Film Synopsis
The first cinema documentary entirely in Scots Gaelic, Iorram (Boat Song) is a lyrical portrait of the fishing community in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, past and present.
Director Alastair Cole takes the audience on an immersive journey into the heart of a thousand-year-old community, blending observational footage shot over the past three years with archive sound recordings of stories and songs from the mid-20thcentury, set to an original score by acclaimed folk musician Aidan O’Rourke.
At the core of the film is an extraordinary trove of sound archive, recorded by pioneering Scottish ethnographers, who visited the Outer Hebrides to capture the hardship and romance of life lived in precarious balance with the sea. These newly restored recordings preserve an oral history of lore and legends, tall tales and tragedies, passed down through generations of Gaelic speakers reaching back hundreds of years.
This soundtrack from the past is accompanied by images of the working rhythm of the islands today, on land and on water. The tough realities of fishing and gutting in all weathers and seasons co-exist alongside superstitions and visions of mermaids, faerie folk and mysterious vanishing islands.
The first film score by Aidan O’Rourke (of multi-award-winning folk group Lau) weaves together sound and vision in an emotional and cinematic narrative of toil, laughter and loss.
The sea has always sustained this community, while also holding the power to ravage the lives of the families who rely upon it. The film offers whispers and shadows of people and tragic events long since gone, yet whose memory continues to shape life on the islands today. As Scotland and the UK enter a new future, this provides a reminder that the threads of history and identity at this furthest edge of the British Isles are woven, unmistakably, in the lyrical power of the Gaelic language.
The film has been produced by Bofa Productions and Tongue Tied Films, in association with MG ALBA and the support of the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. The film's development also benefited from the support of Newcastle University, The University of Edinburgh, Film at Culture Lab, and the UK Economic and Social Research Council.
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Sionopsas den Fhilm
A’ chiad film aithriseachd gu tur ann an Gàidhlig, tha Iorram na dhealbh liriceach air Innse Gall, an-diugh agus an-dè. Tha an Stiùiriche, Alastair Cole, a’ toirt an luchd-amhairc air turas-bogaidh a-steach do chridhe coimhearsnachd a tha air maireadh 1,000 bliadhna, a’ measgachadh clàran fuaim tasglainn de ghuthan bhon t-àm a dh’fhalbh le iomhaighean de bheatha nan eilean san latha an-diugh agus ceòl ùr air a chruthachadh leis an neach-ciùil cliùiteach, Aidan O’Rourke.
Aig cridhe an fhilm tha stòras iongantach de thasglann fuaim, air a chlàradh le luchd-eitneòlais adhartach Albannach ann am meadhan an 20mh linn, a thadhal air na h-Eileanan an Iar airson glacadh cruadal agus romansachd beatha air a chur seachad ann an cothromachadh cugallach leis a’ mhuir.
Tha na clàraidhean seo a’ glèidheadh beul-aithris de dh’uirsgeulan, ràbhairtean agus cùisean-mulaid a thàinig sìos tro ghinealaichean de luchd-labhairt Gàidhlig.
An cois an traca-fuaime seo de ghuthan, sgeulachdan agus òrain bho na làithean a dh’fhalbh, tha ìomhaighean dhrùidhteach de ruitheam obrach làitheil nan eilean, air muir is tìr, air am filmeadh thairis air na trì bliadhna mu dheireadh.
Tha na cruadalan an cois a bhith ag iasgach agus a’ cutadh anns gach sìde agus ràithe beo taobh-ri-taobh le geasalanachd, seallaidhean de mhaighdinnean-mara, sìthichean agus eileanan à sealladh.
Tha a’ chiad sgòr-film le Aidan O’Rourke (bhon chòmhlan Lau a tha air iomadh duais a choisinn) a’ fighe fuaim agus ìomhaigh ri chèile ann an cunntas faireachail agus lèirsinneach air saothair, gàire agus call. Bha a’ mhuir a-riamh a’ beathachadh a’ choimhearsnachd seo, ged a bha a’ chumachd aice cuideachd beatha nan teaghlach a bha an urra rithe a chreachadh.
Tha am film a’ tabhainn cagairean agus faileasan de dhaoine agus de thachartasan duilich a ghabh àite o chionn fhada, cuimhneachain a tha fhathast a’ toirt buaidh air beatha nan eilean. Aig àm nuair a tha Alba agus an RA a’ coimhead ri àm ùr, tha seo mar chuimhneachan gu bheil snàithleanan eachdraidh agus fèin-aithne aig fìor oir Bhreatainn air am fighe, dha-rìribh, ann an cumhachd liriceadh a’ chànain Ghàidhlig.
Director: Alastair Cole
Year of Production: 2021.
Country of Production: Scotland, UK
Lengths available: 97min / 89min / 52min
Produced by: Bofa Productions and Tongue Tied Films, in association with Screen Scotland and BBC Alba
Language: Scottish Gaelic with subtitles available in: English, English HOH, Gaelic, Spanish, French, Italian, German.
Audio Description available in English and Scottish Gaelic.
