Morgan Saylor

What drives somebody to swim in a freezing reservoir, and what do they find on the other side? 'Wild Water' tracks the landscape and cold water swimming community as they use the restorative powers of cold water to reconnect with their mental health, identity, nature and each other. Our film is a documentary with Yorkshire's Gaddings Dam providing the backdrop to swimmers' lives and the story of their community. It will continue the line of interest for filmmakers and creative projects (e.g., Happy Valley and Gallows Pole) celebrating the region and local communities in Yorkshire and the North of England. Gaddings Dam is a reservoir hidden in the West Yorkshire moors 780 feet above sea level. The bleak but romantic landscape, steeped in the poetry and prose of Ted Hughes and the Brontës, is home to the UK's highest beach. The small strip of sand acts as a magnet to a community of swimmers, day-trippers, walkers, bikers and runners. There is a rhythm as people come and go, having made the twenty-minute trek up a broken footpath, each drawn to the beauty as it changes with the seasons; always the same, always different. Some hardened locals brave the wind, rain, and snow to swim wild all seasons for escape, comradeship, to keep the black dog at bay, or just for the sheer thrill. As they hit the water, all experience the same visceral hit, taking away everything except the moment. Time stops, and peace arrives. But there is more to this place than just swimming; a whole ecosystem of activity circulates around the reservoir. There are the volunteers who maintain the footpaths in all weathers, the pub landlord fighting to keep vehicles out of his car park, the farmer whose cattle need rescuing, the Gaddings Dam Preservation Society and the January Daily Dippers. The Calder Valley, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge are known for their mix of dyed-in-the-wool Northern folk, alternative 'lifestylers', lesbians, artists, hippies and professionals escaping the city. But 200 years ago, it was at the centre of the industrial revolution as Yorkshire drove the world forward, powered by its reservoirs. When Gaddings Dam was no longer needed, it fell into disrepair and spent long periods empty. It was scheduled to be drained once and for all in 2001, but a determined group of ex-mountain rescuers formed the Gaddings Dam Preservation Society. They brought the dam for just £1500 provided it was 'preserved for the people of Todmorden', which it is to this day. It is a fascinating glimpse into the North's industrial past and how it is being repurposed through collective effort, cooperation and community bonding. The Key Characters Vicky is a bleached blond 70-year-old who hides a lifetime of loneliness and depression beneath her chatty and sunny disposition. We accompany her swimming through a cold winter for the first time as she befriends the community and battles her demons. Emma lost her mother to COVID-19 and has struggled through the pandemic; she doesn't have children, which she continues to mourn. Her stepdaughter gives birth during the filming, which brings an extreme mix of emotions to the surface. Can her cold water swimming through the winter soothe her anxieties and give her inner strength? Sarah: Ten years ago, 'something snapped', and Sarah walked out on her husband and two children with just a rucksack on her back. She shares her journey of self-discovery and how she found her true self by swimming in the exhilarating water of Gaddings Dam. Clive is a local legend; he has swum naked at Gaddings every day for twenty years. A pillar of the community, he finds it impossible to turn down the chance of a quick dip and will often take the plunge three or four times a day. He thinks he went for between 500 and 700 dips in 2021! There are the people who swim, people who want to swim and people who can't believe people swim outdoors in winter. Nevertheless, it is very much in vogue as people are looking for ways to navigate a troubling world, and rarely a day goes by without a newspaper, radio, TV or magazine feature on wild swimming. Wild Water is a snapshot of British society, fascinating to those who know the area well but even more so to those who don't. It is a long way from Metropolitan cities like London, São Paulo or Sydney, offering a fascinating glimpse into Northern England. It has a broad appeal to which people from different backgrounds, social statuses and countries can relate, such as people's triumph over adversity, mental health, identity, bravery, community, companionship and physical endurance. Films such as The Ponds, Swim The Channel and My Big White Thighs demonstrate an international appetite for people's stories about outdoor swimming.

Priscilla and Mary Beth Connolly are sisters living in the small fishing town of Easter Cove, Maine, whose mother has recently died. At the wake, Doreen Burke, Susie Gallagher, and Gail Maguire, contemporaries of their mother, offer condolences. Mary Beth learns that the family fishmonger business is in trouble and that their mother took out a loan against the house which could jeopardize their continued ownership of it. After arguing with Priscilla, she storms out and heads to a bar. Mary Beth begins drinking with a man named Gorski. Later she is driving him home, but crashes the car when he caresses her leg. When they get out to inspect the damage, the trunk accidentally opens and Mary Beth sees blood inside. Gorski attempts to force himself on her and she flees. When he follows her, she stabs him with a harpoon and then bashes his head in with a brick. Mary Beth returns home covered in blood to a shocked Priscilla, who calls the police, but changes her mind and hangs up. Priscilla helps Mary Beth get rid of Gorski's body, using a knife to chop up his arms to make the body fit in a cooler box that they then throw into the ocean. The next day, Priscilla can't find the knife they used, which has 'Connolly Fish' written on it. Mary Beth goes to Gorski's shack to find the knife, but instead finds a bag containing $50,000. Later, Enid, a brothel owner, sees the Connolly knife in Gorski's shack. Local policeman Brennan asks to borrow the Connolly's boat, indicating that a body has washed up on shore. Priscilla is terrified that it is Gorski but it turns out be a woman named Dee, who worked for Enid. Brennan and his older partner Colletti interview Enid, who tries to steer them away from the brothel. Brennan finds her suspicious, but is warned off by Colletti, who has known Enid for years. Priscilla and Mary Beth talk to Doreen who reveals that years ago she, Susie, Gail, and their mother had made a decision: to satisfy the lusts of the fishermen, and protect their own daughters, they allowed Enid to open the Oceanview brothel. Brennan and Coletti find Gorski's car, which has a gun inside, and blood and a terrible smell in the trunk. The officers are sure that Gorski must be the murderer. Meanwhile, Alexis, one of Enid's working girls, knowing Enid owed Dee money, believes Enid had her killed. Enid blackmails the Connolly sisters to bring back the money they took from Gorski's shack in exchange for the knife she found there. The sisters decide to confess everything to the police the following day. That night, Officer Brennan, who is attracted to Priscilla, comes over for dinner and asks them about the call made to the police the night of the murder. They change their mind about confessing. Gail, Susie, and Doreen go to confront Enid. Telling her that she has crossed a line, they inform her that they will no longer allow her to operate the brothel and that she should leave town. Brennan has drinks with a friend and learns that Mary Beth had been seen with Gorski the night he disappeared. The Connolly sisters go to Enid and return the money. She tells them how much she misses their mother and how their mother left the brothel business to protect the two of them. She offers them some of the money and tells them that they could work for her after it runs out. When they refuse the money, Enid turns angry, calling them names before drunkenly collapsing. The girls get the knife and leave. Alexis, having overheard the whole thing, enters Enid's room and smothers her to death with a pillow. She takes the money and leaves town with one of the other girls from the brothel. Doreen notices something in the water. Gail comes to see Coletti about Oceanview. The next morning he informs Brennan that they're going to close down Oceanview. They see Priscilla and Mary Beth walking down the street, but Brennan says he isn't interested in Priscilla anymore. The sisters pass by Gail and Doreen, who are singing "Blow the Man Down", and then see Susie washing out the cooler which had contained Gorski's body. Susie smiles at them. (copied from Wikipedia)

This is a story of the effect of Vatican II (1962-65) on the Catholic Church, as seen in one convent, through the eyes of the tough old-fashioned Mother Superior, the kinder, younger, and more modern nuns, and the Postulants and Novices, particularly Sister Cathleen. In 1954, seven-year-old Cathleen Harris (Eliza Manson) lives in rural in Tennessee with her mother, Nora (Julianne Nicholson), a factory worker, who is non-religious but wants to show Cathleen a church and let her make her own decision. Cathleen's father, Chuck (Chris Zylka), comes home late, drunk, and argues with his wife. Chuck eventually leaves. Nora supports herself and picks up a series of men for one-night stands. At age 12, Cathleen (Sasha Mason) seeks love of her own, and finds it in Catholicism when two nuns visit her home and offer her enrollment at a Catholic girls' school. The school offers her free tuition and a full scholarship to any college Cathleen chooses if her grades are excellent. At the school one day, a young nun befriends Cathleen and describes how she is married to Christ. At age 17 in the year 1964, after Cathleen (Margaret Qualley) comes home from school and runs into another one of her mother's pickups, Cathleen decides to leave home and give her life to God. With twenty other girls, Cathleen joins the Sisters of the Beloved Rose. She will be a postulate for six months in their convent, after which she will become a novice for a year and a half, and then make her final vows to become a nun. The Abbess, Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair (Melissa Leo), is tough, cold, traditional and largely responsible for training and disciplining the postulates. She leads the postulates through the weekly "chapter of faults," in which they must publicly confess to all their faults and face the accusation of the other postulates, for which Mother Superior assigns extreme, humiliating penances, including "The Discipline," a knotted whip that they use to flagellate themselves. Sister Mary Grace (Dianna Agron), a young, warm, kind, and progressive nun, is the Postulant Mistress, who tries to make life easier for them. Most of the day is heavily regimented, but sometimes the postulates fall into girlish activities and giggling. Cathleen tends to avoid interacting with the other girls and spends her free time alone and reading from the Bible. Mother Superior keeps getting envelopes from Archbishop McCarthy (Denis O'Hare) about Vatican II, which she ignores. Sister Mary Grace sees the documents, and says that change would be good. Mother Superior cuts her off with, "The Church is perfect exactly the way it is." Later, they argue, and Sister Mary Grace challenges Mother Superior's authority. Sister Mary Grace goes off to pray, and decides to leave the convent. After six months, Cathleen takes her Simple Vows and becomes a novice. As Reverend Mother grows increasingly harsh, 18-year-old Sister Cathleen undergoes a sexual awakening. Cathleen stirs one night after masturbating in her sleep. She stops eating and interacting with the other novices and nuns over her "impure thoughts". When her mother visits the convent to deliver news about her father Chuck's passing, she notices Cathleen's pale and emaciated appearance. Nora threatens the Reverend Mother over her daughter's treatment, but Reverend Mother bushes it off, saying that Nora no longer has a daughter but that Cathleen has now given her life to the Church. Cathleen eventually collapses during dinner one evening from starvation and dehydration, she is sent to the infirmary for several days where she confides in another young nun, Sister Emanuel (Rebecca Dayan). Later on, Cathleen sneaks out of the infirmary and into Sister Emanuel's room where Cathleen tells her that she longs for "comfort," leading to a kiss and their having lesbian sexual intercourse. After this, Cathleen leaves the infirmary and shows signs of recovery, is eating again and showing quiet happiness, but neither she or Sister Emanuel ever discuss their sexual encounter. Meanwhile, Archbishop McCarthy pays a visit to the convent. He tells Mother Superior that "this order in particular" is having difficulty embracing the changes of Vatican II. She dismisses the "ridiculous reforms." He tells her that if she can't adapt to the changes, she will be replaced. As for "that old medieval stuff," the extreme penances, "That's gotta stop." Mother Superior is devastated. She fears God has abandoned her. At a subsequent Chapter of Faults, a novice confesses that she questions God's existence. Mother Superior tells her she's tired of hearing of her spiritual wretchedness and assigns her no penance at all. When Cathleen goes next and confesses feeling the need to be emotionally comforted and about her one-time sexual encounter with another nun. Cathleen refuses to give away the nun's name and only asks for penance. Mother Superior forces Cathleen to crawl on her hands and knees and to beg for penance from each of the other novices, which finally brings Cathleen to tears. Mother Superior grants penance to Cathleen anyway. Afterwards, Sister Emanuel leaves the convent without saying goodbye to Cathleen. Eventually, Mother Superior calls the congregation and reads aloud the Archbishop's memo about Vatican II. Priests will say the Mass in English, and face the congregation. Catholics must embrace religious tolerance. Nuns are no longer required to wear habits and can wear whatever they wish as their status is now reduced and equal to any lay Catholic. Of the original twenty postulates, only five are left to profess their final vows to become solemnly professed nuns, among them is Cathleen. At their mass of Solemn Profession, the priest asks each of the novices, "What do you seek?" One answers that she wants to take her vows and marry Jesus Christ. The priest then asks Cathleen the same question. She answers, "I seek something more."

Darren Shan is a regular teenage kid. He and his brooding friend Steve hear about and attend a rare freak show coming to town - the "Cirque du Freak" - where they see many strange acts, including a wolf-man, a snake-boy and a bearded lady. Steve and Darren think it all a joke until a vampire, Larten Crepsley (whom vampire-aficionado Steve recognizes) comes on with a very poisonous performing spider. Slipping away from a police raid after the show, the boys split up. Darren, due to his infatuation with spiders (as strong as Steve's infatuation with vampires), sneaks backstage to examine Larten's caged spider more closely. While hiding in a closet, he overhears Steve begging Mr. Crepsley to be made a vampire and become his apprentice. Mr. Crepsley tests Steve but finds he has "bad blood" and will not transform him. Steve becomes angry and threatening before being thrown out. Escaping the theater with Larten's spider, Darren quickly accepts a ride home from a retund stranger - Mr. Tiny - who seems to have designs on Darren and vampires (and, very conveniently, just happens to have Darren's bicycle in the trunk of his limo). Next day, Darren takes the spider to school with him. Steve finds out and accidentally drops the cage in the middle of the halls. The spider gets out, panics the students, bites Steve and escapes. Steve is rushed to the hospital where doctors say that there is nothing they can do. Darren sees Mr. Crepsley about the possibility of an antidote. The vampire agrees to give him the only cure if Darren agrees to become his half-vampire assistant. Darren complies, and Steve gets the cure. Steve recovers but starts to realize that Darren is now part vampire, becoming angry and jealous and feeling betrayed. Darren concurrently develops a taste for raw meat and his little sister's blood and comes to know that he can't stay home anymore. Larten stages Darren's death and Darren is buried (with Steve - infuriated at being left out and left behind - noticing signs at the funeral that all is not as it seems). Mr. Crepsley comes to dig up Darren and deliver him to the circus freak encampment of Mr. Tall. As Darren begins a life of chores amid his new family at the freak camp, Steve, seething, becomes ripe pickings for Mr. Tiny, who appreciates the kid's violent nature. Following a visit from the ominous Mr. Tiny, Larten begins Darren on lessons in vampire fighting, but Darren's avoidance of drinking blood keeps him physically weak and incapable of full fighting power. Meanwhile, Steve gets initiated among the vampaneze (aggressive, violent, victim-killing vampires). His first assignment: a late-night visit to his least-favorite school teacher. Four vampaneze visit the freak camp. Unable to take Darren, they take monkey girl Rebecca, of whom Darren has grown fond. Meanwhile, Steve and Mr. Tiny pay a visit to Darren's parents and abduct them as well. Against his wishes, Larten heads back to the theater where Darren confronts vampaneze Murlaugh and Steve, fighting for the survival of Rebecca and Darren's family while Mr. Tiny enjoys watching the groundwork form for a war between vampires and vampaneze.