THE FIRST weekend in December starts with mulled wine in a boat store and ends with curry and malt whisky in Resolis.

IN BETWEEN there are screenings of an eclectic selection of films, so eclectic it’s hard to pick out a common thread. Not so surprising when you see who’s chosen them – this year the guests are a human rights lawyer turned screenwriter (Paul Laverty), a comedian who’s also an author (Rhona Cameron), a fireman turned horologist and automata expert (Michael Start) and an armourer (Carl Summersgill).

Zeffirelli's La Traviata

The guest whose screenings sold out in a matter of minutes, however, is that national icon of tea-drinking, pipe-smoking and political integrity, hereditary peer turned Labour politician, Tony Benn. Or ‘God’, as director Don Coutts calls him.

He’s here to talk about the documentary film of his life story, currently in production, entitled Last Will and Testament, of which an extended trailer has been made exclusively for the Festival. It’s screened again the following morning, introduced by its producer, Sanjay Kumar; it’s already plain this is going to be an inspiring and, judging by the surreptitious deployment of handkerchiefs, moving account of someone once described as “the most dangerous man in Britain”. “I got a death threat the other day”, he confides cheerfully. “I hadn’t had one for ages – I was so chuffed’.

Benn’s words have a ringing clarity that is generally lacking in today’s carefully groomed and focus-grouped politicians. He walks through a room that symbolises his life and reminisces about discovering that ‘being in government is not about changing things but about running the system better’. Unforgettable.

Michael Start's Maraccas Monkey and a head from Hugo (Jennie Macfie)

But this film festival is as full of unforgettable moments as a Christmas pudding is full of dried fruit. The workshops by masters of their craft are enthralling glimpses behind the curtain – who could fail to be beguiled by Michael Start’s antique automata? The cat that shines boots, the maraccas monkey, the rabbit in the cabbage and the tiny feathered singing bird in a silver snuffbox outshine even his tales of working for Scorsese on Hugo .

This year for the first time the Screen Machine has rolled up to Cromarty as a venue. It’s a big lorry which expands, Tardis-lke, into a small but comfortable screening room and every year brings film to communities across the outer reaches of the Highlands and Islands, tens or hundreds of miles from the nearest cinema.

On Friday night it’s sold out for Benn and for his choice, Brassed Off‘, and nearly full for the late nighter, The Woman in Black. Beyond the queues outside waiting to buy their popcorn are the lights of oilrigs in the Cromarty Firth. Meanwhile, just around the corner, short films are screening on the curved tower of the Cromarty Lighthouse, their reflections flickering on the rain slicked street. You just don’t get this in Cannes, or Sundance…

Archive screenings at the Old Brewery (Jennie Macfie)

The other venues are even more atmospheric. The Festival Hub at the Old Brewery has a large-ish room upstairs where the projector is ingeniously and effectively slung from the roof beams in a supermarket shopping basket. It becomes a time machine as archive films reveal a time when heavy horses pulled milk carts through the cobbled streets of Edinburgh and the tones of Harry Enfield’s Mr Chumleigh-Warner were commonplace.

Scottish ‘couthy films’ are screened inside tiny local restaurant Sutor Creek, and the old Stables up the hill shows films as diverse as Zefffirelli’s luscious, extravagant La Traviata and the 2012 remake of Clash of the Titans (its armourer, Carl Summersgill, lets pre-film workshop attenders wield a real sword).

The grand finale in Resolis Hall sold out nearly as quickly as Tony Benn’s event. A screening of Ken Loach’s The Angel’s Share, partly set in the Balblair distillery, a long term supporter of the festival, is, after curry from Gabi’s in Avoch and a raffle drawn by Rhona Cameron, introduced by its writer, Paul Laverty. He closes with a salute to the Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, banned and imprisoned purely because his work does not please his government; the audience raises a toast to Panahi in Balblair ’02. It’s a typically Cromarty Film Festival moment, a mashup of wildly contrasting cultures that works, because it all comes from the heart.

© Jennie Macfie, 2012

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YOU KNOW what it’s like when it’s your turn to choose the DVD.

YOU’RE tense, you’re nervous, you laugh a bit louder at the jokes, scream a bit more at the scary bits. Because you’ve made yourself a little bit vulnerable. It’s about your taste after all. Up close and personal. Which actually could be the motto of the Cromarty and Resolis Film Festival, now in its 6th year – Up Close and Personal, and unique in many ways.

The Angel's Share - a Gala screening this year

The by-line for this film festival is My Favourite Film Festival, because guests are invited to choose their 5 favourite films, and the committee select one of them to screen. In its 6 years so far the festival has welcomed an impressive array of guests to share their personal cinema favourites and to stay around awhile to watch and talk and eat curry.

Kirsty Wark, Sanjeev Kohli, Eddi Reader, John Byrne, writers Ali Smith, Ian Rankin and AL Kennedy, politician Charles Kennedy. Plus a selection of Scotland’s own brilliant film-makers – Sherlock’s Paul McGuigan, Dr Who’s Douglas Mackinnon, Last King of Scotland’s Andrea Calderwood, Hallam Foe’s David Mackenzie, Rob Roy’s Michael Caton-Jones, and probably Scotland’s most revered producer, Iain Smith – all people at the top of their game with fascinating insight into the business, but all of whom gave of their wisdom and experiences in a chummy, cosy settting. Audiences actually do come away from these sessions feeling not only enlightened but also like they’ve just had a gratifying gossip in Grouchos. Definitely Up Close and Personal.

Cloaked by the fabulous backdrop of Cromarty and its neighbouring parish Resolis, the Committee really make use of the Gothic atmosphere that descends upon the town in deep mid-Winter. There are open-air screenings with braziers and mulled wine, torch-lit walks up to The Stables – venue for gloaming and late night screenings. Animated films are projected onto the mothballed Lighthouse; the warm and welcoming Sutor Creek Cafe is the venue for couthy Scottish gems. The Old Brewery becomes the Festival Hub and offers a chance for a breather and a welcome blether over heart-warming soup, inspiring talks or a dip into the Scottish Screen Archive. And the Gala event on the Sunday night – a curry feast, a fantastic film, and a wee bit of music, is snuggled in to the lovely community atmosphere of Resolis Hall.

Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

And so to this year, the festival looks like another cracker. Added to the venues mentioned this time also the Highland Travelling Cinema, the Screen Machine, will make an appearance for its first outing away from its regular circuit.

Among the guests will be the legendary politician Tony Benn, and they will be showing Will and Testament, a deeply moving intimate documentary portrait of the great man, followed by his favourite film which will be Brassed Off, which includes a tour-de-force performance from the late very great Peter Postlethwaite.

Rhona Cameron, comedian and writer will be there, and her chosen film is Woody Allan’s classic Annie Hall. She’ll be quizzed about life, love and what cinema meant to her when she was growing up in Mussleburgh.

Enzo Staiola in Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves

Screenwriter Paul Laverty, long-time collaborator of Ken Loach’s, in a previous life was a Human Rights Lawyer in Nicaragua which gave him the inspiration for his first feature script, Carla’s Song. His favourite film on this occasion will be the beautiful Italian classic Bicycle Thieves, and this year’s Gala Event will screen his latest hugely popular film, The Angel’s Share.

As if this wasn’t enough also making an appearance will be Moray-based Michael Start, of the House of Automata, who made the models for films like Hugo and the eerie dolls and toys in the Woman in Black, both of which will be screened during the weekend. Armourer Carl Summersgill will give audiences insight into his experiences on films such as the Clash of the Titans and the Eagle of the Ninth. And the lovely Scottish Screen Archive People will be back with a selection of gems with Highland connections from their vaults.

It is worth mentioning, and again this is quite unique, that this film festival is run almost entirely by a volunteer committee – it really is a labour of love and it shows. They work to make themselves sustainable by doing things like creating and selling a beautiful poster of images of ridiculously photogenic Cromarty. But they also get funding from Regional Screen Scotland and other organisations – most happily The Co-op. This year is the International Year of Co-operatives and to celebrate the committee’s relationship with (and on-going support from) the local Co-op membership, the Festival will be screening The Rochdale Pioneers, a recently completed film about the Co-operative movement.

So it’s all go for a full and frantic weekend of all things film.

Comfortable? Certainly. Eccentric? Probably. Magical? Undoubtedly.

And films that mean so much somehow, when seen with people who long for you to like them, no matter who they are.

The 2012 Cromarty Film Festival runs from 30 November until 2 December.

© Lindy Cameron, 2012

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CROMARTY is a small town perched on the tip of the Black Isle, known to most people because of its regular mention in the shipping forecast.

That may be changing, though as with every passing year, the Cromarty Film Festival’s reputation grows and grows – this year it was third on The Big Issue’s “Best Things To Do in Scotland” list for the week.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs

Like all the best things in life it runs on enthusiasm. The steering committee share a passion for film which borders on the messianic. Undeterred by the lack of an actual cinema, they show films anywhere and everywhere. Outside, on a convenient gable end wall, or the Cromarty lighthouse. Indoors in cafes, the converted Stables arts centre and Resolis village hall. Once, memorably, on the ferry which carries one car in solitary splendour across the narrows of the Cromarty firth to Nigg. Any sizeable object round here is, in the first weekend of December, likely to find itself covered in projected images.

The programme is always eclectic, full of hidden gems and half-forgotten treasures. Fellini’s 8½, chosen by ‘Inbetweeners’ producer Chris Young, was a revelation to those who hadn’t seen it before and as fresh and exciting as ever to those who had. The same couldn’t quite be said of Bridesmaids which followed it, but it was nonetheless one of the better Hollywood comedy offerings in recent years with its wry look at female friendships and American rituals. I laughed – a lot.

Brilliance of an entirely different kind was on offer the next day when director Kenneth Glenaan introduced Summer starring Robert Carlyle in a role which his Hollywood agent would probably have thrown straight into the bin, that of a semi-literate carer. Glenaan, director of episodes of Spooks and Being Human, started his career as an actor alongside Carlyle, and perhaps this friendship was the key to the star’s nuanced, sensitive, very moving performance. A film which should be shown in all teacher training colleges.

The Sunday finale at Resolis Hall was, as last year, preceded by vast quantities of curry and a free glass of wine.  That alone made a £5 ticket price look like good value, yet there was more to come, a screening of Micmacs, chosen and introduced by author Ian Rankin. The film, aiming at the same targets as Wikileaks, delicately and effectively skewered them by the charming device of wrapping them up in a 21^st century fable told with a generous sprinkling of fantasy and humour, illiuminated by the central performance of Dany Boon. Fellini’s legacy, purely on the evidence of this and the entire Cromarty Film Festival, endures.

© Jennie Macfie, 2011

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THE COLD SNAP prevented many from further south getting to Cromarty, though intrepid actor/director David Hayman successfully escaped from snow- and ice-bound Glasgow on the bus. But what is a spell of bad weather to a man who annually dons salwar kameez and pakol in order to pass as an Afghan and visit the school he set up in Afghanistan? For sheer passion, nothing in the weekend outdid Hayman’s brief Sunday lecture on his charity, Spirit Aid.

The fifth festival started as usual with an outdoor screening, snow and ice notwithstanding, using a whitepainted gable end next to the Londis store, with glowing brazier and mulled wine to warm the heart. Cromarty lighthouse also acted as a screen over the weekend, allowing those walking from one venue to another unexpected glimpses of glowing images under the stars, taken from films made by a party of visiting international students from Napier University whose skills – disclosed during the closing party – extended to being able to play the guitar, didgeridoo and hang drum.

Douglas MacKinnon's The Flying Scotsman

Friday night’s treats included ex-Dr Who director Douglas Mackinnon introducing his 2006 biopic of record breaking Scots cyclist Graham Obree,  The Flying Scotsman (sponsored appropriately by Strathpeffer’s Square Wheels). One of this film festival’s strengths is that it entices audiences to films outside their comfort zone. Even though usually indifferent to sport in general and cycling in particular, this reviewer was won over by the story, the filming, the riveting performances by Jonny Lee Miller and Brian Cox, and Mackinnon’s deprecating charm.

Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai

Saturday’s cinematic treats ran the gamut from Where the Wild Things Are to the Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, while Karen Krizanovich’s talk on Film Criticism was fascinating, producer Iain Smith’s prescient choice of Airplane turned into a tribute to the late Leslie Nielsen, and the late night showing of underrated zomromcom Zombieland won it new fans.

David Hayman

Sunday highlights included Iain Smith’s masterclass on film producing, a glimpse into the vast unseen world that labours to produce screen magic which added resonance to the closing gala screening of Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element, which he co-produced. Lashings of delicious curry (Gabi’s in Avoch ) and free wine supplied by the Co-Op, and music from Stornoway’s Willie Campbell, ensured that Resolis Hall was packed out for what turned out to be the most memorable, exhilarating evening ever at this delightful, quirky festival. The raffle raised over £200 for Spirit Aid, enough, said Hayman, to feed 20 Malawi children for a year.

The (free) bus back to Cromarty through the darkness and deepening snow was enlivened by the sound of locals, visitors and guests alike singing “You Cannae Shove Yer Grannie” with gusto. At a guess, they don’t do that at Sundance.

© Jennie Macfie, 2010

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Giulietta Masina in a scene from Fellinis La Strada

FOR THE third year running, Cromarty turned itself into a cross between Sundance and Brigadoon for what is cunningly billed as “My Favourite Film Festival”. This year’s favourite films were chosen by directors Gillies Mackinnon and Paul McGuigan; producer Andrea Calderwood; politician Charles Kennedy; writer, standup comedian and occasional banjo player A.L. Kennedy; actors Sanjeev Kohli, Paul Riley and Johnny Meres; and Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh.

The weather on Friday evening was cold and clear, ideal for ‘Northern Exposure’ – short documentary films screened under the glittering stars on a whitewashed gable end wall in the supermarket car park.

Warmed by glowing chimineas and free drams courtesy of the nearby Balblair distillery, the audience was enthralled by what are essentially the film equivalent of miniature paintings. (If there is any other public screening where both dogs and children are welcome, I have yet to hear of it). The perfect introduction to the quirkiness of Cromarty, it’s an unmissable experience.

What next? Charles Kennedy’s favourite, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Paul Riley’s choice of Duck Soup, or La Strada? Gillies Mackinnon’s selection of Fellini’s neorealist masterpiece won out over Bowie and the Marx Brothers, and did not disappoint. A story which in other hands could have been depressing or even cloying was made life-affirming by the gamine beauty and luminous acting of Fellini’s wife, Giuletta Masina, abetted by Anthony Quinn in arguably his best ever role.

Afterwards, Mackinnon discussed the film with festival co-director David Gilbert – these are billed as question and answer sessions but usually turn into an enjoyable general conversation with the audience, and this was no exception.

What every festival needs is somewhere warm and welcoming to sit down and recharge batteries with coffee while striking up a conversation with old friends, fellow guests and audience members. The Old Brewery more than filled this role, festively decorated and serving delicious home made soup – and popcorn.

Friday night’s late horror movie, Twilight, was unusual for an American vampire film about teenage love, being set in a world of constant rain and disconcertingly pale complexions (no, not Fort William).

Saturday passed in a non-stop cinematic blur, starting with a window into the past courtesy of Scottish Screen Archives. Ricky Ross’ and Lorraine McIntosh’s selection, The Apartment, starred another luminously beautiful gamine, Shirley Maclaine, in uncharacteristically restrained mode opposite the peerless Jack Lemmon.

The camera coyly panned away from the application of a hypodermic needle but did not flinch as the same hand slapped Maclaine’s face repeatedly – a telling marker for changing attitudes in the last half century.

The Last King of Scotland, introduced by its producer, Andrea Calderwood, was a film which had, she said, caused her backers to question the casting of the weak (Forrest Whitaker) and the unknown (James McEvoy) – rarely can casting have been so triumphantly vindicated.

Saturday’s late night popcorn-assisted movie, the Scottish-made low budget success Outpost, was satisfyingly scary, and the presence of Nazi zombie actor Johnny Meres among us added more than a frisson when the lights came up.

And so it continued on Sunday, a succession of great films and magical moments at what is fast becoming everyone’s favourite film festival, led and run by the closeknit Cromarty community but welcoming the whole world.

© Jennie Macfie, 2009

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Rob Roy

PERCHED on the furthest tip of the Black Isle, Cromarty is a place apart. Its 18th century streets offer an almost Brigadoon-ish charm but though small (just over 700), this community has a rich, thriving arts scene. With director Don Coutts, a local resident, as a major driving force, the Cromarty Film Festival was held for the first time last year when an assortment of well-kent folk were asked to introduce their favourite films (and in the case of directors, one of their own films as well) and talk about them afterwards.

This year the guest list included Hi-Arts own Robert Livingston, Kirsty Wark and Alan Clements, Gus Wylie, Janice Forsyth, Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw from Capercaillie, and directors Michael Caton-Jones (Scandal, Rob Roy) and David Mackenzie (Hallam Foe, Young Adam).

Eden Court had kindly sent their cinema team over to ensure that all technical aspects were dealt with professionally, and it showed. Films were shown in all shapes and sizes of venues but wherever the screening, there was the feeling of settling down in a living room, especially at the Old Brewery where viewing was from the comfort of a leather sofa with a large mug of tea in hand. (You don’t get this at Cannes, I can tell you. …). I left Cromarty on Monday morning with a rekindled enthusiasm for cinema.

The festival programme was as full of good things as a Christmas stocking, and it was hard to choose between them. The dilemma began on Friday evening. Hallam Foe at Resolis or Spinal Tap at the Old Brewery? I ended up in Resolis where the Christmas tree lights were dimmed and the magic of cinema took over. Before and after the screening, promoter David Gilbert asked intelligent questions and discovered amongst other things that director David Mackenzie had worked in the iconic Edinburgh hotel in which much of the action of this fine little film takes place.

Without having been to Resolis, would I have been aware that Mackenzie’s choice on Saturday, Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail, shared with Hallam Foe a slice-of-life, warts and all lack of sentimentality and interest in non-conformity? Probably not. In a typical Cromarty moment, I found myself conscripted to chauffeur the man himself to Resolis (and must apologise, again, to both my passengers for inadvertently taking the long way round, but we did arrive intact and in time for Rob Roy).

Being part of a small audience which included Kirsty Wark and Janice Forsyth made that screening a fairly unforgettable experience. Michael Caton-Jones – in conversation with David Gilbert – revealed that his first job was delivering cinema posters in Broxburn, where one of his early cinematic heroes was John Ford.

Suddenly, an epic Western with the Highlanders as Indians to the Duke of Montrose’s cavalry made total sense. Caton-Jones reminisced about auditioning dancers in Oban and deciding that the band they were dancing to, Capercaillie, would have to become an integral part of the soundtrack.

Which was a neat link to Sunday night’s programme with Donald Shaw and Karen Matheson being interviewed by Don Coutts. Shaw said he loved cinema because it was so inspiring – “There are things you’ve put in a box because they’re just unrealistic, then you see a film and think ‘no, I can do that'”. (We should have asked which film inspired him to take on Celtic Connections).

Their choice was one of the small jewels of French cinema, Tous les Matins du Monde, the story of the baroque composer Sainte Colombe and his disciple Marin Marais, who spends a lifetime discovering that technique is nothing without soul. The music was wonderful. A lone tortoiseshell butterfly, woken from hibernation by the unaccustomed warmth in the Stables, fluttered to and fro in front of the screen. Somehow it felt absolutely right.

© Jennie Macfie, 2008

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