She was also scheduled to take part in various Q&As, conversations, writing courses and festivals.
Actor Michael Madsen, who starred in Reservoir Dogs and Thelma & Louise, died from heart failure, his cardiologist has said.
The 67-year-old was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, last Thursday and pronounced dead.
His doctor said heart disease and alcoholism will be listed as factors which contributed to the star’s death, reported NBC Los Angeles.
With no suspicious circumstances and the death listed as being from natural causes, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department considers the case closed.
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Madsen’s film credits include Free Willy, Donnie Brasco and Sin City.
He was also known for his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
The Chicago-born actor also linked up with Tarantino when he played Mr Blonde in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs.
More from Ents & Arts
Image: Madsen played numerous roles, including Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
His sister, Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, paid tribute to her brother in a statement to Variety.
She wrote: “My brother Michael has left the stage.
“He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother – etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
Madsen was preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts And Poems.
A statement by managers Susan Ferris and Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez, said the book by “one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors” was currently being edited.
Horse-drawn carriages, picturesque gardens and endless cups of tea are just some of the stereotypical tropes that have shaped America’s romanticised image of England before even stepping foot on the island.
Thanks to classical literature and a steady stream of period dramas, Lena Dunham was no exception.
“I had so many fantasies,” she tells Sky News about growing up slightly obsessed with British culture.
“I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Bronte, I love British film, I was one of those little Anglophile kids.”
The writer and director believed it would be that area of classically depicted England that would fill her time when she first moved to “jolly old London” as a teenager with her mother for a brief time.
Instead, her attention was taken by another, and possibly equally influential group of artists.
“There was a pop show about S Club 7 and all I did was just sit in the hotel and obsessively watch things relating to [the group],” she said.
“So, I didn’t go home with all this cultural British knowledge. I went home with a deep abiding love of S Club 7 and came back to school when everyone was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
“For me, I was literally like, ‘Guys, you got to hear this hot track right off the presses, it’s called Reach For The Stars’.”
Image: Pic: Netflix
It wasn’t until her 30s, when the actress moved again to the city, that reality took hold and she quickly learned the difference between the imagined London and the real city.
Some stereotypes hold true, like the universal love for Paddington. Still, TV tropes like renting a flat on a single income in the city does not necessarily mean you’ll be treated to lavish rooms and a picturesque garden.
She says it was social cues she found most challenging to adjust to, as well as the different dictionaries used when speaking, technically, the same language.
“You come to a new country and even though you speak the same language, you’re totally absent from those tools,” she says.
“And I found that really striking as an adult in my 30s, trying to make friends, trying to date. I found it confusing enough to be a person in my own city of origin, so this was extra confounding.”
Too Much, her new Netflixseries, is loosely inspired by her own London chapter and follows a workaholic New Yorker in her 30s who is sent across the Atlantic to work on a new project.
The 10-episode show is produced by Working Title – the company behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, About A Boy and Love Actually – and stars Hacks breakout actress Megan Stalter and The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe.
Image: Pic: Netflix
Dunham says she always wanted to write about her time in the UK, but it was a conversation with Irish actor Andrew Scott that got the ball rolling.
“Actually, he’s the reason that I came to know Meg as an actor because he loved her on Hacks and he loved her videos, and he said: ‘Have you watched this woman’s work? I feel like there’s a real connection between you two’, and I started watching because of him and built a show around her.”
In a full circle moment, Scott appears in the series briefly as an arrogantly odd man who crosses paths with Megan Stalter’s character Jessica.
Image: Pic: Netflix
The Ridley actor isn’t the only famous face joining the cast in a cameo role. Dunham put a call out to most of Hollywood, and luckily lots were on board.
To name just a few, guest stars include Jessica Alba, Stephen Fry, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Harington, Rita Wilson, Rita Ora, Richard E Grant, Emily Ratajkowski, Andrew Scott, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Jennifer Saunders.
“It was one of those situations where you just reach for the stars, literally, and then you can’t believe when they appear,” says Dunham.
“It was just a non-stop parade of people that I was fascinated by, wanted to be around, completely enamoured of.”
Image: A whole host of high-profile cameos feature in Lena Dunham’s Too Much
She adds: “I remember asking Naomi Watson, thinking, there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to want to come play this slightly demented woman. And she’s so playful and she’s so joyful and she just wanted to come and engage.
“Also, Jennifer Saunders has meant so much to me for so long, I had the AbFab box set as a kid, and I just think Patsy and Edina are the ultimate kind of messy women.
“She really showed me what comedy could be and… the space that women could occupy in comedy, and so having her come and join the show was really incredible.
“That was an episode that someone else was directing, Alicia McDonald, an amazing director, so I just got to sit and watch at the monitor like I was watching a movie, and it was very surreal for me.”