Blackwater Mouth Tollesbury Creek Jumping Ladz

A filthy love letter to Essex, like you’ve never seen it before. In a village at the end of the road, teenage boys smothered in black mud, run wild through the vast salt marshes in a bizarre tradition hundreds of years old - ‘creek-jumping’.
Covid has heightened anxiety about cleanliness - it is a social taboo to be dirty. These teenagers throw mud in the face of social norms (literally). In this extraordinary landscape, ritually transformed by the tide, they race through the creek, hurl themselves into the sea and muse on strange local myths - Cannibalism! Shipwrecks! Nuclear power explosions! As the brink of adulthood approaches they struggle to imagine their uncertain futures but they know just how to live in the present - shoes off, mud between the toes, sun burning down, hearts thumping…

  • Tilly Shiner
    Director
  • Tilly Shiner
    Producer
  • Oliver Aran-Garriock
    Key Cast
  • Alex Flower
    Key Cast
  • Sam Whitman
    Key Cast
  • Alfie Smart
    Key Cast
  • Morri Nash
    Key Cast
  • Sam Emson
    Key Cast
  • Dylan Carter
    Key Cast
  • Mason Foakes
    Key Cast
  • Sid Payne
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Art, Environment, Youth, Mud, Essex, Coastal, Right-of-passage
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    8mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tilly Shiner

Tilly Shiner
Artist and Director
B. 1989
Lives and works in London.
http://www.tillyshiner.com

Nominated for the Jarman Award 2018.
Recent projects include Second Self, Beethoven Resurrection - Feature film premiered with 19 piece orchestra, KunstFestSpiele Hannover (2020) Collaboration with Hugo Glendinning.
https://secondselffilm.com

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Directed by Tilly Shiner
Cinematography Jon Muschamp
Sound House of Noise
Music Gold Panda
With Flute by Infinite Lives
Graphic Design work-form

Featuring
Oliver Aran-Garriock
Alex Flower
Sam Whitman
Alfie Smart
Morri Nash
Sam Emson
Dylan Carter
Mason Foakes
Sid Payne

Additional voices
Flavian Capes
Oysterman William
Amy London
Savanna Sheen

Thanks to
Simon Earney for lending his van

Parents
Neil & Sue Foakes
Sarah & Olly Emson
Mireille Garriock
Nicola Nash
Donna & John Carter
Lisa & Dave Smart
Clou Flower
Mike Flower
Theresa Witman
Sarah Payne

& the lovely folk of Tollesbury

Charlie Abbott
Mick & Elaine Shiner
Esther Collins
Hugo Glendinning

Film, process & scan by On8mil

© Tilly Shiner