A Sea Full of Selkies with Steve Gladwin and Co - Film-maker Sophia Carr-Gomm

 Sophia Carr-Gomm on her Selkie film - 'The Wider Sun'

 

I first met Sophie in the middle of a field in Oxfordshire in 1996. Twelve years later in that same field, she and I collaboratively directed a motley bunch of druids in three of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - a suitably raucous and rumbunctious production, we thought, and people seemed to agree with us. Whereas this turned out to be my last piece of directing, with Sophie it was just an early sign of the successes to come. I will leave Sophie to describe her career in film in her own words, but I'm happy to say it began with the short film she has become most known for. The Wider Sun is a deceptive tale about a young girl called Ruth and the boy called Oran she meets on holiday in a mythical Scottish landscape. But - it is fair to say - it is a story of hidden depths and it includes quite captivating performances from its two young actors, Maia Luz and Gregor Selkirk. I'm more than delighted that Sophie has agreed to contribute her own words to A Sea Full of Selkies.

Now let's allow Sophie to introduce herself and 'The Wider Sun'.

 

Hi, my name is Sophia Carr-Gomm and I'm a Director based in the UK. The first film which I wrote, directed and co-produced 'The Wider Sun' premiered at the BFI and has been screened at fourteen film festivals internationally throughout 2018 and 2019 (including at the BFI and BAFTA qualifying festivals). I was also awarded 'Best Director' at Oslo Independent Film Festival in 2018 and 'The Wider Sun' voted as 'Best Short Film' by Take One Magazine. I was then asked to direct 'Nobody’s Darling' (starring Ruby Richardson and Karla Crome) which screened at London Short Film Festival 2020, London Independent Film Festival 2020 and London Film Week 2019 where it was programmed before a preview of Cannes award-winning feature film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'. I then directed two music videos for singer songwriter Maz O’Connor which have featured on Folk Radio and Americana UK, both can be viewed on VEVO. I’ve also directed two episodes of a web series, a YouTube channel spoof by Valentina Valentino, the episodes I directed are entitled: 'How To Be A Feminist' and '#RelationshipGoals'. Most recently another short I directed, 'Mine' has screened at Raindance 2020, Austin Micro Shorts 2020 and picked up as a 'Shiny List' 2020 for The Shiny Network. My latest narrative short, 'Grace Must Speak', has just been released on Vimeo and was made in 12 hours as part of a NGP Management Monologue Competition. I have recently been invited to direct a film for the classical singing group the Fieri Consort and I am also working on a drama comedy short alongside writer Paksie Vernon entitled 'Fertile Ground', as well as writing a comedy thriller feature film 'Murder Me'.

Maia Luz and Gregor Selkirk - the young stars of 'The Wider Sun'

https://www.google.com/search?q=a+wider+sun&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjph9HzzsnxAhUX4oUKHSaUBRkQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=a+wider+sun&gs_lcp=C

 

I’m not sure how the inspiration came for ’the Wider Sun’, it feels like it was actually over decades it was percolating and then when the story came to me, I was ready for it to come through. After I made the film, I looked back at my notebooks from 6 years before, and I discovered doodles of seals, a little boy and lines of poetry about Selkies. I know that as a child, ’The Secret of Roan Inish’ was a film that moved me at a deep level. I lived in Glasgow for three years and fell in love with the Scottish landscape and I grew up with Druid parents - so magic and folklore was always around me in some way growing up. One thing was for sure, that it did feel in some way triggered or linked to the death of a dear friend of mine, Freya. She died from Cystic Fibrosis when we were just twenty-four. 

 

I found that the traditional Selkie tales often involved greed and power over the Selkie. So, for example, the man from the village sees the woman without her Selkie skin and he hides it, and she is forced or coerced into marrying him. I wanted to write a story where there was a purity and innocence, without such darkness. So, I thought about writing about an unusual friendship between a child Selkie and a human child.

 

https://www.celtic-weddingrings.com/celtic-mythology/the-seal-people

 

 

After I wrote the script, I showed it to some trusted friends, and they encouraged me to make it. So, I set up a crowd-funder and we got the money we needed and off we went! I auditioned many child actors for the lead roles and believe I found the perfect pair! 

 

We shot the film on the Isle of Skye, an opportunity to use a family friend’s house came up and after seeing photos and visiting, it was clear it was perfect. Although logistically, not the best idea! Skye is such a magical place. and honestly, I think the most beautiful place in the world. The weather is so changeable though, and that was always concerning, but to be honest, each morning I connected to the land and asked for good weather, and it was amazing, the moment we wrapped on shooting outside a drop of rain would start and then torrential. So, I’m very thankful it held off for when we needed it to! 

 

After making the film I realised that I had made a story for and about my child self - I would go silent when I wanted to punish my parents when I was upset with them, much like Ru does in the film, and I also experienced lots of people I loved dying, and I wished that I had a friend from the ‘other world’ to come and tell me it was all okay. The Selkie stories do have this over-arching metaphor of transition to another world - death, and without being fully conscious of it, that’s what I was exploring. That’s why I dedicated the film to three people who passed, too young - Freya (24), Henry (5) & Sam (still born). In many ways this film was for them, and for audiences watching, for their loved ones too. 

 

Maia Luz as Ruth in 'A Wider Sun'

 

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=a+wider+sun&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjph9HzzsnxAhUX4oUKHSaUBRkQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=a+wider+sun&gs_lcp=C
 

 

Making this film was the best experience of my life, and I focused my career in that direction from that point onwards. The film did really well and was screened at many film festivals internationally. I picked up Best Director at Oslo Independent Film Festival and our first screening was at the BFI Southbank to a packed-out audience, we actually had to screen the film twice to fit everyone in! I’m so thankful for all the support, and so moved how it has touched so many people. 

 

Thanks again, Sophie, and you can find the website link to her site, where you can view her showreel and find links to all of her films here.

https://sophiacarrgomm.com/

If you want to see 'The Wider Sun', however, you can view it here.

https://vimeo.com/261625897