For most filmmakers, a premiere is a moment of professional triumph. But for Cornish director Mark Jenkin, bringing his latest perform back to the fishing town of Newlyn felt more like a high-stakes interrogation. Despite the warmth of a supportive hometown crowd, Jenkin admitted that the intimacy of a Q&A in front of lifelong acquaintances left him feeling uneasy.
The film, a ghostly time-travel narrative titled Rose of Nevada, follows a Cornish fishing boat and its crew as they slip through the seams of time. While the project has already garnered critical acclaim and a prestigious cover feature in the May edition of Sight and Sound, Jenkin remains most concerned with the verdict of his neighbors.
“Here’s the greatest town in the world,” Jenkin said. “I notice Cornwall as being at the centre of the world. But the Cornish screenings are the ones I get most nervous about. I can’t control what people think of the film but I do have a certain amount of control over the authenticity of my work. If a local audience tells me a film doesn’t feel authentic, that would hurt. The Cornish audience is the most important.”
The Texture of Truth: 16mm and the Bolex
Jenkin has built a reputation for a visceral, tactile cinematic style that rejects the polished “postcard” imagery often associated with the South West of England. This commitment to grit first gained international attention with his Bafta-winning short Bait, which explored the frictions of a fishing village, and the unsettling folk horror of Enys Men.
Rose of Nevada continues this technical tradition, shot entirely on 16mm film using a clockwork Bolex camera. By utilizing a medium that feels weathered and organic, Jenkin ensures that Cornwall is a primary character in the story rather than a scenic backdrop. The production leaned heavily into real-world logistics; the film was shot in the harbours of Hayle on the north coast and Mullion in the south, utilizing a working fishing vessel. Jenkin noted that during production breaks, the skipper would simply capture the boat out to fish.
This philosophy of hyper-localization is, paradoxically, Jenkin’s strategy for global reach. He believes that if a film is rooted in absolute authenticity, audiences worldwide will connect with the emotional truth of the story, regardless of their familiarity with Cornish geography or culture.
A Regional Renaissance in the South West
While Jenkin is often described as a talisman for the region’s cinema, he is quick to credit a pre-existing, grassroots independent scene that was already thriving when he returned to Cornwall from London at the start of the century. For Jenkin, the existence of the Newlyn Filmhouse—housed in a former fish cellar and smokery—is a vital symbol of the medium’s enduring power.
“I think it’s a real testament to the power of cinema as an art form,” Jenkin said. “We’re constantly told that cinema’s dead, nobody goes to the cinema. And we’ve got an arthouse cinema in the middle of Newlyn.”
The momentum extends beyond Jenkin’s work. A recent wave of regional storytelling is emerging, focusing on identity, language, and the landscape. Recent notable projects include:
- Poll Pri (Clay Pit): A Cornish-language film directed by Edward Rowe centered on a community in central Cornwall fighting for survival.
- A Year in a Field: A meditative documentary tracking twelve months in the life of a 4,000-year-old sentinel stone.
- Long Way Back: A Cornish road movie directed by Brett Harvey.
- The Lost Boys of Carbis Bay: A documentary by Dan Simpkins exploring derelict tin mines.
Laura Giles, managing director of Screen Cornwall, views Rose of Nevada as a pivotal moment. She noted that having a local filmmaker tell a story so deeply rooted in the area is a significant milestone, though she emphasized that many other interesting voices are currently coming through the pipeline.
Ethics of Production: Stepping Lightly
For Jenkin and producer Denzil Monk, the commitment to Cornwall extends beyond the screen to the actual footprint of the production. In an era of massive studio sets and high-impact filming, the team prioritized sustainability and inclusivity, ensuring the community and environment were not disrupted.
The production utilized existing materials to avoid waste; props such as buoys, fish boxes, and nets were sourced locally and returned to the sea after filming. Monk explained the philosophy behind this approach: “When your work is emerging out of a place, out of a community, out of a culture, then you desire every aspect of that to be respectful of that cultural context and to contribute to it. We try to step incredibly lightly.”
This ethos reflects a broader shift in regional filmmaking. As Dan Simpkins noted, there is a growing hunger among audiences to see their own specific identities and communities reflected on screen, providing a necessary counterweight to the homogeneity of huge-budget blockbusters.
Mark Jenkin will continue his series of Q&A screenings across the region before Rose of Nevada makes its official release in the United Kingdom and Ireland later this month.
Do you think regional cinema is becoming more influential in the global market? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
