Visitors to the Hebrides International Film Festival can see everything from small local productions to Oscar winners.
Hebrides International Film Festival (HIFF) takes place from May 15 to 20, on islands across the Hebrides.
The featured films will be screened in multiple venues from Lewis to Barra, thanks to the work of Rural Nations Scotland CIC.
HIFF programmer Muriel Ann Macleod hopes “to support film events in rural locations and encourage the wonderful volunteer promoters in these venues to screen more films.”
Now in its 8th year, the festival will feature films from around the world – and from the islands themselves.
South Uist filmmaker Beatrix A. Wood says she is “delighted” that her film Stravaig: As I Work & Wander On Uist is being shown.
Originally commissioned by the Glasgow School of Art, the film is an intimate look at life on the islands.
“They said, ‘we’d like you to make a poetic film about your relationship with the landscape’,” Ms Wood says. “It wasn’t prescriptive. I didn’t have to stick to a formula and I didn’t have to fulfil some preset brief or narrative.”
‘A joy to make’
That openness allowed her to make Stravaig a very different piece of art than her usual documentary work.
Combining film both old and new with her painting, drawing, and poetry, it’s a portrait of herself “as a human being, not as a as a professional.”
“It’s this immediate experience of being here,” she says.
The film, which Ms Wood says was “a joy to make”, features music by Gaelic singer Màiri MacMillan and young artist Naked Flame.
Ms MacMillan’s songs are “part of the voice of the landscape,” Ms Wood says.
On the other hand, Naked Flame’s music is “young, fresh, energetic,” and “absolutely kicks against what you usually think about with this landscape,” she says.
Local productions such as Stravaig share the programme with films from the USA, Europe, and New Zealand.
A desperate journey from Syria to Sweden is at the heart of Abbe Hassan’s Exodus.
Meanwhile, On Sacred Ground tells the story of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to protect Native American land.
As well as miles, the films also span decades.
Modern Oscar nominees such as The Banshees of Inisherin and Aftersun will featured alongside archival footage of island life from the 1970s.
But the festival also looks to the future, with immersive screenings using virtual reality technology.
‘Maori, Canadian, and Gaelic stories’
Fittingly for a festival rooted in the Western Isles, Gaelic language productions have been given the spotlight.
Scottish Gaelic can be heard throughout films like the documentary Dùthchas (Home) and the fantastical short film Dùsgach (Awakening).
Meanwhile, Irish Gaelic takes centre stage in the much-lauded An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl).
HIFF programmer Muriel Ann Macleod says this year’s selection “reflects a diversity in island and First Nation experiences around the world and right here at home, including Maori, Canadian and Gaelic stories.”
“We hope audiences across the islands enjoy this little gem of a festival and invite them to support their local venues,” Ms Macleod says.
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
- Feral on an uninhabited island, some dying from starvation: Uist campaigners bring St Kilda sheep concerns to Parliament
- It took half a year for Transport Scotland to respond to South Uist’s ferry plea – can Kevin Stewart do better?
- The highest rate of Lyme disease in Scotland: The statistics behind Uist’s fight against ticks
Conversation