WHEN FISH
BEGIN TO
CRAWL
A thought-provoking meditation on the climate crisis and humanity’s relationship with nature.
Co-directed by Morag McKinnon and Jim Sutherland
“A musical-cinematic contemplation of nature, a call to arms against climate change apathy, and a deeply moving symbol of hope"
film
When Fish Begin To Crawl is a 65-minute film triptych, co-directed and co-produced by Morag McKinnon and Jim Sutherland.
From the formation of the galaxies to the mysterious moment when microscopic life emerged on the planet, When Fish Begin to Crawl takes us on a journey from deep time through to the explosion of biodiversity and present day eco emergencies.
When Fish Begin to Crawl shows us that everything in nature is interconnected and interdependent. It encourages us to redefine our human place in nature by seeing our interconnection within every scale of the natural world from the microscopic to the macroscopic.
When Fish Begin To Crawl is a La Banda Production.
music
The score for When Fish Begin To Crawl, composed by Jim Sutherland, was recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Terry Davies. The music has won no less than 12 awards for best score at film festivals around the world.
The album is out now on Besant Hall Records When Fish Begin To Crawl – Air Edel – Besant Hall Records
Listen to it here: Apple Music: https://apple.co/4jVcANH
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GVQRXr
Live orchestral performances by the RSNO, conducted by Ellie Slorach, in front of three giant screens, formed the lead celebrations for the inscription of The Flow Country as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We encourage orchestras around the world to perform the score live with the triptych. We can provide all of the relevant materials for orchestral performances, as well as versions of the film that can be shown on a single screen, as well as a three screen version. Please use the contact form for enquiries.
Please see the trailer for live orchestral performances below.
EVENTS
When Fish Begin To Crawl is available for screenings and live performances. (Please get in touch via the contact form.)
As well as numerous UK screenings, the film has been screened at more than 30 film festivals worldwide, winning multiple awards for Eco-film and Best Experimental film as well as twelve awards for Best Musical Score.
It received its live orchestral premier in January 2025, across two locations, to celebrate the inscription of the Flow Country as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
These events featured the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing the music against three large screens at Eden Court in Inverness, and The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. These events were presented by Flow Country Partnership, Celtic Connections and Glasgow Film Festival.
Watch this space for future screenings and developments!
theme
INTERCONNECTION: Our theme and our process
When Fish begin To Crawl is enriched by a global collaboration with an international community of scientists, film makers, news outlets, and public contributors.
Reaffirming our interdependent relationship with all life on Earth, When Fish Begin To Crawl presents a hopeful vision for the future. The poetic fusion of music and image creates its own impressionistic language with which to tell the story of the inextricable interconnection of the natural world and our human place within it. When Fish Begin To Crawl shows us that everything in nature is interconnected and interdependent. It encourages us to redefine our human place in nature by seeing our interconnection within every scale of the natural world, from the microscopic to the macroscopic.
“In a world grappling with ecological and environmental catastrophes, the film poses a fundamental question: How can we, as humans, reconnect with our roots and forge a sustainable way of living?” – Medium, Sneha Poddar
team
jim sutherland: Director/ Producer/ Composer
Jim Sutherland is an award-winning Scottish composer, producer, filmmaker and artistic director celebrated for genre-spanning, cross-disciplinary work across music, film, television, theatre and large-scale public events.
His compositions have been performed and broadcast internationally, with credits on more than 100 film and television projects, including music for Disney/Pixar’s Brave and Netflix’s Outlaw King. His songwriting has achieved top UK chart placings, and his production work includes several Billboard World Music No.1s.
Jim founded and composed for La Banda Europa, a 35-piece pan-European ensemble using instruments indigenous to each musician’s home territory. Highlights included collaborations with The Vienna Boys’ Choir, Lieux Publics, Celtic Connections and IN SITU, alongside major commissions celebrating Derry as UK City of Culture and Marseille as European Capital of Culture.
Across his career, Jim has collaborated, performed and recorded with artists from many cultures and genres, from Led Zeppelin to the Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band. His folk tunes, especially from his time with pioneering 1980s group The Easy Club, remain part of the living tradition, performed worldwide, often by musicians unaware of their origin.
His work combines strong musical identity with imaginative collaboration, moving fluently between traditional roots, contemporary composition, screen music, public spectacle and international cultural exchange.
morag mckinnon: Director/ Producer
Morag McKinnon, – director/ producer is a Scottish writer/ director whose global perspective derives from her birthplace in Singapore and her early upbringing in Indonesia.
Morag graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a 1st class BA (Hons) in Film and TV and a Masters from Napier University. She directed a number of short films including ‘Home’- a day in the life of a housing inspector, which won the BAFTA for Best Short Film and 16 International Awards.
Morag has directed in television including three episodes of the BAFTA Award winning series ‘Buried’, a visceral depiction of life in prison. She directed the feature ‘Donkeys’ which won the Scottish BAFTA for best film and co-directed the documentary ‘I Am Breathing with Emma Davie, about the last months of the life of Neil Platt, her friend from Art College, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 34. ‘I Am Breathing’ won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Director.
In recent years Morag had focussed on being a mother and her practice has now moved towards the exploration of the intersection of ecology, science, psychology and myth taking her work into a more experimental realm.
As part of exploration in experimental film making she collaborated with multi-disciplinary artists on the ‘Earthing Project’ a year long artistic response to the seasonal change and place. Morag taught for many years on the Kinoeyes Movie Masters and currently teaches part time at Edinburgh College of Art.
CONTACT US
Bring This Story to Your Community
This film was born from a unique collaboration between filmmakers, composers, and climate scientists—a convergence of artistry and research that explores our interconnected world and humanity’s role within it. We believe these conversations about climate and connection are most powerful when shared in community.
If you’re inspired to host a screening or climate-focused event in your area, we’d love to support you. Whether you’re with a university, community organisation, environmental group, or simply want to gather friends and neighbours for an important conversation, we can help make it happen.
Ready to get started? Click the contact button below and let us know about your vision. Together, we can expand the dialogue about our shared future and our place in this interconnected world.
A LA BANDA PRODUCTION
our collaborators
When Fish Begin To Crawl is enriched by a global collaboration with an international community of scientists, film makers, news outlets and public contributors.
- Special thanks to all of the community contributors from Caithness and around the world
- Prof John Crawford
- Prof Stuart Kauffman
- The Flow Country Partnership
- Harvard University Astrophysicists
- Jena University biomechanics scientists
- Al Jazeera
- Wim Van Egmond and other Nikon small worlds awardees from around the world
- Kogia
- RSPB
- The Siberian Times
- Scotland- the Big Picture
- Glasgow University scientists
- The Global Soil Health Programme
- A Swiss Air pilot who makes time-lapse videos above the clouds from the cockpit of his Boeing 747
- American tornado chasers on the plains of Kansas
