Gaelic showcase in 2010 Glasgow Film Festival

This year’s Glasgow Film Festival will, for the first time ever, feature Gaelic film and music with select films from FilmG, MG ALBA’s Gaelic online short film competition along with ‘Tormod: A Life’, the highly acclaimed BBC ALBA programme about Norman Maclean which is also set to take centre stage.

FilmG is aimed at unearthing creative talent in the Scottish media industry and a selection of films will be showcased from the FilmG 2008 and 2009 competitions, with some of the filmmakers in attendance to talk about their film. The FilmG event will take place at the 6th Glasgow Film Festival on Saturday 27 February at 3pm at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA).

Among the films to be shown are ‘Oidhche Shathairne’, winner of Best Film award in the New Entrant category of FilmG 2008 and ‘Siubhlachan’, winner of Best Professional Film at FilmG 2009 and which has subsequently been developed into a 30-minute pilot which was aired on BBC ALBA on Christmas Day last year.

‘Tormod: A Life’, a hard-hitting documentary about the life and times of celebrated singer, comedian, poet, musician and author Norman MacLean was produced by Robbie Fraser, Pure Magic Films and Karen Smyth of La Belle Allée Productions. Robbie Fraser will give an insight into his experience of working with a tortured genius as well as some of his other works, starting at 5pm. The programme has also been nominated in the Best Arts category of the Celtic Media Festival awards 2010 which take place in Newry, Northern Ireland in April.

Gaelic events at the Glasgow Film Festival are being hosted by Ceòl’s Craic, Glasgow’s Gaelic Nightclub and are supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Cànan in collaboration with MG ALBA.

Gaelic and Traditional music also features with a Glasgow Film Festival debut for ‘Passing Places’, by Mairearad Green from Wester Ross which was originally commissioned for Celtic Connections 2009 and which has won acclaim from further afield. Mairearad was the winner of the ‘Composer of the Year’ title at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2009; ‘Passing Places’ will be shown at 8pm.

Also on the Saturday at 8.30pm in the CCA, talented Gaelic singer Joy Dunlop, from Connel, near Oban will be launching ‘Dùsgadh’ her debut album. This event will also feature ‘Potential Strangers’, a five piece band with Western Isles connections who find common ground between American rebel folk and Gaelic traditional music. Gaelic actor David Walker will also be making a Guest appearance.

All the Gaelic events at the Glasgow Film Festival will take place in Glasgow at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street starting at 3pm supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, MG ALBA, Culture & Sport Glasgow, Cànan and the Scottish Arts Council.

For information and tickets visit the Glasgow Film Festival website or contact the Box Office at Glasgow Film Theatre on 0141 332 6535.