WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE - FAMILY EVENT TO PRODUCE SHORT FILM ABOUT WORKING LIVES OF SOUTH MOLTON PEOPLE

South Molton residents will have a chance to share their stories of working life at a creative multi generational local history workshop on Saturday 20 September 2014. The When I Was Your Age: South Molton event is a chance for local people of different generations to come together and share their memories and aspirations. Guided by community artist Jo Bushell, the group will be collaborating on a work of art using silhouette and shadow. The workshop is suitable for all ages from seven up and no artistic experience or skills are necessary. Participants are welcome to bring along their photographs and artefacts to share with the group. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI, says "We recently ran a similar event in Braunton and it was a great success! It was wonderful to see the different generations interacting and learning from each other. Using the creative element of the workshop enables the participants to get to know each other in a relaxed setting and to work collaboratively on a piece of art. We have chosen the topic of work for this event because the South Molton area has a strong rural identity and we are expecting to hear some interesting tales about the wool trade and farming and maybe some surprises too! Involving the younger people is a fascinating way of capturing the differences between work and aspirations today and in the past and makes for a more unusual and entertaining oral history film." 

The workshop is free but places are strictly limited so booking is essential. Contact Amanda McCormack at NDMI on 01271 860610 or email northdevonmovingimage@outlook.com to book places or to find out more. The event takes place at The Amory Centre in South Molton from 10.30 am until 2.30 pm on Saturday 20 September 2014. There is no charge and a light lunch will be provided. To see the short film of the Braunton project visit the NDMI website www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk. 

SHORT SHORTS FILM COMPETITION. WE WANT YOUR ONE MINUTE FILMS ABOUT NORTH DEVON PEOPLE

The Summer may be slipping away from us but you still have six weeks left to enter the North Devon Moving Image Short Shorts one minute film competition. Community Film Making Organisation North Devon Moving Image (NDMI) are looking for your sixty second videos about interesting characters in North Devon. There are some great prizes to be won including an HD video camera, a night out at The George Hotel in South Molton and a family ticket to Bideford Cinema. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI, says "We want the people of North Devon to capture the characters and stories of North Devon in moving image. They could be a friendly neighbour, a great sports person, a chatty shopkeeper or Grandad with his stories of old North Devon. The best films will be shown at a screening and prize presentation later in the year and will be shared and preserved in our online archive." Joe Bulmer from Appledore entered his short film A Day with an Auctioneer made at South Molton Livestock Market;"I chose South Molton’s livestock market because it’s one of the town’s major features yet very few people understand what goes on there. I learnt a lot in the brief time I worked there and was struck by the spirit and banter of the place. I’d been yearning to do make a film for some time and couldn’t decide on a subject. I guess the experience has taught me to film more and think less, if that makes sense." 

No previous experience or hi tech equipment is needed and the competition is open to all ages. Closing date is 1 October 2014 and entry can be made online via We Transfer or by post to NDMI, 2 Cullamartin, Instow, Bideford, EX39 4LU.  

To get some inspiration you can watch Joe's film and see more Short Shorts of North Devon people on the NDMI website: http://www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk/we-love-short-shorts.html 

Full terms and conditions for the Short Shorts competition are available on the North Devon Moving Image website or by contacting NDMI on 01271 860610 or writing to NDMI, 2 Cullamartin, Instow, Bideford, EX39 4LU.
North Devon Moving Image CIC is a community film making organisation creating, collecting and sharing short documentary films about contemporary life in North Devon.Amanda McCormack northdevonmovingimage@outlook.com 01271 860610 www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk

Charismatic Salmon Netters Caught on Film

Salmon Netting on the Taw and Torridge is the second short film to be released in the North Devon Boat Stories series. Once upon a time catching salmon was a way of life for almost everyone living by the Taw or Torridge rivers in North Devon. The salmon population declined in the rivers over the years and the number of netting licences were restricted. As numbers of salmon in the rivers dwindled further, in 2002, the rods men offered to buy out the remaining nets men. Three boat owners refused the offer and these are the only licensed netters remaining on the estuary today. This short film is an insight into a disappearing traditional way of life and introduces us to 84 year old Stephen Taylor and his wife Sheila as they cast their seine net for salmon on the River Taw. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of North Devon Moving Image, hosts of the Boat Stories project, says "This film is a real gem. It oozes charm both from the charismatic couple and the tranquil scenes on the estuary. It's so important to capture lives like this on film, traditional skills which may well disappear in the future - even in our own lifetimes." Film producer Jo Stewart-Smith has dug up so much gold when it comes to stories for her films that (rather than file them away) she is sharing them via the Boat Stories website with blogs on the film making, snippets of stories from her subjects and out take video clips. Jo says "Simon Vacher (the cameraman) and I were inspired by filming this lovely couple working hard together outdoors and having a good laugh. We were also lucky to be in a fantastic location – the Taw & Torridge estuary – with beautiful mellow, evening light." "I’m not sure I can row a boat against the tide or haul in a heavy salmon net now – let alone at 84! They were so natural when we filmed them – they just got on with the job and let us follow them around." You can watch the film online at the Boat Stories website www.boatstories.co.uk and it will soon be available for viewing on DVD at Braunton Museum. In September there will be a public screening as part of the Salar the Salmon exhibition at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon where you will also have a chance to meet Steven and Sheila Taylor and hear their stories in person.

Salmon Netting with Sheila and Simon Taylor with Film producer Jo Stewart-Smith and cameraman Simon Vacher. Photos copyright Boat Stories (All rights reserved)

Thanks to the positive response to the first two Boat Stories films NDMI has received further funding from Northern Devon FLAG to produce four more films in the Boat Stories series, bringing the total up to ten films. Production will be complete by the end of Summer 2015 and the films will be available free to watch online and at libraries and information centres in North Devon.