It was the history and culture of oyster farming, rather than taste, that motivated a documentary filmmaker to make a film about oyster farming.

‘Oysterland’ follows farmers on the Isle of Mersea and explores the ancient oyster history of Colchester in Essex.

Matthew James Harrison spent two and a half years on the project and says, “There was such a broad culture surrounding this creature.”

The film is playing at venues across the east coast this winter.

Despite its name, Colchester native oysters are actually collected from shallow streams near Mersea Island.

And this has been happening since Roman times.

Matthew says mollusks are the basis of the UK’s oldest city.

“This is something that has sustained that town and that area for thousands of years,” he adds.

“It was in the foundations of ancient Colchester.”

And he literally means – Oyster shells have been found in ancient Roman settlements.

The filmmaker told Colchester Gazette “When an oyster grows in an oyster bed, it absorbs the environment it is in, and each oyster has its own unique taste.”

He continued: “When I was making this film I was trying to absorb all this richness from the people, their stories and the landscape and make it feel like Mersea.”

He said his film also explores the local oyster fishery, the fishermen who work there and the broader community.

But Matthew, who grew up in Essex, explains that it was his admiration for the modern fishing community rather than his love of oysters that made him want to make the film.

She also has strong ties to Mersea Island as her grandmother lived there.

“There’s something here that really interests me,” he tells the BBC.

Although the filmmaker grew up near Colchester, he says he didn’t try oysters until he started filming.

He adds: “You could taste absolutely everything. The whole ocean was in your mouth.”

The film, which was originally expected to be only five minutes long, is now closer to half an hour.

Matthew says the film has inspired him to create “a world of coastal documentaries”, and he now intends to focus on the culture of the Essex islands, including Canvey Island and Mersea Island.