A perfect place to build a film community’: a tour of Scotland’s island movie clubs

Photograph: Ian Rutherford/Alamy. Retrieved from theguardian.com

Think of a film festival and images of celebrities, paparazzi and throngs of tourists might spring to mind, but one festival on a Hebridean island does things a little differently. The Sea Change film festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday, has been attracting the public and the film industry to Tiree (population about 650) in the Inner Hebrides for the past five years.

It’s Scotland’s only annual festival dedicated to celebrating women through film, and hosts screenings, workshops and talks, as well as beach walks, pilates classes and swimming sessions. The community centre becomes the main cinema and an after-party might mean a few pints at a pop-up bar rather than a glitzy hotel.

Jen Skinner, from Screen Argyll, which launched the festival, says the idea grew out of film clubs on Tiree and neighbouring islands. “Our community cinema started with a projector in the cattle market: you needed a broom to turn it on,” she says. However, with support from Screen Scotland, Into Film and BFI Neighbourhood they were able to start programming films and connecting with other community cinemas. The film festival became possible. With the closest cinema on the mainland a three-day trip from Tiree, this is a cultural service for locals and visitors alike.