Heart of an Oak (2022)

I used to work with some of the folks who created for the BBC’s acclaimed Natural History Unit in Bristol so knew of a few tricks of the trade used here but there are still some other marvellously creative techniques employed to depict the life of an ancient French oak tree. We begin with a threatening storm that billows the branches and as the clouds gather causes great consternation amongst the myriad of animals, birds and insects that call this their home. It’s especially dangerous for those whose homes and families are underground and prone to the flooding that might just result. That’s just the start of the seasonal cycle that shows us these creatures that eat foliage, detritus and each other and some of the photography is astonishing. Owls, snakes, mice, spiders - you name it and they make their lives in this structure either permanently or transiently and the time-lapse photography and intimate camera positions deliver impressively. What also helps here is that there’s no commentary and the musical accompaniment is sparingly used to augment the equally innovative audio mixing that incorporates the natural sounds with some inspired use of classical music to illustrate birth, death and everything in between. My favourite season is always winter and that’s captured in a powerful combination of the bleak and snowy as well as the snug and warm, but the other seasons work well too and this is quite a year in the life of this grand old man of the river.