Invitation to view work in progress of Scapa Flow artist-in-residence

7 May 2012 in Film, Orkney, Visual Arts & Crafts

Work is progressing on a film exploring Scapa Flow and the lives of the service men and women who were stationed there during both world wars.

Filmmaker Mark Jenkins was appointed artist-in-residence last year through a venture funded by the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme (SFLPS) and coordinated by the Pier Arts Centre. A short film, The Imaginary Worlds of Scapa Flow, is nearing completion and the Stromness filmmaker is inviting members of the public to view work in progress at the Pier Arts Centre next week when he sets up a temporary editing suite in the Centre’s reference library.

Imaginary Worlds centres around the landscape and buildings of Scapa Flow and explores themes of escapism and longing. A film-script using extracts from memoirs and interviews with soldiers, sailors and local people who lived through both wars, has been developed by Mark Jenkins into a 30 minute screenplay. While Scapa Flow endured significant, violent attacks and formed the central core of ‘Fortress Orkney’, boredom among the troops was a major factor. Entertainments including music, dance, drama and sports were important in maintaining order as well morale.

Mark Jenkins commented, “The residency has been a really exciting opportunity for me. The starting point was working from wartime memoirs and documented events that happened in Orkney during the two world wars. What interested me was not the often seen portrait of wartime Orkney as a desolate corner of the earth, rather the more positive and fond recollections. A strong theme that began to emerge was one of escapism.”

The film poetically explores make-believe worlds with local actors playing the part of the men and women who found themselves in Orkney during a time of war. Various locations around Scapa Flow have been used including Hoxa Head and the Cromarty Hall in St Margaret’s Hope.

Mark Jenkins added, “Once the characters were fleshed out I began casting. I found instant enthusiasm from the South Ronaldsay drama group at the Cromarty Hall. For the interior scenes the Cromarty Hall was just perfect. Shooting in a place that was actually used for cinema and theatre, during wartime, made it especially poignant.”

Making the film has so far involved a crew of 13 people and 10 actors playing 17 characters. Members of the public are now being invited to view the editing of the film. Mark will set up an editing suite in the reference library at the Pier Arts Centre from Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 May and visitors are welcome to drop in between 10.30am and 5pm to see the process up close.

Mark Jenkins has worked on many films over more than twenty years. His credits include editing the BAFTA Scotland Award winning Ma Bar in 2009 and Peter in Radioland voted Best International Short Film at Glasgow Film Festival in 2010. More recently he created a short film on the life and work of Sylvia Wishart as well as series of film portraits of various characters in Hoy.

Andrew Parkinson, Curator at the Pier Arts Centre said, “Scapa Flow holds a deep fascination for many people and its cultural history has been well documented in books, films and photographs in the past. Mark’s fresh approach to this archive of material will help bring to life aspects of the Flow’s rich history and I very much look forward to seeing the completed film. We are keen to make the editorial process available to as many people as possible and hope that folks will drop in to talk to Mark about his work.”

The film is due to be finished later in the summer and a special screening is being arranged to present the work to the public.

The Pier Arts Centre is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm. Admission is free.

The Pier Arts Centre
Victoria Street
Stromness
Orkney
www.pierartscentre.com