10 Jan 2014 – 29 Jan 2014
★★★★ 'Haunting and meditative' Time Out
★★★★ 'A gemlike documentary' - Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
★★★★ FT
★★★★ Guardian
'A work of mystery and magic, of privacy and poetry ... ripples with such joy that it fully lives up to its subtitle: A Love Story' - Sukhdev Sandhu, Sight & Sound
A poetic portrait of the world’s most celebrated maker of salmon fishing flies, Megan Boyd.
Boyd lived in isolation in the Scottish Highlands where she taught herself the almost mystical art of fly making. While no-one can explain why salmon will take one lure but not another, everyone agrees Boyd’s were not only objects of incredible precision and beauty but the most successful flies ever made. Boyd received an OBE from Prince Charles for her services to Fly Fishing as well as international recognition from within her sport. Yet, until now, she has remained largely unknown and unappreciated outside the angling community.
Filmmaker Eric Steel’s (The Bridge) curiosity was piqued on reading a lengthy obituary in The New York Times on her death in 2001. His beautifully crafted documentary makes a case for Boyd as one of Scotland’s great unsung artists. Employing a lyrical mix of interviews, meditative landscape photography and animation (from UK artist Em Cooper) Kiss the Water explores a remarkable woman’s utter dedication to the perfection of her craft.
Kiss the Water, dir Eric Steel, US/UK 2013, 80 mins