Meet the Beacons makers: Siôn Marshall-Waters

Siôn Marshall-Waters’ documentary Forest Coal Pit is an intimate super 8mm portrait of two elderly brothers who live together on a small farm in the Black Mountains, south Wales. 

Before the film’s broadcast, we spoke to Siôn about the story at the heart of his film, the joy of unusual filming and what the future holds.  

Hi Siôn, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m originally from Abergavenny near where the film is set, but now living in Bristol. I came into filmmaking after studying visual anthropology as an MA and have since been making ethnographic film in a fairly broad sense.

How did you first find out about the two brothers in your film?
Back in 2018 I was working on a small project entitled Thieves Again which documented fragments of lived experiences in the Black Mountains. I started photographing and filming a church congregation which the brothers were part of and we got to know each other pretty well over the following year or two. This film eventually evolved from our friendship which continued after the initial project had finished.

What made you want to tell their story?
I was firstly drawn to their colourful characters and sharp humour. More importantly though I think our friendship is the main reason the film is the way it is. They’re both open and curious people and we spent hours talking about all kinds of things from Brexit to UFOs. These seemingly tangential yet profound observations were something I wanted to explore in the film.  

Why did you choose to shoot on super 8? What benefits and challenges did it bring?
Reflecting the colour and vibrancy of the brothers' world was important and I felt this favoured analogue film. What’s great about super 8mm too is that it’s immediate, intimate and a little off-centre, as opposed to a distant and passive observation. Challenges are with sound as everything is non sync but I felt this also worked well tonally and brought as many creative freedoms as limitations.  

What kind of support did you get from Ffilm Cymru Wales & BFI NETWORK?
Early on the development period was most useful for me. I had preconceived ideas about what was expected and had adapted the project accordingly. After various conversations with collaborators and Ffilm Cymru, the project became more focused, and I had more confidence in what I actually wanted to do. Because of this, Beacons has enabled me to develop my own cinema voice and build stronger networks with like-minded filmmakers, producers and artists.

What do you have planned next?
Forest Coal Pit has just finished a long festival run which has been both personally validating and motivating. In the meantime, I've been developing new short and feature ideas with Denzil Monk at Bosena and Cornish writer Callum Mitchell. I also have other projects that I return to on an ongoing basis with the hope of eventually finding a filmic avenue for them.