A FILM documenting a standing stone in the middle of a field in Cornwall every day of the year has proved a rock solid hit with cinema goers.

Described as a one of the "most moving and thought-provoking films I have ever seen" by Eden founder Tim Smit, A Year in a Field, a quiet film by Christopher Morris was released on Friday (September 22).

Falmouth Packet: At one point wrapping from an Ann Summers piece of clothing blew into the fieldAt one point wrapping from an Ann Summers piece of clothing blew into the field (Image: Christopher Morris)

Morris, director of the School of Film & Television at Falmouth University from 2015 to 2020, documents a standing stone in a Cornish field – shot over a year as the world around him and tries to make sense and cope with the stresses and strains of climate change and the human condition in direct contrast to the still majesty of the stone.

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The film was produced by Bosena – the Cornish production house home to Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men, in partnership with Stone Club and Falmouth University’s Sound/Image Cinema Lab.

A Year in a Field premiered at the Sheffield Doc Fest early this year and Anti-Worlds released the film theatrically on September 22 to celebrate the Autumn Equinox.

Falmouth Packet: A still from the film A Year in a Field by film maker Christopher MorrisA still from the film A Year in a Field by film maker Christopher Morris (Image: Christopher Morris)

The sold out premiere took place on September 21 at the Cornwall Newlyn Filmhouse accompanied with a Q&A with the director.

Beginning filming on the Winter Solstice 2020 with his camera and tripod, the BAFTA winning documentary filmmaker began filming each day in a field near his home.

He stopped filming on Winter Solstice 2021: a year that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said was “make or break” for humanity to confront the climate crisis.

Falmouth Packet: A slug makes a star turn in the film A Year in a Field by film maker Christopher MorrisA slug makes a star turn in the film A Year in a Field by film maker Christopher Morris (Image: Christopher Morris)

During filming, a string of unprecedented worldwide climate disasters, met by weak global political resolve, are revealed as just fleeting moments, under the ever-present unflinching granite gaze of the Longstone. 

At one point wrapping from an Ann Summers piece of clothing blew into the field prompting thoughts about environment and the ships passing by at sea bringing things to our shores.

Falmouth Packet: A still from the film A Year in Field by Christopher MorrisA still from the film A Year in Field by Christopher Morris (Image: Christopher Morris)

There are no interviews or experts in this film. In fact, there are no human beings at all; instead, an unassuming Cornish field near Land’s End takes centre stage, and a crop of spring barley forms the centre of an unfolding, compelling and beautiful narrative.

The field is extraordinary in one respect - at its centre is the Longstone, a 4,000-year-old standing stone, carved, and thrust into the soil at a time when humans first began on an industrial scale to adversely affect the planet.

Falmouth Packet: Christopher MorrisChristopher Morris (Image: Christopher Morris)

This pillar of granite has stood silent sentinel to everything we have done and continue to do to our planet. The ominous stone figure forms the central protagonist in this sublimely unique film – it points to where we have come from and perhaps where we are headed.

A cultivated field, an ancient monolith, and a transitory human observer. This film is a record of their brief interaction.

Falmouth Packet: A Year In A Field stillA Year In A Field still (Image: Christopher_Morris)

“As I got closer and closer to the field, my view grew wider and wider, until finally, looking at the same small field, I began to see the universe,” said Morris, who worked for the BBC in London and Cardiff (1989-2003) as a documentary director, factual producer and executive producer.

Since leaving the BBC in 2003, he has been working as an academic, freelance documentary maker and story consultant for feature documentaries.

Since 2020 he has been full time making films.

Falmouth Packet: A Year In A Field stillA Year In A Field still (Image: Christopher Morris)

In 2021, Morris wrote and directed KESTAV, a short science fiction drama featuring a Cornish speaking alien and he’s also been standing in a Cornish field for a year making A YEAR IN A FIELD, his first feature length documentary; a personal response to our changing climate.

Awards include: a BAFTA and two BAFTA Cymru Awards, a Royal Television Society Award, five Torcs at the Celtic Media Festival, The Premios Ondas (Spain), a Special Jury Award at Le Prix Jeunesse and prizes at the Berlin Film Festival and Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.

A Year in a Field is on in Cornwall at the Truro Plaza until September 27 and Newlyn Filmhouse, Newlyn until September 28.