Gatherings

About this movie

Gatherings is a six-part documentary series exploring Britain's most extraordinary folk rituals and seasonal customs. With compelling interviews, colourful action and the use of unseen archives, we explore how these practices are handed down through time, and see why they are thriving today. The films are told entirely via the voices of those who participate, without the use of presenter or narrator. The result is an honest and direct record of these living traditions, capturing how they are prepared, performed and passed on within their communities. Gatherings is a documentary series which reveals much about community, continuity and our sense of belonging. Shot across England and Scotland, the series captures six remarkable gatherings including The Burry Man of South Queensferry, Rushbearing at Sowerby Bridge and Haxey Hood in Lincolnshire. Filmmaker Dave Brewis takes a deliberately observational, participant-led approach-eschewing narration and voiceover to let the events and communities speak for themselves. "This subject matter demands an authentic approach and so the stories are told only by those who participate. The films resist 'interpretation from above' but instead invite the viewer into a direct encounter with each ritual. Like the events themselves, each one of the six films is unique but when viewed collectively powerful themes emerge - community, continuity, belonging and our evolving relationship with place and nature. Gatherings is a realisation of my long held desire to hold a mirror to these extraordinary events, and document them with authenticity and without prejudice." - Dave Brewis, Filmmaker Gatherings is a front row seat for the sights, sounds and intensity of ritual.

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