Eileanan: Saoghalan nan Aonar I S L A N D S : W O R L D S I N I S O L AT I O N
‘Sometimes isolation can be shared.’ - Ken Grimwood
27 - 30 DÀMHAIR 27 - 30 OCTOBER
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r ano ry 2022 fo a u r b e F Join us in sable arts s of unmis k e e w o tw ts. omy even & astron
FILM. THEATRE. COMEDY. VISUAL ART. STARGAZING... and lots more
Watch this space for announcements! www.lanntair.com/darkskies
The words isolation and insular have the same Latin root: insula[ris] meaning ‘of or pertaining to an island.’ Both though, can have negative or pejorative associations. Insular being usually a synonym for withdrawn or introverted, while isolation tends to denote loneliness, incarceration or, topically, quarantine. ‘Self-isolating’ has of course, become a common term.
Faclan 2021
ROIMH-RÀDH: INTRODUCTION
In this year’s Faclan programme though, we go well beyond that. We will ‘dwell’ on islands as destinations, anchor points, oases of nature, sanctuaries. On islands inland, portable islands, the romance and mystery of islands, and the beacons that guide and warn us as we navigate our way through fog and the night in these murky times. Thanks to Creative Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and LEADER Innse Gall for support with this year’s programme.
Image: ‘Borerary from Hirta’ © Alex Boyd
Roddy Murray Head of Visual Arts & Literature An Lanntair
Faclan 2021
DIC IADAIN: WEDNESDAY
27 Dàmhair 27 October
Film 8PM
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971, 118 mins, 18)
A melancholy and moving classic set in a dying Texas town in the early fifties. It is rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was selected by the Library of Congress in 1998 for preservation in the US National Film Registry as being of cultural, historical or aesthetic significance. £4/£3 Talk 5PM
A LONG AND TANGLED SAGA: THE STORY OF THE PAIRC ESTATE BUYOUT An independent history of the community buyout in December 2015, of the 28,500-acre Pairc Estate in the southeast of Lewis, which took thirteen years to complete and has become a landmark case in the history of land reform in Scotland. The achievement, struggles and lessons learned are discussed with Agnes Rennie. Historian Dr Bob Chambers is the recognised authority on Hebridean land resettlement. He is the author of many books on the subject and has researched and written extensively on the Hebrides. £5/£4
Faclan Fringe 7PM
STORNOWAY WRITERS’ CIRCLE Local writers read from their work on the theme of islands and isolation. Free
Faclan Fringe 8.15PM
4
SPÀRR | RIVET A group of artists come together to present an extended story based on traditions from the Isle of Lewis and the oral history of Govan. A blind woman has known tragedy more than once in her life and does everything in her power to protect the youngest of her four sons from the sea. A collaborative performance devised by Ian Stephen with director/performer Laura Cameron-Lewis. Music by Mike Vass, illustrations by Christine Morrison. Includes a live introduction by the artists, followed by the film version of the show. In collaboration with An Lanntair. Developed with TRACS for the 2021 Scottish International Storytelling Festival. £4/£3
28 Dàmhair 28 October
Film 2PM
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Faclan 2021
DIA RDAOIN: T H UR SDAY
(Robert Eggers, 2019, 109 mins, 15) Dark, gripping and intense: Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious island in New England in the 1890s. Stars Robert Pattison and William Dafoe. £4/£3 Talk
5PM
THE FRAYED ATLANTIC EDGE: DAVID GANGE A journal and a journey of a year kayaking the Atlantic coastlines from Shetland to Cornwall. Travelling slowly, close to the water, in touch with the natural world and the histories of coastal communities, David Gange spent as much time in coastal archives as in his boat, gathering stories and learning what Britain and Ireland look like with oceanic geographies at the centre. £5/£4
DREAMS AND AWAKENINGS Talk
7PM
ISLANDS OF ABANDONMENT: CAL FLYN Abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man’s lands and fortress islands... what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place? An exploration of the extraordinary places where humans no longer live and what happens when mankind’s impact on nature comes to an end. By turn haunted and hopeful, this luminous world study strives to answer the big questions: what happens after we’re gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone? £5/£4 Talk
8.15PM
ISLAND DREAMS: GAVIN FRANCIS
5
Examining our collective fascination with islands, and referencing the pandemic, Gavin Francis blends stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and great voyages from literature to shed new light on the importance of islands and isolation in our collective consciousness. He qualified in medicine from Edinburgh in 1999, then spent ten years travelling, visiting all seven continents. £5/£4
Faclan 2021
DIH AOIN E : F R IDAY Faclan Fringe 10AM - 1:30PM
SGOIL ÀIRIDH: MOOR TOUR Starting from Borve, a guided, creative walk to a cluster of abandoned shielings on the Ness moor with stories about who used them and why. Includes an activity pack (handmade concertina book, charcoal, pencil, rubber), and hot drinks and home bakes. With Mairi Gillies and Tom Maciver. Distance: About 4 miles. Note there will be an appropriate transport option for those who feel they are unable to walk that distance. Transport from An Lanntair can be provided on request, leaving at 9.30am. £15
Film 2PM
THE VANISHING
(Kristoffer Nyholm, 2018, 107 mins, 15) Three lighthouse keepers arrive on the Flannan Isles off the West coast of Lewis and find an object that becomes the catalyst to a struggle for survival as they are overcome by greed and paranoia. (Based on the disappearance of the three keepers in 1900.) £4/£3
Talk
5PM
6
GONE: THE FLANNAN ISLES DISAPPEARANCE 1900 Along with the ‘ghost ship’ the Mary Celeste, the disappearance of the three keepers of the Flannan Light on 15th December 1900 has become one of the enduring mysteries of the sea. Here, following on from the film, The Vanishing, John Love gives a full illustrated account of the facts as they are known and the most likely hypotheses as to what really happened to James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald McArthur. Based on A Natural History of Lighthouses by John A. Love £5/£4
Talk 7PM
Faclan 2021
29 Dàmhair 29 October
SOUND AND LIGHT: FOG AND NIGHT AN EVENT ON LIGHTHOUSES AND FOGHORNS £6/£5
FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL - A STORY OF SCOTLAND’S LIGHTHOUSES: DONALD S. MURRAY
THE FOGHORN’S LAMENT- THE DISAPPEARING MUSIC OF THE COAST: JENNIFER LUCY ALLAN
A beacon and symbol of safety for seafarers, today all of Scotland’s lighthouses are fully automated, yet we are still drawn to the solitary life of the keeper, the lamp and the calm reassurance of a flashing light on a distant shore. Here Donald S Murray explores and celebrates Scotland’s lighthouses through history, storytelling and the voices of the lightkeepers. Published in partnership between HES and NLB.
Within the foghorn’s colossal bellow is a maritime history, from the story and science of our industrial past to speaker-stacks blasting out for coastal raves. This is an obsessive odyssey told through the people who battled the sea and the sound. Who lived with it and loved or loathed it, and one woman’s intrepid voyage through the howling loneliness of nature.
Faclan Fringe 9PM
FUTURE ISLANDS: FACLAN FRINGE SCRATCH NIGHT 7
A fun, free, informal evening of creativity, conversation and experiment in which people share new, unfinished projects – from music and spoken word to art and theatre – in response to this year’s festival theme. Free
Faclan 2021
D IC I ADAI N / W E DN E S DAY
DI A R DAOIN / T HURSDAY
27 DÀMHAIR / 27 OCTOBER
28 DÀMHAIR / 28 OCTOBER
Film 2PM
Film 2PM
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
THE LIGHTHOUSE Talk
5PM
FRAYED ATLANTIC EDGE: DAVID GANGE DREAMS AND AWAKENINGS
Talk 5PM
A LONG AND TANGLED SAGA: BOB CHAMBERS Faclan Fringe 7PM
WRITERS CIRCLE Faclan Fringe 8.15PM
@AnLanntair
SPÀRR | RIVET E X H I B ITI O N S
LÌONAIDHEAN: TIDES
7PM
ISLANDS OF ABANDONMENT: CAL FLYN Talk
CONFLUENCE: SPIRIT OF NORTH 8
Talk
8.15PM
ISLAND DREAMS: GAVIN FRANCIS
DI SATHAIRNE / SAT UR DAY
29 DÀMHAIR / 29 OCTOBER
30 DÀMHAIR / 30 OCTOBER
Faclan Fringe 10AM
Talk
SGOIL ÀIRIDH: MOOR TOUR
HINTERLAND AND HEARTLAND: FEARANN IS FONN (Breakfast Event)
Film 2PM
THE VANISHING
Faclan 2021
DIHAO I NE / FRIDAY
• Air an Àiridh: Shielings, Islands on the Moor: Hugh Cheape, John Love, John ‘Rusty’ Macdonald, Marc Calhoun. • Derick Thomson Centenary with Anne Frater • Marcas Mac an Tuairneir
Talk 2PM
TWEED RINS TAE THE OCEAN: ALASDAIR ALLAN Film Talk 3.30PM
A POEM OF REMOTE LIVES: MICHAEL RUSSELL Film 5PM
THE SHEPHERDS OF BERNERAY Talk
5PM
GONE: THE FLANNAN ISLES DISAPPEARANCE 1900: JOHN LOVE Talk 7PM
Faclan Fringe 9PM
FUTURE ISLANDS: FACLAN FRINGE SCRATCH NIGHT
Film Talk 7PM
CORPUS: THE ART OF STEVE DILWORTH - STUFF THE WORLD IS MADE OF
www.lanntair.com
SOUND AND LIGHT: FOG AND NIGHT: DONALD S MURRAY & JENNIFER LUCY ALLEN
9
Faclan 2021
DISATH AIRNE: SAT UR DAY HINTERLAND & HEARTLAND: A JOURNEY INTO GAELIC CULTURE FEARANN IS FONN: TURAS A-STEACH DO DHUALCHAS
£10/£8
Talk
AIR AN ÀIRIDH: SHIELINGS: ISLANDS ON THE MOOR An original and intriguing event on Moorland history and the archaeology, tradition and folklore of the shieling. It features John Love on the sheilings of Rum, ‘Rusty’ Macdonald on the those on the Lochs moor, pre and post-War, and Hugh Cheape chairing and commenting on the enduring lore and lure of the àiridh. Marc Calhoun whose The Beehive Dwellings of the Hebrides is newly published by Acair, will join on screen from the USA. (English language event) Talk
RUAIRIDH MACTHÒMAIS DERICK THOMSON CENTENARY: ANNE FRATER
Three events: Ticket price includes a breakfast roll and coffee
An event exploring Derick Thomson’s life and work in his Centenary year. After graduating in Celtic and French from Glasgow University, Anne Frater’s PhD thesis was on Gaelic Women’s Poetry up to 1750. Her work has appeared in magazines and anthologies and in her own collection Fon t-Slige (Under the Shell), Gairm, 1995. She is currently a lecturer on the Lews Castle College UHI Gaelic Degree course. (Gaelic language event with translation)
Talk 12PM
10
DÙILEACH: ELEMENTAL Marcas Mac an Tuairneir is a critically acclaimed, award-winning writer, working through Scottish Gaelic, English, and Polari. He has published three collections of poetry and won and been shortlisted many times for awards and prizes. His work ‘An Leabhar II’ was included in the Scottish poetry Library’s ‘Best Scottish Poems of 2020’ – the first film-poem to ever be included.
Talk 2PM
TWEED RINS TAE THE OCEAN
Faclan 2021
30 Dàmhair 30 October
Although he is the MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar and lives in the Isle of Lewis, this is about the place Alasdair Allan comes from originally - the Scottish Borders. It follows his east to west coast walk that explores the history, literature and language of the oldest national land border in the world. “It should be no surprise that a book by a politician about a political boundary offers occasionally opinionated views” he says, “however, I hope that the account of my journey from Berwick to the Solway Firth will be appreciated by anyone who likes dry humour and wet weather.” £5/£4
Talk
Film 3:30PM
A POEM OF REMOTE LIVES WITH MICHAEL RUSSELL (Werner Kissling, 1934, 19mins, U)
11
A unique, evocative film of the inhabitants of Eriskay, from Kissling’s three-month sojourn on the island in 1934. Shot on silent stock with music and narrative added later, it is believed to be the earliest film with Gaelic language dialogue. The circumstances and story of the film are analysed and explained by Michael Russell, Professor in Scottish Culture & Governance at the University of Glasgow. A founder of the Celtic Media Festival, former MSP for Argyll & Bute and for almost 14 years a Scottish Government Minister in a variety of portfolios, he is also a columnist, commentator and the author of seven books, including two on Kissling. £5/£4
Faclan 2021
DISATH AIRNE: SAT UR DAY
30 Dàmhair 30 October
Film 5PM
THE SHEPHERDS OF BERNERAY (Jack Shea, Allan Moore, 1981, 55 mins, U)
Filmed over the course of a year on the Isle of Berneray in 1978/79 and screened in ‘81, this documentary focuses upon the people who had lived on the island for most of their lives, at which time the population was around 100. And while it is still within living memory (pre-causeway) it seems to describe a more ancient way of life: from gathering seaweed for fertiliser in winter to transporting sheep to summer grazing on the nearby island of Pabbay. £4/£3
Talk
Film 7PM
CORPUS: THE ART OF STEVE DILWORTH STUFF THE WORLD IS MADE OF (Paul Cox, 2020, 65 mins, U)
This event begins with Stuff the World is Made Of: A new film portrait of the astonishing oeuvre of a genuinely important artist, Steve Dilworth. It spans 40 years from his controversial Hanging Figure of the early ‘80s to the present, with contributions from among others Robert Macfarlane, Iain Sinclair and Georgina Coburn.
12
It’s followed by an interview and Q&A with Steve. We consider the location in Harris which serves as both platform and source for him; the materials he uses, what he does and why. £5/£4
Image credit: David Eustace
Exhibition
Faclan 2021
TA I SBE AN AIDHEAN: EXH I B I T I ON S
CONFLUENCE: SPIRIT OF NORTH Gillian Macfarlane, Su Grierson, Inge Panneels, Kyra Clegg
An artist-led exchange project between four artists in Scotland and four in Japan. The project addresses the idea that ‘North’ is always conditional, a direction rather than a location, and that our ideas about it can be fundamental to how we see and relate to our own life and culture. Through real-time international digital links and a final publication, it will connect artists with audiences in both countries.
Exhibition
LÌONAIDHEAN: TIDES William Arnold (Bar Gallery):
An ongoing project that relates to the housing crisis, particularly as it pertains to rural coastal areas. These images comprise one-and-a-half hour exposures of beaches in Cornwall in high summer produced using a large format plate. It reflects a national problem with local housing provision, not least in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
13
Faclan 2021
G ÀIDH L I G
BIRDBOX (STORY VIDEOS) A series of bird themed stories are recounted in Gaelic by Dorothy Kennedy. The recordings (made by CNES Multi-Media Unit) were made for Birdbox, and include the following stories: Latha Trang nan Eun (based on A Busy day for Birds by Lucy Cousins), Eòin a’ Dèanamh Nead (Bird Builds a Nest by Martin Jenkins), Peadar Puthaid (Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek), Oidhche Mhath a Chailleach-Oidhche (Goodnight Owl by Pat Hutchins) B I L I N G UAL
CHO SONA RI BRÒG This music workshop for families with pre-schoolers explores the Gaelic saying ‘Cho sona ri bròg’ - literally ‘As happy as a shoe’ - through the book of the same name by Emma Dodd. Come and join Arts Workers Catriona Hill and Heather Moger for an uplifting session of songs and musical activities on the theme of ‘Happy to be Me’, guaranteed to put a spring in your step. P R E-SC H O O L C H IL D R EN AN D FAM I L I ES EVEN T WOR KS HOP S F OR AG ES 5-8 EN G L ISH
FUNNYBONES
@AnLanntair
Children aged 5-8 years are invited to join members of our creative arts team Heather Moger and Rachel Kennedy as they explore this classic children’s book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Incorporating music and drama, the workshops will take participants on a journey through the pages of the story. A big skeleton, a little skeleton and a dog skeleton live in the dark cellar of a dark house on a dark hill. One night they venture out to find someone to scare, but everyone is in bed so they amuse themselves by scaring each other and playing with the skeleton animals in the zoo.
14
Contact our Education and Outreach team on 01851 708493 to find out more or to book. Faclan Òga events are supported by GLAIF (Gaelic Language Act Implementation Fund) and Scottish Book Trust through Live Literature.
TEÀRLAG AGUS A’ BHANA-BHUIDSEACH Children aged 5-8 years are invited to join Heather Moger and Rachel Kennedy for a fun Gaelic language music and movement session based on Teàrlag agus a’ Bhanabhuidseach by Marie Nicamhlaigh.
Faclan 2021
GÀIDHLIG
Charlotte and her friends are enjoying a fancy-dress Halloween party in the garden when an unexpected guest arrives – a frightening witch on her broomstick, accompanied by a very scary cat. As they fly nearer and nearer the house, Mum comes to the rescue with a hose-pipe and sends the witch on her way. WO R K SH O P S FO R AG ES 5-8 RECO R D E D AUT HO R TA L K S FO R P R IM A RY SC H OOL S EN G L ISH P1 - P3
CATHERINE RAYNER: ARLO THE LION WHO COULDN’T SLEEP Arlo the lion is exhausted. He just can’t drop off, no matter what he tries. It’s either too hot, or too cold; too loud or too quiet. But then he meets Owl. She can sleep through the day, which isn’t easy when most other animals are awake! Will Arlo ever get any rest? Perhaps his new friend has some special tricks she can teach him... Author and Illustrator Catherine Rayner will talk about this delightful book which is shortlisted for the SBT Bookbug Picture Book Prize 2022. She will also introduce some of her other wonderful animal characters and set some creative challenges for the class. E N G L I SH P 4 -P 7
BARBARA HENDERSON: THE CHESSMEN THIEF From the moment 12-year-old Kylan hatches a plan to escape from his Norse captors, and return to Scotland to find his mother, his life becomes a dangerous game. The precious Lewis Chessmen pieces—which he helped carve—hold the key to his freedom, but he will need all his courage and wit to triumph against Sven Asleifsson, the cruellest Viking in the realm. One false move could cost him his life. www.lanntair.com 15
Barbara Henderson has woven a thrilling origin story around the enduring mystery of the Lewis Chessmen which were discovered on Lewis in 1831. In her recorded talk, Barbara will tell you all about how she researched and imagined this story. And being a Drama teacher, she will set some creative dramatic challenges for the class.
OPENING HOURS Tuesday to Saturday 10am –Late
TICKET PRICES General Admission: FREE All Festival ticket: £45/43 Films: £4/£3 Author Events: £5/£4 School Events – FREE but booking essential
Booking: T 01851 708 480 Sràid Choinnich, Steòrnabhagh, Eilean Leòdhais HS1 2DS Kenneth Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2DS Charity No. SC003287
E info@anlanntair.com
www.lanntair.com @AnLanntair