In this 1000 Better Stories blog, Story Weaver Lesley Anne Rose shines a spotlight on It’ll Never Work, a Scottish documentary charting the journey of fisherman Hans Unkles as he attempts to build the UK’s first Carbon Zero, solar-powered fishing boat.
I first came across the documentary It’ll Never Work! when researching sea related films to be part of the community programme for Aberdeen’s recent Festival of the Sea. The film popped up on various online searches and I knew I wanted it to be part of the festival programme.
Hans is an Argyll fisherman with a climate conscious. He’s determined to prove that a different, diesel free, environmentally friendly way of fishing is possible. With the support of other local eco aware fisherman, Hans takes apart his old boat – Lorna Jane – and refits it with cutting edge electronic technology. All the time determined to produce the first all-electric boat on the UK Fishing Register.
It’ll Never Work was produced by Hans’ neighbour, filmmaker and director Joe Osborn, who documented the trails, tribulations, battles with admin, funder deadlines and regulators not set up for this type of vessel. All of which are set to a beautiful musical score created by Argyll composer John Wills.
Joe’s documentary follows Hans building, learning, making mistakes, chopping and welding a path to an easier way of fishing. However, this is much more than a film about one man’s pioneering vision. It’ll Never Work also tells the story of the power of collection community action when, as deadlines loom, the strong support of other local fisherman help Hans get his eco-friendly boat over the line.
Underneath all of this is the story of how a cleaner, greener, slower way of fishing is not only better for the plant, but also for the health and wellbeing of local fishermen and women.
You can watch It’ll Never Work online via the film’s website:
Along with a couple of extra films that demonstrate how the boat works and its capabilities.
You can also listen to an interview with Hans via one of Aberdeen’s Festival of the Sea podcasts: