Mother Nature: in conversation with UCL filmmaker Hal Pilkington
An interview with Hal Pilkington, whose lockdown documentary “Mother Nature” is an intimate portrait of his mother’s deep connection to nature.
“Mother Nature” poster, designed by Sarah Jayne Todd and Hal Pilkington
For Hal Pilkington, third-year philosophy undergraduate, the UK-wide lockdown rolled out in March presented a unique problem: he still had to shoot a documentary for his anthropology module.
The preliminary ideas that he and his partner, Andrei, had - a character portrait of a taxi driver, or a profile of a well-known fashion photographer - were suddenly rendered impossible. Whilst other people had already shot their documentary, they “didn’t have a second of footage,” and creating an archive film composed of public domain footage wasn’t appealing: “we liked the idea of capturing a subject first and foremost, rather than reinterpreting one that’s already there.”
Having returned to their respective homes to weather the lockdown, inspiration - and opportunity - was difficult to come by: “being very limited in what we can do, I thought: let’s go out to the one place that we could at the time, the garden, and that’s where my mum was every day, just to have somewhere that’s very calm and peaceful, where whatever’s happening outside is going on ‘out there’.”
From then on, Hal began filming; shots of his garden were interspersed with those of his mum at work there. “I just looked at it and thought: maybe there’s something here. I almost had too much time, you could say. I went out, no notes, no schedule, it was a very intuitive process in that sense and felt very natural. So it was a very organic process in how [the film] came about.”
Having worked with Andrei to edit and submit his documentary just before its deadline, Hal decided that he wanted to rework some of it, to create a more personal narrative interwoven with old family photographs and footage of their home: “I’d never done something like this, it’s very personal, but I didn’t really have a choice in a lot of sense, so I had to throw myself into it. There’s a whole new dimension when you’re interviewing someone so close to you. And it’s a good challenge I think; if you want to be a filmmaker and take on a subject, there’s no better one than the one right in front of you.”
A photograph from Hal’s parents’ voyage across the Atlantic on their yacht, Mutineer. In the documentary, his mother recalls this deeply transformative experience and pristine environment, which would certainly be different today.
The final result is a nine-minute long documentary, entitled “Mother Nature”: an intimate portrait of his mother’s deep connection to nature, fostered through her garden and travels. For Hal, shooting the film was “a process of discovery; there are always little things about the people closest to you that you don’t know about.”
Is this something he’d like to replicate in future, through another portrait of a close friend or family member? “Probably not, but I learned a lot from the process. In terms of another one, my mum probably wouldn’t want that!” Hal replied. Nevertheless, his writing tends to gravitate towards more intimate stories plucked from the lives of those around him, inspired by the ethos of his favourite filmmaker. Yasujirō Ozu, a Japanese director, shot the majority of his best known films after World War Two “including this beautiful film called ‘Tokyo Story’. It’s probably my favourite film, [its] about an older couple who live in the countryside and go to Tokyo to visit their family, who are busy with the modernised, urban life that they’re living. This film changed my life, showing me the universality of film: I recognised my own family members and my own experiences in these characters from a distant culture.”
Initially drawn to filmmaking at a young age through shooting home movies, Hal’s approach has adapted to the reality of filmmaking, which he describes as “a journey; one that’s never going to be how you’re planning in your head.” He stresses that “it’s high risk, but very high reward. It comes with all art forms; it’s always a struggle, but something you have to embrace if you’re passionate about it.”
Joining the UCL Film & TV Society when he first came to university has, he suggests, helped with this immensely: “that’s when I really started getting to learn so much, and make more films with lots of amazing people who wanted to do the same things I did. When I was at school nobody had the same passion, but here I have the resources and people around me to fulfil that drive”. This feeds into his advice for freshers: “even though it seems very obvious, go out of your comfort zone; if you have an interest in film and it's something you want to pursue, go to these events! The main thing is to meet people who have a similar receptivity to film as you, and that in itself will spur you on. It’s a beautiful journey, so really get involved, push yourself out there, and it will reward you boundlessly.”
And Hal’s plans for the future? Definitely filmmaking, whether that be in cinematography or directing, and returning to the cinema whenever possible. For the time being, he’s working through his Letterboxd watchlist and the new releases on Mubi. His most recent recommendation is a 2019 Vietnamese film called “The Tree House,” an experimental and philosophical take on spiritualism, cultural erosion, and the cult of the Image.
Hal’s documentary, “Mother Nature”, will be released online in Autumn 2021. A trailer can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/448318080 or on his website: halpilkington.com