A DOCUMENTARY which follows the inauguration of a millionaire Scottish landowner being crowned the first chief of a clan in more than 300 years is about to embark on a tour of cinemas across the county.
The “off-beat” feature-length documentary, Meet the Buchanans, follows the planning of the inaugural three-day bonanza and ceremonial regalia where Mike Buchanan is crowned “Clan Buchanan Highland Chief”.
The film also follows Mike’s wife Paula along with their family and explores the “hidden world” of wealth and privilege, along with a sideways look at how tradition, heritage, and identity are created.
Commissioned by BBC Scotland and supported by Screen Scotland, Meet the Buchanans also explores the pull of belonging and connection, along with the place of clans in modern Scotland.
“They were excited about their own story,” producer and co-director of Meet the Buchanans, Barbara Orton (below) said.
“They were aware there's a complexity in Scotland about clans and clan history and the traditions that go along with it, but they knew from the international side, the clan members in America and Australia, especially, were really keen on the whole clan tradition.
“So, they were thinking, won't it be great to just have something, a historical record of what we're doing, because the people in America and the people in Australia would absolutely love it.”
The documentary follows the inauguration of the clan’s newest chief after decades of genealogical research to identify the next heir who would lead the Buchanan clan for the first time in around 340 years.
Paula is seen in the documentary as the driving force behind the idea and follows her planning of her husband's, Mike (below), inauguration ceremony.
After reading about how clan chief inauguration ceremonies predated the monarchy, and how much of a big celebration they were, she thought the idea of organising one for the Buchanan clan would be an “amazing” idea.
With help from other Buchanans from Australia, Paula set about commissioning a new set of clan jewels, coronet, sword, rod, and even a stone throne for the big occasion.
When approached by Orton about documenting the inauguration, Paula said: “I thought, well, why not?”
“It's such a historic and integral part of Scottish culture, clan culture, which has been basically forgotten or not understood or overlooked over the years.
“I thought we need to get something out so that other clan chiefs can do this with their clan because our clan was so enthusiastic about it, and they just absolutely loved it.
She added: “I just thought it needs to be shown to other clans so that they could have their own version of it.”
Paula (above middle) claims that since the documentary premiered at the Los Angeles Lumiere Cinema as part of the Tartan Film Festival, it has inspired other clans across the world to partake in their own inauguration.
The documentary is now touring across Scotland along with a Q&A panel including Orton and personalities from local heritage and history groups, and contributors to the film.
Viewers will witness “tartan-mad” Buchanan enthusiasts from around the world descend onto a Perthshire estate for the ceremony as people from America, Australia, and even Mexico flew to Scotland to take part in the celebration and learn more about their family roots.
Orton said: “We all laugh at the Americans wearing four different kinds of tartan and calling themselves Scottish, but actually the characters in the film speak really eloquently about what it means to them to have that connection with Scotland.”
For Orton, one pair of American sisters (below), who wear the Buchanan tartan loud and proud, gave an honest glimpse at what it meant to belong and how Scottish heritage can help connect people from different countries.
“They were absolute Yankees, absolute New Hampshire, New England women, but they had this secret passion for belonging to Scotland,” Orton said.
“They came out with such eloquent, emotionally intelligent comments about what it felt like to feel a belonging to Scotland.”
Orton added that the film unpacks how history feeds into establishing traditions, how these traditions feed into establishing a country's identity, and how this identity is portrayed to the world.
The Bafta award-winning producer added that the film shows how people make different interpretations of history and how that results in different traditions being formed.
“They could see they were making history,” Orton said.
“They saw it as a legacy project for the clan to cherish.”
The following cinemas and community venues will be hosting screenings of Meet the Buchanans: Inverness' Eden Court (April 17), Cumbernauld's Lanternhouse Cinema (April 27), Banchory's The Barn (April 30), Aberfeldy's Birks Cinema (May 1), and Fort Augustus's Glenmoriston Millennium Hall (June 14), with more to be announced in the near future.
