A SCREEN tribute to the Isle of Skye’s 19th century “warrior poet” Mary MacPherson will open the Folk Film Gathering on Friday.
The Edinburgh festival’s commitment to excavating rarely seen archival titles will see the screening of Mairi Mhor: Her Life and Songs written by John McGrath.
Shot on Skye and featuring the voice of Catriona-Anna Nic a’ Phi, the film documents MacPherson’s passionate resistance to the displacement of Scottish communities during the Highland Clearances through songs that remain resonant to this day.
Tickets are free, and the film will be introduced with a mini-concert of Skye songs by Deirdre Graham.
The screening will be at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse but a number of other films and all the festival’s discussion programme will be made available online.
The films include Doc Rowe’s The Sang’s the Thing; a compendium of footage of some of Scotland’s most notable traditional singers, including Lizzie Higgins, Ray Fisher, Jane Turriff and The Stewarts of Blair. It will be shown at the Scottish Storytelling centre in Edinburgh on July 1, the last day of the festival.
Glasgow-based filmmaker Margaret Salmon’s Icarus (After Amelia) which was filmed in and around Govan during the Covid restrictions will be available online. The film explores gender disparities in waged and unpaid labour, with film portrayals of a dentist’s practice, a food bank, a hairdresser’s, a playground and homes.
Other films to be shown online are Songs of the Open Road, which features traveller Thomas McCarthy, the keeper of more than 1200 of Ireland’s oldest songs, and Dark Horse on the Wind celebrating the life and songs of legendary Irish ballad singer Liam Weldon.
The programme will also include live mini concerts, Q&A sessions, panels and in-person special events.
Co-curator Lydia Beilby said:“Folk Film Gathering is delighted to be returning to an in-person format in 2022, with screenings and events at Filmhouse cinema and the Scottish Storytelling centre.
“This year’s programme brings together a varied and exciting selection of films, each taking a different creative approach to the exploration of themes around community and connectivity.”
www.folkfilmgathering.com/
