EXCLUSIVE: Super Nature, a new documentary about the natural world directed by Ed Sayers, is truly a vintage piece of filmmaking. Sayers and his collaborators – 40 filmmakers across the globe – shot the feature entirely on Super 8, “the original home movie format.”
The “home” in this case is planet Earth and its multitudinous lifeforms large and small — leaf cutter ants and African bush elephants, Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, and soaring barnacle geese.
“The film features a beguiling array of over 120 different animal species from around the world,” notes a release. “From the rarest of species: the last two remaining Northern White Rhino, to the humble and often overlooked Garden Snail, all living creatures are lovingly observed and celebrated.”
Seven Productions/Grasp the Nettle Films
Super Nature, which held its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival last year, will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland by BFI Distribution on September 4. It has also been picked up by Madman for Australia/New Zealand, Wanted Cinema (Italy), SVT (Sweden), and TVP (Poland). Autlook Filmsales is handling international sales.
Oscar winner Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna, Diego Maradona) is among the executive producers on the project.
We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.
Seven Productions/Grasp the Nettle Films
“A global love letter to nature, Super Nature is an immersive exploration of our world today,” notes a synopsis. “Shot by people all over the world, the universal and the local combine in this intimate gaze on nature, with a transcendent score and sound design, and voices in many tongues… Embracing all we have, and all we have to lose, Super Nature proposes a new way of seeing, as it takes us on a spellbinding journey of discovery and togetherness with our fellow dwellers on earth, both human and non-human.”
Sayers founded Straight 8 in 1999, a Super 8 filmmaking competition. The format opens cinematic possibilities but comes with strict parameters.
“With each film cartridge lasting only 2.5 minutes, Super 8 is wholly unsuited to filming wildlife, where normally the camera will run and run. This film is about doing things differently,” according to background information on Super Nature. “Due to the limited film reel, the filmmakers had to be more intentional about their shots. People relished the opportunity to use a Super 8 camera, often for the first time, to attempt to capture some of the world around them through such a uniquely emotive and tactile format.”
Seven Productions/Grasp the Nettle Films
Super 8 film stock is silent, placing a strong emphasis on postproduction. “The completed 82-minute film seamlessly combines sound design from David McAulay and an original score by Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres with licensed music from Cosmo Sheldrake, The Faces and Daisy Rickman.”
The film is directed, produced and edited by Ed Sayers and produced by Rebecca Wolff and Beth Allan. Along with Kapadia, executive producers are Shanida Scotland, Mark Thomas, Rachel Price, Adrian Bull, Alexander Behse, Randall Gebhardt, Christopher Gebhardt, Alice Aedy, and Nikki Parrott.
Autlook Filmsales, the BFI Doc Society Fund, and Screen Scotland present a Seven Productions and Grasp the Nettle Films production, co-produced by Forest of Black.
“An intimate and deeply collaborative film, Super Nature is bold experiential cinema that the BFI Doc Society Fund is incredibly proud to support,” commented Shanida Scotland, Doc Society co-director and Head of Film.
Screen Scotland’s Mark Thomas said, “Screen Scotland is pleased to be supporting Ed Sayers’ wonderful documentary Super Nature, a film that celebrates the beauty and fragility of the natural world through a shared passion for filmmaking. Co-produced in Scotland by Forest of Black, this visually stunning film takes us on a global journey on the smallest film format and delivers a powerful message of hope and resilience.”
Added Lynn Nwokorie of the BFI London Film Festival, “A spellbinding visual and auditory experience, beautifully shot in Super 8, which invites you to marvel at nature and the wildlife around us.”
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for BFI
“From the moment we first heard about Super Nature, we instantly fell in love with the project,” shared Autlook Filmsales CEO Stephanie Fuchs. “It captures a closeness to our world that feels both timeless and urgent, reminding us how precious our surroundings truly are.”
Following its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, Super Nature went on to screen at the Göteborg Film Festival in Sweden, Dublin International Film Festival in Ireland, Green Visions Potsdam in Germany, the Mediterrane Film Festival in Malta, and most recently in June at DC/DOX in Washington DC.
Watch the trailer for Super Nature above.
