Film festival will have screenings at Helmsdale, Lairg and Bettyhill
The first public screening of three short films made as part of a film-making project in Sutherland last year will take place later this month.
The screenings will be held at Helmsdale, Lairg and Bettyhill as part of the ‘In-Between Place Film Festival’.
Creative Scotland awarded Lairg and District Learning Centre £8900 last year to fund the film project.
Writer, director and producer Robert Aitken, founder of the Poetic Film School, led workshops in the three villages where the premieres will take place on how to make films using a smartphone.
They were attended by people from across the northern Highlands and as far afield as Edinburgh and Shetland.
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Each venue provided a selection of themes to work on and provided material including archives, artefacts and displays.
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Caithness makar and playwright George Gunn was a guest tutor at the workshops, giving input on how to create narrative and stories.
The films produced are The Farr Ogham, a story about the Picts; Tend, an intimate portrait of Helmsdale district nurse Ishbel Macrae; and Plighting the Ord An Luirg, a reminder of the fragility of humans tethered to the land.
Mr Aitken said: “Each film explores a different theme, but whether it is understanding the Picts, our connections to the land over the centuries or the challenges of caring for people in remote communities, each film has place at its heart.”
The films, which are around 15 minutes long, will be screened at Timespan on Saturday, February 22; Lairg Community Centre on Saturday, March 1; and Strathnaver Museum, on Friday March 21.
Mr Aitken is now inviting other venues and community groups across the far north to host a screening event of the three films this spring.
He said: “We can provide everything you need to host a successful event.”
For more information, visit Poetic Film School’s Facebook page or email: robert@aitken.online.
