The Oldham Man and the Sea wins Best Feature Documentary at the London Art Film Awards
The Oldham Man and the Sea, the CHIEF. documentary about Frank Rothwell OBE's solo Atlantic row, won Best Feature Documentary at the London Art Film Awards on Friday 23 October 2026. It's the film's second major award, after Best Documentary Feature at Manchester Film Festival in March. Light Colour Sound's Tim Boydell was Director of Photography for everything filmed outside the UK, from the preparation and interviews in La Gomera to the finish in the Caribbean.
The story
Frank Rothwell, owner of Oldham Athletic, became the oldest person to row the Atlantic solo at 70, then went back aged 73 and became the oldest person to row any ocean solo. Together his two crossings raised more than £1.4m for Alzheimer's Research UK. The film, directed by Colin Offland and Marc Ingham and distributed by Journeyman Pictures, follows a man who simply refuses to make things easy for himself.
Filming in La Gomera and the Caribbean
We joined the production for the international shoot, from December 2020 to February 2021: the build-up and departure from San Sebastián de La Gomera in the Canary Islands, then the arrival in Antigua weeks later. Ocean rows don't wait for the camera team, so the job was about being ready, staying light and getting the moments right first time. Both locations needed liaising with the local harbour masters for permission to fly, as well as local boat operators during busy ferry times.
The kit
Main camera: RED Dragon-X with Zeiss Contax primes and DZOFilm Pictor zooms, for a cinematic, slightly vintage look that suits a story about grit and the sea
Aerials: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, flown from shore and from the support boat
Second unit: Panasonic GH5 on a DJI RS2 gimbal for fast, stable coverage
Onboard: GoPro cameras on Frank's boat for life at sea
Timelapse: Canon 6D Mk II with a Canon 16–35mm f/2.8L II
The RED Dragon-X with a DZOFilm Pictor zoom on the beach in Antigua.
Shooting super slow motion on the Freefly Wave, the first Wave camera in the UK.
Watch the film
The Oldham Man and the Sea is on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, free on Tubi, and through Journeyman Pictures. Congratulations to Colin, Marc and everyone at CHIEF., and to Frank.
Filming at sea? Boats, drones and water are what we do best. See our water cinematography and drone operator pages, or get in touch for a quote.
For the cinematography side of the film, read Tim's notes on timboydellcinematographer.co.uk.