Eglantine (2016)

Margaret Salmon is a filmmaker whose works interweave poetry and ethnography. In her films, Salmon explores relationships that seemingly ordinary people have with the environment around them. Eglantine was the filmmaker’s first foray into filming with 35mm, which developed her technique and enabled Salmon to have more control over the final production. In 2016, Eglantine previewed at Glasgow Film Festival before premiering at BFI London Film Festival.

Eglantine is a 70-minute avant-garde film and nature study. Filmed entirely in Scotland, on the Isle of Skye, in Oban and in various woodlands around Glasgow and Fife, Eglantine evokes the true nature of Scottish landscapes. The use of sound in Salmon’s films has been an integral part of her work and practice for years. As such, Eglantine involved collaboration with a field recorder who recorded the sounds of birds and animals. These were layered into the film, adding to the hyper-sensory element of the work as the film portrays the perception of being lost in nature from a child’s perspective. The end result forms an inter-species community and multi-sensory experience of the outdoors. Eglantine is a beautiful representation of the world perceived anew, through fresh eyes and ears, and a vivid account of a young girl’s real and fantastical adventure in a forest. The film pays tribute to children’s films of the past, particularly Ray Ashley’s Little Fugitive (1953), Jean Renoir’s The River (1951) and Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon (1956).

Salmon’s portrayal of the natural world and human interaction within it complements The Hunterian’s aim to raise awareness about climate change. An acquisition that offers ways of seeing the environment through experimental filmmaking in a poetic manner will strengthen the museum’s collection. The Hunterian aspires to be a pivotal space of reflection and public discussion within the University of Glasgow and the larger community, aiming to ask critical questions about the world we live in, particularly after months of enforced confinement and radically reduced social interaction.

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