It’s a language which is gaining an increasing amount of attention across the north east.
And the organisers of the inaugural Doric Film Competition are celebrating the number of people who are creating their own movies in advance of a showcase awards ceremony at the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen on July 2.
The event, which was launched in January, is divided into several categories, but the emphasis is on promoting Doric and highlighting the rich array of words which are part of everyday conversation in so many towns and villages.
Frieda Morrison, the director of the festival and a broadcaster at Scots Radio, which is organising and hosting the event, wasn’t sure what the response would be when the competition details were first released.
But she is thrilled at the enthusiasm and commitment shown by Scots of all ages as they produce and direct their own slices of cinematic magic.
Ms Morrison said: “There has been a fantastic reaction and entry to the Doric Film Festival throughout the area.
“Individuals and groups are working hard to complete their films before the deadline at the end of this month. With nine schools, nine community groups and eight registered individuals, the race is on to get the final bits of editing finished.
“The Belmont cinema has been booked, the judges are ready, and we are looking forward to a fun event with a lot of classic entries.”
One of the most dedicated groups among the participants are the members of Torry Heritage Group in Aberdeen.
John Dunn has galvanised his colleagues and they will parade their work at the film competition.
He explained: “When I first ran the idea past the group, we thought that five minutes would not be too difficult to do, but it has proved to be a challenging, but enjoyable steep learning curve.
“Torry Doric – and I speak as an adopted Torry loon having both lived and worked here for 50 years – is quite different from Doric elsewhere. So we had to write the script first of all in English and then translate it into Torry Doric.”
Mr Dunn has come up with another novel way of ensuring his cherished Torry loons and quines are allowed to watch the films.
He said: “We are planning a public showing of the entries at Old Torry Community centre on a suitable evening date, with attendees asked to come with washed jam jars or glass bottles as their entry fee.
“Then we would recycle the glass, neatly combining something which did happen in Torry and bringing it bang up to date.”
