Q: We saw a lot of the Mek’s attitude and reactions to you, but how did they warm to the camera crew?

Olly: At first, the Mek were curious about the camera crew, their weird equipment and their strange behaviour. But camera crews are regarded as oddities in most parts of the world, and are rightly treated as such. In Mekland it’s no different.

It took them a couple of days to work out what all the equipment did and they when they realised it was of no real use to them, they quickly ignored it. However, it was the filming process that took a little more acceptance – being told ‘anam. Anam’ (Stop, Stop) for the 50th time in a day by a camera director trying to get the perfect shot is trying for most people, but at first it was baffling to the Mek, why they should have to wait before digging up a potato.

They understood the process with more speed and intelligence than almost all people (including in our so called ‘developed’ world) that I have ever worked with. Film-making is like a continual tango and through being so gracious in their patience and acceptance of our failings, the Mek opened the windows onto their world and allowed us to make these films.

In fact by the end, they had become masters of documentary in their own right. I will never forget Eonos gently reminding one of the directors that he had forgotten to do the reverse shots and cut-aways…

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