Screening: Iorram (Boat Song)

Iorram (Boat Song) / 96 mins / 2021 / directed by Alastair Cole (online Q&A)

The first-ever cinema documentary in Scottish Gaelic, Iorram (Boat Song) is an immersive portrait of the fishing community in the Outer Hebrides, as it faces an uncertain future. Director Alastair Cole layers breath-taking footage of island life today with archive sound recordings of voices, stories and songs from the mid-20th century, woven together with a original folk score by Aidan O'Rourke to create a poetic dialogue between past and present, about a culture and language fighting to survive in the modern globalised world.

Alastair Cole is an award-winning Edinburgh-based documentary filmmaker, originally from New Zealand. Iorram continues his filmmaking about the often subtle, intimate and increasingly political dynamics of language and society. His previous films include the feature documentary Colours of the Alphabet, and three short documentaries. Colours of the Alphabet was released at the 2016 Glasgow Film Festival, and went on to screen at 40+ international film festivals and was broadcast in 30 languages across 52 countries internationally, as well as winning multiple awards including a nomination for a Grierson Award 2016. His previous short films have been broadcast in 27 countries and screened at 50+ festivals around the world, including at Cannes Critics Week in 2011 and 2012. Alastair is also a Reader in Film Practice at Newcastle University.

Trailer: YouTube.com/watch?v=WYkT2h22t-l