SAOTHAIR
ATLAS Arts is delighted to be collaborating with Skye Live and Glasgow based, Transit Arts on a film-screening programme at this year’s Skye Live festival in April 2016. The films will be shown out of the back of a transit van and we are excited to be bringing this innovative and fun way to present film to a new audience. Transit Arts’ Marcus Jack will also be producing a ‘zine’ as a free souvenir, which will give the festival audience an original and interactive way to explore the films’ themes.
Saothair, meaning ‘labour/toil’, the title of the programme and zine, will show six short films, three of which were chosen as part of an open call to artists and filmmakers in the Highlands and Western Isles along with films by two renowned filmmakers; Margaret Tait and Margaret Salmon whose recent film Eglantine was filmed entirely in the Isle of Skye. The programme also includes an award ‑winning archive film from 1938 made by the Scottish Education Film Association; Salmon Fishing on Skye.
Come along to enjoy watching films made about or shot in the Isle of Skye, with some looking at relevant issues such as the plight of young crofters and sustainable farming. The film programme also includes a documentary audio slide-show of local scallop farmers David and Ben Oakes by artist Nick Hand commissioned by ATLAS Arts in 2013.
Family friendly, all welcome.
FREE (you do not need a festival ticket to see the films)
Films:
Salmon Fishing in Skye (1938) UK, 5 mins
Scottish Education Film Association (SEFA)
Winner of the Scottish Amateur Film Festival’s Glasgow Cup for Best Classroom Film (1941), Salmon Fishing in Skye follows the labours of fishermen on the island; fixing their nets, bringing in catch, and returning a shark to deeper waters.
Scallop Farmers (2014) UK, 4 mins
Nick Hand
Commissioned by ATLAS as part of the multidisciplinary project Spincycle-Skye (2013−14), this audio-slideshow documents graphic designer Hand’s encounter with David and Ben Oakes, scallop farmers from Sconser, working in the deep waters of Loch Sligachan.
Oyster (2014) UK, 14 mins
Margaret Salmon
Winner of the first Max Mara Art Prize for Women in 2006, Salmon creates filmic portraits that weave together poetry and ethnography. Shot on colour 16mm film, Oyster showcases the native British oyster and various aspects of its life, history and consumption.
The Drift Back (1957) UK, 11 mins
Margaret Tait
Commissioned by the Rural Cinema Scheme, Orkney, The Drift Back records the return of farmer Neil Flaws, and his family, to the island of Wyre at a time when migration from the northern isles of the Orkneys had become critical.
Malachi 4.2 (2016) UK, 1 min
Oliver Mezger
Recipient of the Jon Schueler Scholarship from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye, Mezger explores the idea of parallel relationships. ‘But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.’ (Malachi 4.2).
Crofting’s New Voices (2015) UK, 14 min
Scottish Crofting Federation /Robin Haig
Crofting’s New Voices describes the hope and strife of a new generation of crofters. Struggling to compete with the market economy, unafforable land and housing, and a lack of opportunity in the communities they love, a group gathers to organise for change.
Transit Arts is a framework for the exhibition of contemporary moving image work in nongallery, outdoor locations. Screening films from the back of a van, the peripatetic curatorial project seeks to engage local audiences through an episodic programme developed specifically in response to that locality.
Skye Live was founded by Niall Munro and Ali McIsaac, both Skye locals, and describe Skye Live as a “boutique festival”, showcasing the best of contemporary Scottish music and bringing together lesser known bands as well as more established acts such as King Creosote and Capercaillie.
