Mudlarks - Best British Short Film Nominee | Set Stills Photography

Last year I got to work as the stills photographer on a wonderful short movie, Mudlarks, directed by Dominic Gilday. The film stars Naomi Preston Low (Bridgeton) and Mirren Mack (Sex Education, The Nest) and has recently been nominated in 7 categories at the 2021 British Short Film awards including best British film, actress, and supporting actress.

Film Synopsis

Skylar and Ansel are two homeless girls who share a tent on the banks of the River Thames. The girls sleep in shifts, making their way by Mudlarking on the river and selling what they find. The girls live to protect each other and indeed they do until one of them fails to return home one night. Skylar, who is seemingly mute, is left with a choice: leave the tent, which is all they have in the world, or stay and hope Ansel returns. She chooses to go look for Ansel. This choice unfolds into a sad and tragic consequence as both girls fall prey to child trafficking.

I'd met Dom on the set of a TV project - The Heartless and we become mates straight off the bat. That particular project was over a few months. I was both the stills photographer on the show and I was also shooting the music video for the band within the show. Dom was playing the bass player in the band and I got to know him quite well.

Needless to say, I was honored when he invited me to shoot on this project. This was full-on Guerrilla film-making shooting on the banks of the River Thames below the millennium bridge.

The two main actresses Naomi and Mirren were so down to earth and made me feel very welcome which always supports a photographer's work. The rest of Dom's crew were also a real joy to work with.

For me, the most beautifully cinematic moments whilst I was on set came when Naomi was showering in an underground recess on the riverbank - a rush of trapped rainwater, ice-cold, released onto her from above. This recess was a kind of dark, monolithic cave, an underground Never-world, of which the city folk above were surely oblivious.

This movie will be a great calling card for Dom. The mood and subject matter were challenging for a first-time director and in my humble opinion, he has written a wonderful script and put in a terrific performance directing.