This ongoing film project, developed in collaboration with FORTH2O and the University of Stirling, explores the intersections between analogue filmmaking, climate research and the changing landscapes of the River Forth. Working alongside researchers from the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair, as well as landowners and communities involved in peatland restoration, beaver reintroduction, flooding and water management, the project examines how place-based filmmaking might contribute to interdisciplinary ecological research and create connections between different forms of knowledge.

Working with 16mm film, including sustainably processed material using plants gathered from the local landscape, the project explores the experimental and material possibilities of analogue filmmaking as a way of engaging with environmental change. A particular focus is the darkroom as a site of experimentation, where film is developed using plants gathered along the River Forth, in collaboration with Chloe Charlton. Through these processes, filming, developing and image-making become ways of attending to the river and the ecological relationships that shape its surrounding landscapes.

The project considers how these processes bring the river, climate research and artistic practice into dialogue, and how the darkroom might become a meeting point for scientific, ecological and sensory knowledge. Rather than simply communicating scientific findings, it explores how creative practice can open up alternative ways of observing, experiencing and understanding environmental change, creating space for exchange between different disciplines, communities and ways of knowing.

The film forms part of a wider, in-process body of work emerging from an ongoing artistic and research engagement with the River Forth. Funded by FORTH2O, with mentorship from LUX Scotland and support from the University of Stirling Art Collection, the film is scheduled to premiere in 2027.

Credits

Film by: Jess Holdengarde

Project Leads: Jess Holdengarde

DOP: Jamie Quantrill

Shoot Production: Myriam Mouflih

2nd Camera and sustainable development: Chloe Charlton

Sound Design: Robbie Thomson

Edit & Grade: Daniel Hughes

Film Scanning : Cinelab UK

Funded by FORTH2O, with mentorship from LUX Scotland and support from the University of Stirling Art Collection, Hydro Nation Chair and Cinelab UK.