the journey begins

As with many creative projects, the seeds of this film have been slowly growing for some time. I first heard Neil read his poem ‘In Relig Odhrain’ years ago, well before it was published in Trigger Warning, and long afterwards I would still find its words and rhythm popping into my head, refusing to be left alone. The poem’s dark imagery and the metaphysical mystery at its heart had struck a chord. So when it came time to work out what my next film was going to be I got in touch with Neil and we chatted about the possibility of creating a short stopmotion animation to accompany the poem. We were both excited by the idea, and Neil very generously gave the go ahead to make it a reality.

With inspiration sparking away, I began pulling a team together and made a start on the logistics of the shoot. But the key was always going to be finding the right artist to collaborate with – not something that can be rushed. It wasn’t until I found the wonderfully talented Ellen Barkin Söderholm, an artist whose watercolor landscapes and deft linework was a perfect fit for the mood of the poem, that the project really started to move forward. With Ellen on board, it was full steam ahead!

So, now we have an exciting team of art-comrades from all around the world, all keen to join in on the adventure. The next step is to pull together our kickstarter campaign so we can cover our costs, and get stuck into preproduction. Time to set sail!