Saturday Short : Skinningrove - Michael Almereyda

Skinningrove is a small village in Yorkshire. Isolated, independent, hostile to outsiders, it is also the subject of the wildest rumours, (residents supposedly “eat their babies”).
English photographer Chris Killip documented life in this village in the 1980s.
Director Michael Almereyda has Killip sat at his computer, a dim, eery, red light emanating from a globe-shaped lamp, going through his photographs and commenting. He tells us about the people of Skinningrove and their fascination with the sea, their tough existence, the fights, the pubs and the friendships.

Moments look improvised but the story progressively unfolds, residents become three-dimensional. Over the years, the photographer has gone over to Skinningrove a number of times and residents have grown to like and trust him. His photos captured trivial yet intimate snippets of their lives.

Overall, the film has a poetic quality enhanced by the images of the sea. But Phillip’s comments are factual, perhaps out of the respect for the events he witnessed. The restrained emotion shown by Killip is all the more touching.

The documentary won the Sundance Jury award in 2013.

Traduction par Abla Kandalaft