Landscape & Documentary | Culture & Environment

Wild River, Cold Stone

a film of Dartmoor by Chris Chapman and Kate King

Two years in the making, this beautiful film tells the story of Dartmoor through the voices of its people, with contributions from the fields of Geology, Archaeology, Music and Poetry

Chris Chapman's stunning camera-work, often the result of hours of patient waiting in all weathers, paints an evocative picture of Dartmoor in all its glory whilst acknowledging the adversities of life on the moor.

Chris Chapman says:

'Kate and I met during the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001 and we worked together on a series of interviews with people close to the tragedy. In 2005 I made my first film for television and soon after we found ourselves working together again on a film about small schools in Devon, (Widecombe and Burrington), for Teachers' TV. Kate then heard about the possibility of a new film about Dartmoor, something that I had long wanted to do, and together we embarked on the long road of raising the money and the means of producing it. Our funding partners have been fantastic, either by providing grants or with contributions in kind'.

  

'We started filming in July 2007 with the idea of covering the seasons. However, film-making is an organic process and as we archived the material a new shape to the film emerged. We didn't want a presenter or a documentary style, so we chose to film the people and then let them tell their story. We then approached the poet Alice Oswald, whose wonderful poem 'Dart' describes so beautifully the heart of the moor and the talented musician, Seth Lakeman who, through his brilliant song writing, gave us an insight into Dartmoor's myths and legends. Whilst working on his recently released 'Dartmoor Symphony' recorded with the Ten Tors Orchestra, Nigel Shaw, also a Dartmoor resident, collaborated with us to provide a sound track that compliments the visual imagery. Little by little the story of the moor started to emerge. We hope the result will give the viewer as much pleasure as we had in making it.'

The making of Wild River, Cold Stone was supported by:
Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund
Devon County Council
Dartmoor National Park Authority
Duchy of Cornwall
Videotel
Devon Artsculture
The Dartmoor Society

  

To order a copy of Wild River, Cold Stone Cost £12.00 incl p/p

Please download order form in pdf format - To pay by cheque
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View a 3 minute extract HERE

All text and images copyright © Chris Chapman 2022       web design by Alan Winn