Life in Miniature is a short film by Ellen Evans. It profiles a mom and daughter mini making duo.
Kath Holden, the daughter, makes furniture and accessories inspired by modern life and Margaret Shaw, the mother, specializes in replica food.
In its short span, the film discusses the catty attitude in the Miniature world, with miniature makers being overly concerned that others are copying their work. Although from experience, I can say this attitude spans all creative genres.
The film also briefly discusses the gendered attitudes about those who make things with their hands. “They say, ‘Oh, so does your husband make all this?'” Which I found quite interesting and feel it opens the door for more research on how mini making is associated with masculinity where mini collecting is considered socially feminine. But I’ll leave that topic for another day.
All in all, in being just under 5 minutes, I feel the film left a lot of unanswered questions. Sure, it’s brought more light to this duo- Delph Miniatures, but I want to know more about how they got into the business, what draws them to miniatures, what their backgrounds are, did they have mentors or formal training?
In short, this feels like a preview for a larger documentary. And maybe the whole point was to get the viewer curious and thinking about some of the questions I listed above, and if that’s the case, it’s successful. I just certainly feel like there’s more of a story to be told.
In talking to my friend in the film industry, I learned that this is likely exactly the case. This could potentially be a pitch piece for a larger film, as to produce a longer version would be quite expensive without a financial backing. So fingers crossed for a feature length documentary!
Check it out for yourself by clicking the embedded video above, and let me know your thoughts.
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