Drawing upon the radical structure and spirit of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, The Eel’s Tale is a multi-species portrait of the lives found in Kent’s wetlands.
Framed by the migratory story of the European eel in its journey from the Sargasso Sea to the rivers of Kent, a cast of local characters speak of their experiences navigating the landscape, drawing a lyrical connection between human and non-human life. In The Eel’s Tale, we discover how a creature defined by journeys across national borders, changing environments and bodily transformation can redefine how we understand our place in the world. By considering the borders that separate us from each other, the land, and our multispecies kin, the film asks: “Are we free to move?”
The Eel’s Tale has been commissioned by Cement Fields and FLAMIN (Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network) for the The Open Road – a series of new artists moving image works reimagining the age-old tale of a journey taken, weaving together new stories loosely inspired by The Canterbury Tales.
The Open Road is commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, The Amelia Scott, Cement Fields, FLAMIN, Forma, and Three Rivers. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Sam Williams is an artist with a practice that intertwines moving-image, collage, choreography, sound and writing. His ongoing research focuses on multispecies entanglements, ecological systems, bodies-as-worlds and folk mythologies and how they propose possibilities for present and future ways of non-human-centric living. Sam is based in London where he is a resident at Somerset House Studios. He has presented work at institutions including Chisenhale Gallery, Arnolfini, Siobhan Davies Dance, Somerset House, Tate Britain, Studio Voltaire and South Kiosk (UK), She Will (Norway); Röda Sten Konsthall (SE); Kino Arsenal, Akademie der Kunst, Tanzhalle Wisenberg and B3 Biennale (Germany).
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