Films about the politics of rewilding, the joy of open-air swimming and the consequences of overfishing are all part of a major environmental festival taking place in the North East of Scotland.
The fourth annual LandxSea festival, which takes place in Montrose from September 11 – 13 features films from Scotland, Greenland, Iraq, Croatia, Indonesia and the US and includes one European premiere, two UK premieres and eight Scottish premieres.
Held in an award-winning three screen community cinema converted from a former swimming pool, the festival also includes seaweed tasting, knot tying and an annual dook, when film makers from around the world plunge into the icy waters of Montrose Bay.
Festival Director Rachel Caplan said: “When I talk to people, they are sometimes surprised that a major international film festival is taking place in a small town in Angus. But Montrose is right at the epicentre of all these conversations about climate, energy and agriculture. It’s home to the biggest offshore wind farm in Europe. It’s where the land meets the sea.”
Caplan, originally from Edinburgh and previously director of the San Francisco Green Film Festival, says: “This year’s programme is very emotionally charged. It’s going to make you laugh. It’s going to make you cry. And it’s going to remind you that the world is a wonderful place.
“Every year, the LandxSea programme seems to find its own shape. This year, one phrase kept returning: Hold Fast. This year’s programme tells the stories of people tightly bound to land and sea: fishermen, farmers, artists, voices young and old, and unexpected protectors.”
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The opening night film is Derek vs Derek, a light-hearted documentary about a culture clash between two farmers, both called Derek, who have very different approaches to agriculture. Derek Banbury runs an intensive dairy farm in Devon while his neighbour Derek Gow has taken a different path, transforming his fields into a haven for beavers, wild boar and other native species. What begins as a feud, transforms into a revealing portrait of countryside under pressure.
Expressing the Earth, showing on September 12, is the debut feature film from Scottish director Glenda Rome. The film takes a lyrical journey into geopolitics, combining the work geologist James Hutton with the insight of writer, philosopher and poet Kenneth White. The film coincides with the 300th anniversary of Hutton’s discoveries.
Among the international features are Materia Prima, which examines the global race for lithium and the social and environmental impact on the people of the Bolivian Andes.
Hope is a Word, a Norwegian Nigerian film, looks at oil drilling in the Niger Delta. Finis Terrae, a French silent film from 1929, shows a dispute among young men harvesting seaweed off the Breton coast and will be screened in collaboration with Cinetopia with live music accompaniment.
Directors James Dawson, Jeanie Finlay and Glenda Rome will all be attending LandxSea and along with film-makers from around the world.
David Paton, chair, architect and founder of the Montrose Playhouse said: “It’s amazing to have all these international film makers coming to a town the size of Montrose. The festival brings people together and starts conversations and that’s really important.”
Paton said coastal erosion is a huge issue in Montrose – which lost seven to ten metres of sand dunes last year. The local economy is a mixture of industry, fishing and farming and is a hub for sustainable energy.
Kate Munro, co-ordinator of Montrose-based Angus Climate Hub said: “Something like the LandxSea film festival is the perfect place to have these conversations and I think they are really needed – we need more people to understand the climate reality.
“There’s something about being on the edge of things that allows a freedom of expression and freedom of thought. The stories we tell ourselves show us what is possible – and that’s really important.”
Among the films making their Scottish premiere are All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, a documentary investigating why thousands of dead crabs washed up on the shore in the North East of England. The feature, directed by Jeanie Finlay, (My Fat Friend) is a David and Goliath story seen through the eyes of fisherman Stan Rennie.
The full programme features ten features and 12 short films. Each of the features is paired with a short film with many followed by a Q and A with film makers. The North Light Award is given annually to the best Scottish film.
Young people from local schools will be treated to a preview screening of North Sea, Nature Untamed, which follows diver and underwater cameraman Peter van Rodijnen in a thrilling cinematic adventure. And for young wildlife lovers there will be a screening of the animated classic Watership Down at the Montrose Playhouse on Sunday morning.
One of the most popular events during LandxSea is the annual Montrose Beach Dook, which takes place on Sunday 13. Rachel Caplan said visitors to the festival over the years had fallen in love with the town and the stunning natural environment of Montrose.
“The festival dates coincides with the arrival of the pink footed geese on Montrose Basin – so last year there were a couple of hundred pink footed geese at the start of the festival and by the end there were more than 30,000.”
Sambrooke Scott, Head of Audience Development at Screen Scotland said: “LandxSea is a festival from the heart, one that showcases passionate, urgent, brilliant filmmakers and filmmaking that shine a light on the pressing issues of our day, but which never leaves audiences feeling helpless or maudlin. The filmmakers, speakers and events, provide perspectives and potential solutions ensuring audiences feel part of community that believes in and is motivated by the idea that change is possible. It is fantastic to be able to support LandxSea, Rachel Caplan and the team behind the festival. Its creative excellence, necessary and important theme, and connection to its geographic place, all make it one of Scotland’s key emerging film festivals.”
https:www.landxsea.org
