Super Nature Opens in UK & Ireland Cinemas This Friday, 4 September
- Cinelab Film & Digital
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
After a UK preview tour that's taken it the length of the country, Super Nature, the feature documentary shot entirely on Super 8mm film, goes on general release in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this Friday, 4 September. Cinelab is proud to have played a central role in bringing it to the screen.
A love letter to nature, shot entirely on Super 8
Described as "A love letter to nature and our connection to it," Super Nature was shot by contributors connecting across the world, with barely any travel between them. All 82 minutes of the finished film, including the credits and titles, were captured on Super 8, a rare feat for a modern feature documentary.
Directed by Ed Sayers, founder of straight 8
Super Nature is directed, edited and produced by Ed Sayers, who founded the Super 8mm filmmaking competition straight 8 in 1999. Cinelab has a long-standing, collaborative relationship with straight 8, and we're proud to have supported Ed in bringing this project to life.
The idea for the film took root when Roger Batteault, a Straight 8 entrant, submitted a short of flamingos in flight - inspiring Ed to pick up his own Super 8 camera and film seals on the Norfolk coast. From that moment in early 2020, Super Nature grew into a global collaboration: over 40 filmmakers in 25 countries, many from the Straight 8 community alongside conservationists, biologists and activists, were supplied with Super 8 cameras, 80 in total, and asked to film the natural world around them.
Cinelab's role in bringing it to the screen
Most of Super Nature was processed and scanned right here at Cinelab Film & Digital. Cinelab's CEO, Adrian Bull, serves as one of the film's executive producers, alongside Oscar-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna, 2073). Screen Daily, reviewing the film's premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, called it "impactful," noting that "the Super 8 format itself lends a tactile, nostalgic feel that proves warm and immediate, removing barriers between viewer and subject."
On tour before it opens nationwide
Ahead of Friday's general release, Super Nature has been touring the UK since 17 August with preview screenings and Q&As at venues up and down the country, with director Ed Sayers cycling much of the route between them. The tour culminates on release night itself, with a special London screening at BFI IMAX on Friday 4 September at 5.30pm, followed by a Q&A.
The film's release, along with Ed's bike tour of the preview screenings, has just been featured on Channel 4 News.
Where to see it
Super Nature opens in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from Friday 4 September, with many of the preview tour venues continuing to screen the film through its cinema run. Find a screening near you www.supernature-film.co.uk/tickets/
It's a rare thing to see a feature documentary shot entirely on a format most people associate with the home-movie archive rather than the cinema screen and Cinelab are prouder to have been part of making it happen.
