"Fieldnotes"

7 December 2023

3 mins 52s

Full of fibre.

How do you make flax compelling? It's the question that has plagued filmmakers for ages - at least we like to think so. Directors Joya Berrow and Lucy Jane prove they are more than up for the challenge with this absorbing look at raw materials that some consumers take for granted.

The film sets out its stall like so: "There's been a profound loss of connection between what we wear and an understanding of how we too are part of a living landscape." It’s quite a mouthful, but then we get handfuls of flax, hemp, and wool as Berrow and Jane get to the root of the matter.

Industrialisation has led to cheaper clothes, but also detachment from traditional materials and the people who farm them. The green-fingered cast hope attitudes change so that people take pride in what they wear—threads that stand the test of time long after fast fashion has given up the race.

UK

Short Film