Inverness, 9-12 November 2006

Johnny Lee Miller as Graeme Obree

IN ANTICIPATION of the reopening of Eden Court in 2007, this year’s Inverness Film Festival marks a significant beginning in terms of programming.

In previous years the Festival has lacked focus and coherence, but Festival Directors Paul Taylor and Matt Lloyd have significantly raised the bar, providing a strong and intelligent focus on the art of storytelling through cinema.

This year’s Festival presented a celebration of Scottish Cinema, an exploration of ‘Distant Worlds’, and actively engaged with the cultivation of contemporary Highlands and Islands filmmaking.

Featuring two UK and seven Scottish premieres among over 17 different screenings at Eden Court Cinema and VUE, the festival also included a live performance of ‘The Island Tapes’ at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel. This special event combined music by David Allison, Allan Neave and Alyth McCormack with film of St Kilda, Harris, Orkney and Shetland from the Scottish Screen Archive.

Opening and closing night gala screenings of Kevin MacDonald’s ‘The Last King of Scotland’ and Douglas Mackinnon’s ‘The Flying Scotsman’ were well received. Graeme Obree, the subject of Mackinnon’s film, attended on the closing night. My only regret was that I could not split myself in half and see everything!

Having access to screenings from around the world, including shorts, and the opportunity to attend master classes and workshops, which added so much to my subsequent viewing, were highlights of the Festival for me.

“Here there are stories waiting to be told”, said Timothy Neat’s 1989 film “Play Me Something”, set in Barra. Discussion at the festival through industry guest speakers put the region in creative context. Our whole territory or “mindscape” through film is of immense interest to the rest of the world and it is encouraging to see filmmaking being developed through such initiatives as the Digital Eden Project, Cineworks and DigiCult, all of which had a strong presence at the Festival.

Glasgow Media Access Centre’s Cineworks and DigiCult launch 06/07 will provide opportunities for local writers and directors to receive training and develop their ideas locally.

David Smith, Executive Producer of Cineworks presented a seminar on “Presenting and Packaging Your Project”, giving practical advice but also providing an overview of the industry and the potential for the Highlands and Islands to be at the forefront of a creative movement away from the central belt.

This political shift and commitment to adequate provision and training presents the region with a climate ripe to develop existing talent and see ideas translated to the screen for a world audience.

Mark Jenkins superb illustrated lecture ‘An Introduction to Film Editing’ gave valuable insight into what is largely an unseen craft, examining the evolution of film from script through to post production. The structure, rhythm and language of film he revealed through the edit process was fascinating.

Even though I am not a filmmaker his experience, insight and passion for the craft made this one of the highlights of the festival for me. Like good composition in painting “the best cut is the one you don’t see”, and I felt that this presentation gave me a greater understanding of the visceral and emotional effect film can have on an audience, and why.

Another Highlight was the screening of Digital Eden, a pilot project funded by Scottish Screen’s Digital Media Access Fund and by the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission. Six short films by Oliver Smith, Rachel Mill, Vicky Stonebridge, Ruth Brain, Jean Mackay and Kate Fairclough were selected and developed, including documentary, animation, music video and drama.

It was wonderful to see young filmmakers being interviewed about their work following each screening as the presentation and promotion of film is an important aspect of its production and potential success.

This kind of project, giving Highlands and Islands aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to train using different programmes and equipment, bore amazing fruit within a short space of time and it would be in the interests of the entire region both economically and culturally to expand the project for longer duration.

For me ‘The MusicMaker’ by Ruth Brain and Alasdair Brotherston stood out for its strong design and visual impact, utilising flash and mix puppetry. Another animated piece, ‘Who’s Afraid?’ by Vicky Stonebridge, revealed the scope of work using tablet/pen and the Mirage programme.

Both showed incredible potential, and given the chance to hone their skills through the further development of the Digital Eden Project, could well add to Scotland’s increasing international recognition in the field of short film.

The screening of several short films prior to features was an excellent way of exposing an audience to the impact of a simple idea well told. The shorts ‘Mono’ by Richard Smith and ‘Trout’ by Johnny Barrington were two such examples.

One of the most engaging aspects of this year’s festival was the inclusion of films from or examining “peripheral cultures”. ‘Ten Canoes’ by directors Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, narrated by Australian actor David Gulpilil, brilliantly explored the art of storytelling through narratives that intertwine through use of black & white and colour film, personal history and myth, moving in and out of time and memory.

This sell out screening prompted much discussion afterwards and was as much about the art of film and storytelling as it was about the state of Australian Aboriginal culture prior to white settlement.

‘The Journals of Knud Rasmussen’ (Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohen) explored the relationship between Shamanism and Christianity and its affect on the life of the Inuit, and ‘37 Uses for a Dead Sheep’ (Ben Hopkins) exploring the exile of the Pamir Kirghiz tribe of Central Asia presented stories from outside our popular culture.

The humour and history of the Pamir people presented not an image of an exotic or alien culture but of common humanity and an exploration of the ideas of belonging, identity and homeland that are universal.

There were many new discoveries. Singapore Director Royston Tan’s intense portrait of loneliness in his feature ‘4.30’ and Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmores’ ‘Special’ left me wanting to see more of their socially conscious and emotive work.

‘Special’ offered a thought-provoking slice of our times through the human and superhero attributes and delusions of its protagonist. It asks important questions about the value of the individual in our western consumer culture. However I don’t think I would have opted for a redemptive ending!

Perhaps most surprising was the revelation that Ben Affleck can act in the feature ‘Hollywoodland’, about the life and mysterious death of actor George Reeves, famous for his portrayal of superman in the 1950s.

With an excellent cast and strong performances from Adrian Brody, Diane Lane and Canadian actress Molly Parker, this film is only slightly marred by the father / son subtext which was unnecessary given the potent and complex relationships between the leads.

I am sure that when the new Eden Court opens in 2007 there will be more scope within the venue for discussion and debate about screenings and currents at work within the film industry.

I sincerely hope that Eden Court, Scottish Screen (soon to be part of Creative Scotland) and the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission will continue to assist in the development of emerging talent, and place Highlands and Islands Filmmaking on the map as an innovative hub of cinematic production and activity.

The annual Inverness Film festival has emerged as an important cultural event, and Paul Taylor and Matt Lloyd are to be congratulated for their vision, an excellent foundation for IFF 2007.

© Georgina Coburn, 2006

Links

• Inverness Film Festival