Sustainability: Minimising production impact
The Earth Beneath Margaret’s Feet explores Romany people’s contribution to the potato harvest in South Wales. Supported by Film Cymru through the BFI Short film fund, it tells the story of Margaret Smith as she fights to preserve collective cultural memories by collecting small samples of earth from ancestral stopping places.
Romany culture and environmental sustainability have always gone hand in hand. They worked on the land and travelled with the seasons, living in caravans or tents, historically. Their nomadic lifestyle minimized their use of resources and encouraged a leave-no-trace attitude to the ground, which all lowered their environmental impact.
Many times, items are recycled, repurposed, or utilize and Romany people long understood the need to safeguard natural environments and have argued for land rights and conservation – despite being depicted as the opposite. The film considers if we can learn something from this way of life and people in times of climate crisis?
Given the nature of the film, it was important for us to not only have a sustainable theme through the film’s story line but also to make sure it was considered when it came to planning and production. We worked to reduce the production’s carbon emissions, and the filmmaking team made budget decisions and creative choices, based on trying to be as responsible as they could to reduce the film's environmental impact.
The total cast and crew were just 8. This manageable crew size allowed for better oversight of environmental impact. The team benefited from carpooling and staying at nearby accommodation, which aligned perfectly with our environmental considerations and logistical needs.
Keeping the crew concentrated at the filming location also facilitated constant communication, the crew also opted for rechargeable batteries and LED sky panels to use natural lighting instead of mains electricity.
Making a film with an environmental theme encouraged the crew to take accountability for the impact we were having on the environment and become more aware of what sustainability measures we could implement throughout the whole filmmaking process. What’s more we are happy to have offset all our carbon emissions produced from the project.
