Project Detail

The Solway

An audio cassette tape, with the title 'Childrens Tape for Sue', being repaired.
A gravestone at Torpenhow Church, marking the grave of Sue.
The film's director (Eamon) and his mother (Sue) in a slide photograph, filmed through a loupe
The film's director repairing a found audio tape that has been severed
The film director's father, John, studies rediscovered archive images
A tree in the landscape of the Lake District

Synopsis

Filmmaker Eamon Bourke lost his mother, Sue, when he was three and has no memory of her. When his father decides to sell the remote Lake District home where she died, Eamon returns with his camera to document the house and its clearing.
Among Sue’s belongings - diaries, poems, photographs and tapes - he discovers a box of damaged cassette recordings. After painstakingly repairing them, he uncovers something extraordinary: his mother’s voice. Through these intimate audio diaries, Sue speaks candidly about motherhood, sings to her children, and captures fleeting family moments Eamon never knew.
One final tape records her describing the onset of hepatitis, days before she fell into a coma and died in 1983. Another, more haunting still, features three-year-old Eamon calling out to his unconscious mother in hospital, in a desperate attempt to bring her back.
As Eamon pieces together this archive, he confronts the enduring impact of early loss, speaking with his father and sisters while retracing the emotional landscape of his childhood.
Set against the vast beauty of the Lake District, a deeply personal exploration of grief, memory and love - an attempt to recover what was lost, and to finally say goodbye.

Details

Year
2026
Type of project
Features
Running time
84 min
Format
Digital 4k DCP 24fps 1.90
Director
Eamon Bourke 1st Feature
Producer
Edward Arthur, Nicola Cutcher
Editor
Eamon Bourke, Harvey Quirke
Director of Photography
Eamon Bourke, Jay Creagh
Sound
Nic Allen, Andrew Wilson
Composer
Rollo Clarke, James Gillespie, Sam Gillespie, Ceitidh Mac, Mairead Kerr
Principal cast
With contributions from: Eamon Bourke, John Bourke
Other Lead Creative(s)
Ashley Dean

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Mitos Studios Ltd

Edward Arthur
Bronheulwen
Glasbury
Hereford
Wales
HR3 5LS

Page updates

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