Don’t Imprison the Wind

What does play mean to us? When we’re young, our life starts off so simple, really. The way we move, the way we see each other is the same. The way we weave ourselves into the natural landscape without giving it a thought. There’s a natural driving force towards fun. Stripped down, bare to the bone, jump in the water, feet first.

Don’t Imprison the Wind, a short film directed and produced by Chris McClean and James Bowden, is about what play means to us, what form it takes as we get older, and how it connects us to the outdoors.

Just because we can.
We play.
We flow.
Pure innocence.
Untangled from agenda.

Through four distinct chapters, Don’t Imprison the Wind gently disentangles outdoor adventure from the oh-so-serious culture of further, faster, higher, stronger. Sometimes climbing isn’t about pushing your limits or making a first ascent; sometimes it’s about rediscovering the simple childhood delight of clambering up and over trees, walls, climbing frames. Sometimes exploration is about carving out space for yourself, resetting and healing in nature’s embrace, rather than completing some gnarly expedition. Taking to the water, what could be more mindful or poetic than a day fly fishing by the side of a Scottish loch? And surfing needn’t be about big waves or big ambitions – it can be about balance, shaking the wobble, making friends with the fear.

This film took a meandering and unusual route between first concept and being shown on the big screen at Kendal. It was originally conceived as a creative project for an outdoor footwear brand.

Chris says, ‘It was about the process of getting to where you would do your chosen activity. Climbing, you change your shoes; surfing, you put your wetsuit on. That was the original idea behind the four things.’

However, things took a turn when changes in the brand’s marketing department led to the project being cancelled. By this point, the film had been partially shot but was far from finished. So James and Chris got together and tried to thrash out a way forward. Maybe they could turn it into something of their own. But it would have to evolve.

Chris says, ‘When the brand project got cancelled, we asked ourselves, what do we do? Do we just release it as it is?’ But they realised that in its current form it wouldn’t work as a standalone film. ‘So we stripped it back, looked at it again. What came out of our chats was that each chapter was a mini journey, and the main idea became play in the outdoors, time spent in nature – and how important that is to all the people we filmed.’

For their canoe expedition in western Scotland, they picked the most remote bothy they could find and planned a paddling adventure along the length of a loch to get to it. It was May. After a late start they paddled into a stiffening headwind, with numerous rain squalls slowing progress. By the time they reached the bothy it was about 9.00pm – and they were soaked.

Earlier, James had pulled his phone out of his pocket to find it wet from the rain and spray, and it had automatically activated an SOS feature. They shut it off and laughed about it, but as there wasn’t any signal they didn’t think any harm had been done. Soon enough they had food, wine, and a fire going inside the bothy. This is when things turned a bit strange.

James picks up the story. ‘It was midnight or something, and we were sitting around the fire when we heard a helicopter. It circled round and started coming towards us. Suddenly the searchlight was on the loch, and then it was on the bothy. I’ve got a vivid memory of Chris standing backlit by the window, light beaming through the smoke. It was as if aliens were coming in!’

The helicopter landed nearby and a coastguard officer strolled into the bothy. Although James was panicking that his phone had summoned the cavalry by itself, it soon turned out that the helicopter was looking for someone in a red canoe who was missing. Chris says, ‘It was one of those stories that we thought might make the film really cool, but when we put the film together it didn’t really fit.’

Ultimately, this is a film about simplicity and joy in adventure – and in not taking things too seriously. James says, ‘Play is such an important part of being a kid – it’s how we grow and test ourselves, and really we’re just striving to still do that as adults. One of the most important things is to be able to express ourselves through playing and recreation, but something in society is telling us not to call it that. It’s not playing; we go to surf or do our sport, which is a bit more serious… But actually that’s what it is, and it is important.’

The full photography story to compliment the film is featured in Sidetracked Volume 30