ONE of Cornwall’s most celebrated filmmakers is once again putting the Duchy on the big screen with his latest production.

From growing up in Wadebridge to standing on stage at the BAFTAs, Mark Jenkin has placed Cornwall in the spotlight, showcasing its beautiful landscapes and talented creatives.

Once again, Mark is doing just that, with his latest film Rose of Nevada. The film follows jobless young father Nick, played by George MacKay – known for his appearance in Sam Mendes’ 1917 - and enigmatic drifter Liam, played by Callum Turner (Emma; Fantastic Beasts; Eternity) as they sign up for a fishing trip with a local captain. However, as they return to shore with a hold full of fish, they find themselves in a different time, with the harbour bustling with the ship’s original crew.

In an interview with Tindle Newspapers Cornwall (TNC), Mark described the film, saying: “It’s a time travel movie about a ghost boat in a Cornish harbour which was lost 30 years ago and is discovered one morning back in the harbour and not everybody in the community seems to be completely surprised that it’s returned and so it is put back into the fishing fleet in an attempt to revive the small fortunes of the community.”

The film builds on Mark’s other work, most notably Bait (2019) and Cornish language film, Enys Men (2022), not only continuing to place Cornwall on the international stage but also using a variety of techniques which have become synonymous with his filmmaking.

In an interview with Cinema Body, Cinema Mind, Mark explained that Rose of Nevada had been described by some viewers as ‘undeniably your film’.

“I get told a lot about how different my films might feel compared to other people’s films because of the way they’re made,” he told TNC. “I shoot on film, which isn’t unusual these days, a lot of people have gone back to shooting on film, but I shoot 16mm rather than 35mm.

“I use a clockwork camera that is non-sync, so I don’t record any location sound either, the camera only runs for 27 seconds before it needs to be wound again, so the shot durations are quite short.

“I think all those technical considerations mean the film has a distinct aesthetic feel when they’re finished. It doesn’t matter what I’m making the film about, or who’s in it, or where we shoot it, I keep getting told that as soon as it starts, you can tell it’s one of my films.”

Though, while this might seem to be a much more complicated approach, to Mark it is part of what keeps his spark for cinema alive.

“This is the type of filmmaking I enjoy,” he said. “It’s perceived as being harder work but for me it would be harder to make a film digitally because I just don’t understand how to do it. I consider myself lucky enough to have started making films when Super 8 was the dominant format, so the first films that I made were on Super 8 and that’s really where I fell in love with filmmaking.

“For a long time I followed the trends in terms of shooting digitally, but then at a point about 15 years ago, I realised that I wasn’t really enjoying filmmaking so I went back to my first love which was shooting on film.

“From then on, it became a bit of a no-brainer because every time I picked up a camera, I was excited to film. And if you’re excited about it and energised about it, it’s a lot easier to make a film.”

However, it isn’t just Mark’s distinctive style which remains constant throughout his filmmaking, his home is also sure to play a major role.

“The only place I can get close to any kind of authenticity is Cornwall,” he explained.

“Because it's the place I’ve lived all my life, so if I’ve got any kind of intimacy or understanding of a place it's there.

“The people and the place, intrigue me, and baffle me, and confuse me as much as they ever did but I do think I’ve got an understanding of Cornwall to a much higher degree than any other place, because I’ve lived here all my life.

“I don’t think the films are always about Cornwall, but the context is always Cornish.”

Growing up in St Minver and Wadebridge, Mark says that like many teens, he had an insatiable urge to get away and experience ‘where the party was’, however, when he moved to Bournemouth at 18, and eventually to London, he felt more Cornish than ever, and was drawn back to his home.

“I think Cornish people take their identity with them forever, historically that’s always happened and I think that’s to do with being the subjugated neighbour of a bigger nation, you sort of assert yourself to a greater degree, and that can be for Cornwall as a whole or a smaller town you grew up in, that always stays with you.”

Mark recalls that some of the first films he ever made were made at Wadebridge School using the school’s video camera. Further cementing his connection to the area, he added that many of his formative memories surround seeing films in the local cinema.

“I always think I’m not that much of a film geek but then I think back and all my memories are linked to watching films,” he said.

“My first cinematic experience was going to the Regal in Wadebridge as a young teenager.

“Once you’ve got a bit of autonomy as a kid, but you haven’t discovered going out and drinking, there's a real sweet spot where the cinema is Mecca. So, we would go to the Regal every Friday night. It was that time when cinema culture was so prevalent, you wouldn’t look up what film was playing and then decide whether to go to the cinema; you’d go to the cinema and then when you got there, you’d find out what film you’re going to see.

“It was habitual going to the cinema.

“The other thing about Wadebridge was that just over bridge from the Regal was the old video shop, so I’d either be going to the cinema or getting videos out of the video shop because my dad had a VC he used to borrow from Wadebridge School where he worked.”

Now, despite his desire to get away from Cornwall as a teen, Mark sees the Duchy’s beauty and urges other young aspiring filmmakers to make the most of that.

“You’ve got to change your mindset so that Cornwall is the centre of the world,” he explained.

“Wherever you live, you’ve got to consider that the centre of everything. There is no point thinking that you should be somewhere else, you’ve got to make the place that you’re in the centre of everything.

“There are massive challenges here, but beyond that, you’ve got to make the work you want to make and create films you want to watch.

“If you make work that you like, there will be an audience for it.”

Rose of Nevada is being screened at a number of locations across Cornwall, including the Regal in Wadebridge on April 12, where Mark will be hosting a Q&A.