How a 90-second documentary changed a filmmaker's career

When filmmaker Daniel Simpkins was loaned some camera equipment for a few days, he had no idea he would use it to make an award-winning film. Yet a few months later, he walked away with the Grand Prize in Stories in Motion, Canon UK's short film competition hosted in 2023.

"I was amazed to win it, because a lot of talented filmmakers had entered," says Daniel. "I thought it was a nice little film, but I never expected it to win anything."

Daniel's film Farm Life is a beautifully-made documentary – just 90 seconds long – about a young farmer named Jeff. Thoughtful, understated and shot in a letterbox format, it consists of still and carefully-composed shots, with only Jeff's voiceover and ambient sounds from the farm on the soundtrack. The inspiration to make it came from Daniel's own family background.

Born and raised in southwest England, he is very familiar with rural life and Jeff is actually Daniel's cousin. "If you grow up in the country, it never leaves you," he says. Interested in film and media since his teens, Daniel went on to study filmmaking at Falmouth University where his passion for documentaries was born. "I became fascinated by making them, and realised the real world is as interesting as fiction," he adds.

After graduating, Daniel worked briefly as a film production runner before starting his current job as a technician for a camera rental company. His employer encourages him to borrow cameras and develop equipment expertise by doing his own filmmaking, which is how Farm Life came into being.

"I was at a down point creatively and had lost confidence, because a lot of the films I had made were never completed or I wasn't happy with them," says Daniel. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist and if I'm not satisfied with something, I don't show it to anyone because I always want it to be better."

When his boss said there was some equipment that needed testing, Daniel had the idea of asking his cousin whether he could film with him, just as an experiment. "I thought it would make an interesting subject, and I'd also get to hang out in the country again," he continues. "It was a very comfortable situation with a location and a person I knew well, so I took that opportunity and ran with it."

Daniel had seen Canon's Stories in Motion competition advertised and decided to enter after being encouraged by his friends. They were right; the judges loved Farm Life and chose it as both the winner of the documentary category and the overall winner from a huge number of entries.

He was presented with his award at a special event at London's Everyman Theatre. "Winning the competition gave me a lot of confidence that I could make films of high quality and the reassurance that I was heading in the right direction," says Daniel. "It has definitely pushed me to make more of my own films."

Speaking to Daniel two years following this win, it is evident the competition also had a positive impact on his future as a filmmaker. "I’ve been incredibly fortunate to carve out a career in documentary filmmaking. It’s taken me to the USA, UAE, Senegal, Croatia, Austria, and, of course, all over the UK. But the biggest privilege has been returning home to explore Cornwall’s forgotten mines with the Carbis Bay Crew," he says.

Daniel's prize was a Canon EOS C70 and a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM lens, which he used to make a new documentary based in Cornwall, UK. The county was home to a thriving tin mining industry until the 1990s and Daniel's film follows the members of the Carbis Bay Crew, a group of hobbyist cavers and divers, as they explore the lost mines of Cornwall.

"Each member of the crew is a real character," says Daniel. "It can be quite a dangerous hobby to have, but they've each got their reason to go down the mines. Sometimes it's for the historical element, or the adrenaline rush, or just to have a community of like-minded people to meet up with every weekend. So I've been going underground and filming them at work."

In his own words, Daniel describes The Lost Boys of Carbis Bay as a 30-minute documentary following a daring band of unlikely explorers embarking on a quest to uncover the forgotten mines of Cornwall, only to unearth an unexpected journey of self-discovery. "For this motley crew, the pursuit of the unknown serves as a cathartic release, allowing them to momentarily cast aside their worries and reset for the challenges of everyday life," he adds.

Behind the camera, Daniel not only had a responsibility to tell the story of this community in Cornwall, a region he feels is rarely portrayed on screen in an authentic way, but to also explore themes of masculinity, purpose and belonging while doing so.

"We also wanted the film to open up conversations around men’s mental health. Most of the group are men in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and many of them explore these mines as a way of not having to think about what’s going on "back up top." We were really proud to have the support of men’s mental health charity MANUP?, whose mission aligns closely with ours: challenging the stigma around the phrase "man up" and encouraging men to be a part of communities and talk openly," he shares.

As a filmmaker, Daniel was faced with a triad of physical, mental and emotional challenges, so a compact, reliable camera kit was essential to help deliver his vision without added complications.

"Most of these mines require descending by rope, sometimes more than 50 metres. Once underground, it doesn’t get any easier. There’s wading through cold water, crawling on your hands and knees, scrambling over rocks, squeezing through tight passageways, and trudging through sticky mud. You definitely need to be in decent physical shape for the more adventurous trips, otherwise, it’s easy to find yourself stuck and in real trouble," he describes.

A phobia of being underground was mental challenge Daniel needed to overcome in order to produce this film.

"I find it claustrophobic and unsafe. I think that’s partly why I was drawn to making this film in the first place: I wanted to understand why people find joy in exploring these dark, hidden places. The first time I had to descend into a mine by rope, I seriously questioned why I’d taken on this project. When I got to the bottom, I was shaking so much from the adrenaline, I could barely keep the camera steady. But strangely, I think it was the camera that helped me push through the fear. When you're focused on getting the shot, you start to experience the moment through the lens. That separation made it feel more manageable.

"That perspective helped me keep going. In a way, filming gave me a sense of protection, a way to face what scared me while still feeling like I had some control over the situation," he reveals.

Moving between a dark mine and into blinding sunlight can pose a few challenges when it comes to exposure, but Daniel found being able to work with an ND at the touch of a button incredibly useful. "I was already familiar with the Canon format, but I love the EOS C70 because it has internal ND, everything's at your fingertips and it's just so compact," he says. "It's absolutely ideal for documentary shooting. Getting a 4K image and shooting in Canon RAW is really quite special. It's also rugged in terms of build quality and has allowed me to get footage that's quite unique."

Another standout features for Daniel was the autofocus. "Underground, where everything is pitch black and conditions are unpredictable, having fast and reliable autofocus was a lifesaver. It meant I could concentrate on framing and storytelling, without constantly worrying whether the image was sharp," he shared.

Prior to premiering the film publicly, Daniel hosted a private screening for the Carbis Bay Crew and their families, an experience he termed 'terrifying'. "It’s quite a light-hearted group, always joking, always deflecting, and the mines are their escape. But through the interviews, we uncovered some really personal stuff. And suddenly that was all up on the big screen, in front of their peers," he shares.

Worried about how they would react, Daniel was pleasantly surprised with the response.

"I think each of the guys had some nerves about how they’d come across, but they were all moved in their own way. And the families’ reactions were just as powerful. For a lot of them, this was “Dad’s weird hobby” and not fully understanding what he was doing down there. The film gave them that insight. You could feel a real shift in perspective, a sense of pride," says Daniel.

Following this positive response, Daniel started submitting the film to festivals in early 2025, something he'd never done before. Finding it a bit of a minefield to navigate, he shares this advice for beginners entering the film festival circuit for the first time:

1. You have to get used to rejection, no matter how strong your film is.
2. It’s important to go in with a strategy because submission fees add up quickly and can become expensive if you're not careful.
3. Think about where your film naturally fits. If it explores specific themes or genres, there are often niche festivals built around those. The Lost Boys of Carbis Bay, for example, has a strong outdoor adventure element.
4. If you’re able to find a producer or executive producer with experience, it can make a huge difference.

Although Daniel would ultimately like to shoot fiction, he is planning to continue with documentaries for the foreseeable future. "With documentaries, you're meeting people you'd never meet and hearing different opinions and different ways of thinking and it really opens your mind up a bit more," he says. "When you're with your friends and family you tend to see the world in a certain way. With documentaries you push yourself to go and meet other people and interact with them, and I really enjoy hearing their opinions and learning about different ways of life."

When asked what tips he can offer other young filmmakers who want to pursue their own projects, Daniel says: "A lot of young filmmakers fall into the trap of becoming too ambitious about what they want to do, or their projects grow too big to complete. But I think if you look at what you already have around you, there's probably a film waiting to be made.

"The one thing I've taken away from my experience is not to be afraid of making a film by yourself. You don't have to wait for other people to start the ball rolling. In my case I got a lot of satisfaction from directing, shooting and producing the film myself. It has really motivated me, because I've proved to myself that I can do it."

And what tips would he have given himself at the start of the Carbis Bay Crew documentary, knowing then what he knows now?

Here are Daniel Simpkins' three top tips for making your first documentary film:

1. "I’d tell myself to throw myself into the community sooner, and to choose the right tools for the job from the outset. It wasn’t until I became a regular part of the Carbis Bay Crew that the trust really started to build. That’s when the guys began to open up and let their guard down. You can’t fake real relationships. A documentary won’t have heart unless you genuinely care about the people you’re filming. I spent too long thinking I could capture an honest portrayal of the crew from the outside, without fully stepping into their world. But once I did, everything changed."

2. "Then there’s the gear. I used to think you needed the best, most expensive camera and lenses to get a high-end result. But it turned out that what I actually needed was something compact, robust, and built for documentary work. The Canon EOS C70 was that camera. It gave me the freedom to move, to adapt, and to shoot in really challenging environments without compromising the story."

3. "Documentary is a very forgiving medium, technically speaking. Too often, filmmakers get caught up chasing cinematic visuals when the real power lies in story and connection. Once I started using the EOS C70, it all just clicked. I finally had the right tool to tell the story the way it deserved to be told."