Ryan Ermacora and Jessica Johnson’s Concrete Turned to Sand is a magnificently shot, contemplative visual essay that blows you away with its meditative immersion in the rising warmth and acidification of the oceans that affect BC oyster farmers.
Cortes Island is a coastal paradise in British Columbia’s Discovery Islands archipelago. Its abundant ecosystem is a breeding ground for magnificent oysters whose stone-like shells are shaped by tidal currents. These living fossils take years to reach maturity; meanwhile, their environment is changing faster than they can adapt.
It has to be highlighted that Concrete Turned to Sand is not a traditional documentary; for the majority of the film, we only hear conversations between participants, and only once do we get any form of explanation of what is happening in the waters from a scientific perspective. So immediately, you have to become a patient observer of what Co-directors Ryan Ermacora and Jessica Johnson are presenting to you, and goodness, are they giving us something like oyster farmers simply gathering and picking their goods into this poetically gorgeous experience. When we get to the scientific side of things, and the duo get to use footage from a microscopic lens, it becomes just as compelling a watch. You find yourself settling into the rhythm they have created to explain the lives of these farmers under current conditions.
Bookended by these silent shots of a farmer picking at the coastline in darkness, we are taken aback by how beautiful and almost haunting this lonely act is. When he disappears, and it is just nature left, you get the feeling of what was spoken about by scientist Wiley Evans earlier in Concrete Turned to Sand, that when environments change, it takes thousands upon thousands of years for the planet to course correct itself, which it will, if left not to get worse. Here, especially at the end of the film, during these wonderfully long moments, you want that to be happening: nature trying to heal itself while no one is there to disturb it.
Taking the observational style of filmmaking and twisting it just enough to have the audience lean forward in their seats to work out what they are seeing is fantastic. These long, almost cosmic-looking shots show us the power and beauty in nature, that something as spectacular as what we see in the opening and closing moments is just out there on this earth. The lack of urgency in the pacing works to its advantage here. You are easily immersed in what you are watching, and perhaps that is Concrete Turned to Sand’s main strength and its main weakness as a documentary.
At just 73 minutes long, Concrete Turned to Sand occasionally fails to give the audience that little bit more. We are purposefully given snippets, little pieces here and there from the co-operative, from the farmers, from those carrying out the studies. Passing bits of information to inform the audience about the issue, but never delving deeply enough into it. It causes slight frustration because, as we watch the documentary, we actively want to learn more. The work of the directors and the director of photography, Jeremy Cox, is phenomenal. Yet, that yearning to learn a bit more about the issue, specifically in relation to the people we meet, never fully subsides.
Yet, you still get so much from the film. This is a film about the changing landscape of climate change; however, it is also so much more. It is about people who are away from the mainland, who have found their own reasons (as we hear in one segment about a farmer) to be on that island to work. It’s about showing us how little we actually understand about these ecosystems we live in.
Concrete Turned to Sand is a testament to the power of a non-linear and visually open narrative. We did not need someone to guide us through the experiences of the people in the film, which is what matters, and when the film looks as good as this does, you forgive not being as informed as you would have originally liked. What matters is how you feel after seeing a film like this, and the sense you are as immersed as you can be, a great viewing experience.
★★★★
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