SCOTLAND'S only annual celebration of female filmmaking has announced its full programme with intervals for swimming and pilates.
Taking place from September 19 until 21, Sea Change will showcase a selection of new films from women directors from across the globe in Tiree (more than 80 miles away from the nearest permanent cinema).
A 1934 story documentary about crofting life in Shetland by pioneering Scottish filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson, The Rugged Isle: A [[Shetland]] Lyric, will opening the festival.
Later screenings include Motherboard, BAFTA-winner Victoria Mapplebeck’s look at solo motherhood shot over 20 years and six iPhones; Sister Midnight, Karan Kandhari’s feminist punk black comedy set on the streets of Mumbai; and the Berlin Film Festival Audience Award winner Deaf (Sorda), a drama about a young Deaf woman and her hearing husband having a baby.
The film festival also invites audiences to experience sea swims, beach pilates and ceilidh dancing classes in between screenings.
Orkney author Amy Liptrot will introduce a special screening of The Outrun, Shallow Grave star Kerry Fox will share some of her favourite collaborations with female directors including An Angel At My Table and Fanny and Elvis, and there will be a focus on Scottish women in animation.
The festival will take place at venues across the island including An Talla, community hall, the 19th century Hynish Centre (originally built to house the workers building Skerryvore Lighthouse) and Screen Argyll’s screening room in Crossapol.
In the week before the festival, Screen Argyll will host official Sea Change screenings of some classic films directed by women in Seil, Mull and Coll.
Following on from the festival dates, Screen Argyll will be touring a programme of Vicki and Selina’s animations to audiences across the Hebrides and Argyll, including showings in the world-famous Screen Machine mobile cinema.
Ahead of the public festival opening, a host of leading female and non-binary film industry professionals will arrive in Tiree for a series of conversations around an ever-shifting industry.
Highlights of the sessions include guests sharing their wisdom, with Kerry Fox delivering a masterclass on working with actors, Glasgow Film CEO Allison Gardner revealing her tips on getting your film in front of an audience and animator Selina Wagner talking about how she is developing her first feature film.
They will be joined by talks and panels from top Scottish industry bodies including BECTU, the Scottish Documentary Institute and Animation Scotland.
Sea Change’s artistic director Jen Skinner, who lives full-time in Tiree where she runs Screen Argyll, said: “We are so excited to share brilliant films and welcome wonderful people into our communities, for this year’s Sea Change.
"Tiree is the most westerly island in the inner Hebrides and the ideal place to ask, 'what connects us?'
“Everyone is welcome to join us for a weekend of films, workshops, family activities and special guests! Local venues open their doors to filmmakers, film students and film lovers of all ages as we come together to watch, talk, walk, swim, make and share.”
