TREEFATHER

Treefather is a film about an ancient yew tree situated in the liminal space between the edge of Sheffield and the Peak District. The Yew represents immortality and how nature finds a way to cope with man's presence.

No one is really sure how old it is and dates range from 2500 years old to 1500 years old. I was told about the tree when I was making my film Ashby's Odyssey.

Archaeologist Dr Roger Doonan pointed it out to me during my research. It was not until the Covid lockdown that I began to film it. I was born in Sheffield and my parents lived in Whirlow.

Around 2020 My mother was diagnosed with leukaemia and as I was an only child I decided to move in with her for a while to look after her. It was during my walks that I again came across the tree and asked permission from the owners of the land it stands in if I could film it.

I filmed it twice a month for two years, through snow and sun and mist and rain. I also filmed its wider setting of the Peak District and the magnificent landscapes it holds.

It is remarkable how nature changes throughout the year and even the yew, though evergreen, changes slightly with the seasons - thinning out a little in the winter.

I wanted to keep this a local production and filmed most of it on my iPhone which is an ideal camera for this sort of film. I was also very lucky and discovered Ray Kohn, a brilliant local composer who wrote the score.

The film stands as a memorial not only to nature but also as a way of honouring my mother and her roots which stretch back into the local landscape for countless generations.

The film is currently in submission to the international film festival circuit and will be published in due course.

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