Scotland’s only film festival dedicated to female talent is set to return to the Hebrides this September.
Sea Change Film Festival will attract an array of talented female filmmakers to the Hebridean island of Tiree over the weekend of Friday 22 to Sunday 24 September.
Over the course of the festival a range of feature films, documentaries and animation will be screened, all of which have been directed by women.
As well as screenings, the weekend will be filled with workshops, family activities and special guests to accommodate the flock of filmmakers, fans and students.
The Isle of Tiree may be almost four hours by boat from the closest permanent cinema, but on the last weekend of September it will become a hub of the art form.
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Highlights of the screenings scheduled for this year’s festival include a special opening screening of Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power by American independent filmmaker Nina Menkes – a docufilm examining Hollywood’s male gaze in the #MeToo era as well as a live streamed Q&A session with Menkes. The film takes a deep dive into how gender politics influence the film industry, from sexist hiring practices to its tolerance of sexual harassment.
Attendees will also get the chance to hear from the Belfast-based BAFTA winning documentary maker Alison Millar on her portrait of the life of Lyra McKee, the young investigative journalist who was fatally shot during rioting in Derry by dissident republicans in 2019.
Sea Change will feature further Irish work with a screening of Cá a ndeachaigh mé? or Where Am I Going?, an experimental film looking at the effect of emigration on sense of self through the journey of one young couple making the move from Donegal to Glasgow.
Where am I Going? is a piece made on 16mm film, a low-budget way of movie making most commonly used for education films. Sea Change is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the first 16mm film being made with a series of workshops on the media, as well as more 16mm film screenings including No Regrets, a drama by French filmmaker Carmen Leroi. There will also be a masterclass and a family-friendly hands-on workshop on the art form.
As well as these smaller films, the Tiree festival also offers the chance to preview upcoming feature films before the hit UK cinemas including Typist Artist Pirate King starring Kelly MacDonald, and award winning documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.
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Other female-directed blockbusters up for screening include Polite Society and Cocaine Bear, plus a Q&A with the Scottish director of Oscar-nominated film Aftersun.
The festival is also looking forward to the future of female film making, offering women at all stages of their careers in the film industry mentoring and skill-sharing discussions.
Sea Change Artistic Director Jen Skinner says: “We are so excited to bring people back to the Isle of Tiree, for this year’s Sea Change. We are celebrating 100 years since the invention of 16mm film by screening a range of brilliant films shot on the format, from artists films to family-friendly animations.”
Screen Argyll are the producers behind the event, which receives funding from Argyll and Bute as well as Culture Heritage and Arts in Argyll, with support from Tyree Gin and the Hynish Centre.
Tickets for the festival are priced at £55 with a £40 price for students and concessions.
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