TRANSGRESSIVE NORTH PRESENTS FOLK FILM GATHERING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCOTTISH DOCUMENTARY INSTITUTE

AMBER COLLECTIVE NADIR BOUHMOUCH ELISA CEPEDAL PAT COLLINS MICHELANGELO FRAMMARTINO GASTON KABORÉ ZACHARIUS KUNUK KLEBER MENDONÇA FILHO JOHN SAYLES BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY MAIRI CAMPBELL BRÍAN MAC GLOINN ALASDAIR ROBERTS FOLK FILM GATHERING 2021 LIVE EVENTS

SOLIDARITY Friday 25th June, 7pm Tuesday 29th June, 7pm * Brían Mac Gloinn (Ireland) Bella Caledonia Panel: What can we in conversation with learn from Kenmure Street? Alasdair Roberts (Scotland) - LIVE MUSIC Hosted by Jim Monaghan and Iona Lee Hosted by David Francis (Traditional Music Forum) The triumph on Glasgow’s Kenmure Street – in which activists led a broader community Saturday 26th June, 7pm resistance against police and state security * forces to successfully halt the forced John Sayles (USA) deportation of two young men - is one of the in conversation with most resounding successes of political activism Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil) in the recent history of Glasgow, and Scotland more generally. Led by Bella Caledonia’s Iona Hosted by Jonny Murray (Edinburgh College of Art) Lee and Jim Monaghan, a panel of community members close to the events – including human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, local activist and This year the Folk Film Gathering revolves around a theme of Sunday 27th June, 7pm * Kenmure resident Roza Salih and co-founder solidarity: exploring both the different stories that distinguish Pat Collins (Ireland) of the Glasgow Girls Fatima Uygun – come communities in different parts of the world, alongside certain in conversation with together to lead a discussion celebrating what aspects of experience that are shared in common. was achieved on Kenmure Street, and what we Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy) might learn for the future. Hosted by Jonny Murray (Edinburgh College of Art) Our online programme this year revolves in particular around a series of live conversations between filmmakers from very Wednesday 30th June, 7pm * different parts of the world, who nonetheless share certain aspects Monday 28th June, 7pm * Nadir Bouhmouch (Morocco) of perspective and approaches to filmmaking. As part of these Amber Collective (England) in conversation with conversations, some of the world’s most significant filmmakers will in conversation with members of Elisa Cepedal (Spain) come together to discuss the possibility of a people’s cinema. Frontroom / Belfast Film Workshop Hosted by Will Higbee (University of Exeter) Alongside these conversations will be series of live music events Hosted by Jonny Murray (Edinburgh College of Art) (between musicians similarly exploring conversations between Thursday 1st July, 7pm different parts of the world), a discussion celebrating the recent community triumph on Glasgow’s Kenmure Street, and a curated Bonnie “Prince” Billy (USA) programme of 12 feature films available to stream for the in conversation with duration of the festival. Mairi Campbell (Scotland) - LIVE MUSIC Hosted by David Francis (Traditional Music Forum)

Friday 2nd July, 7pm Our programme is presented in partnership between Transgressive North and * Scottish Documentary Institute, with the kind support of Creative Scotland, Africa in Gaston Kaboré Motion, the Italian Cultural Institute (Edinburgh) and the Traditional Music Forum. in conversation with Zacharius Kunuk Hosted by Rod Stoneman

* Event will include live closed captions

2 www.folkfilmgathering.com FOLK FILM GATHERING 2021 3 STREAMING PROGRAMME Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner Henry Glassie: Field Work Zacharius Kunuk, Nunavut, 2001 Pat Collins, Ireland, 2021

PLEASE NOTE that all films will be available for the duration of the festival (19.00 on 25/6/21 to Drawing from Inuit oral culture and a story he “We are each one of us individuals [and yet] midnight on 2/6/21) with the exception Il Dono, which will only be available to stream between first heard from his mother,Zacharius Kunuk’s we are all of us members of society”. 19.00 on 25/6/21 to 19.00 on 27/6/21. Camera D’Or-winning debut feature is an Spanning half a century, celebrated American All films are available with closed captions for Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.All films are available to epic narrative of a community confronting an ancient evil. Atanarjuat is the fastest runner in folklorist Henry Glassie has dedicated his UK audiences, and a small number of films will be available outside the UK. For information on which titles are life’s work to illuminating the folk art made available to audiences outside the UK, please contact the festival organisers at [email protected] Igloolik, who finds himself falling in love with the gentle Atuat. Yet Atuat is betrothed to Uki, by communities around the world. Part- a dangerous young man whose family has portrait of Glassie and part-meditation Wend Kuuni Buud Yam become corrupted by a terrifying darkness. upon his work, Field Work is an immersive Ultimately the rivalry between Atuat and Uki and meditative film set among the rituals Gaston Kaboré, Burkina Faso, 1982 Gaston Kaboré, Burkina Faso, 1997 will lead to a hazardous chase across the and rhythms of working artists across Brazil, Turkey, North Carolina and Ireland. Set in precolonial Africa during the time of the In a moment of remarkable cinematic continuity, Canadian Arctic, and to a climactic reckoning wherein the community must come together Lyrical and moving, Pat Collins resonant Mossi Empire, Gaston Kaboré’s feature debut Buud Yaam picks up the story of Wend Kuuni documentary seeks ultimately to illuminate follows the story of Wend Kuuni, a young boy and his adopted sister Pughneere 14 years to face its past. Made collectively by Isuma TV with local communities in Igloolik, Atanarjuat is the ‘inescapable complexity’ Glassie saw who has lost the ability to speak. Found lying later, featuring the same actors and locations as between the community and the individual. near-dead in the dirt, Wend Kuuni is adopted Gaston Kaboré’s debut feature. Whilst nearly powerful statement of Inuit vitality and dignity, and a visionary work of cinema. by local villagers and given a new home. two decades have passed, Wend Kuuni is still LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION Underneath his new life, however, lies a deep, ill at ease in his adopted home and remains a Pat Collins with Michelangelo Frammartino LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION Pat Collins with Michelangelo Frammartino unspoken trauma. With the help of his playful source of tension within his community. When SundaySunday 27th 27th June, June, 7pm 7pm adopted sister Pughneere, will Wend Kuuni Pughneere is struck down by a mysterious ZachariusZacharius Kunuk Kunuk with with Gaston Gaston Kaboré Kaboré be able to face the darkness in his past, and illness, Wend Kuuni is faced with a perilous FridayFriday 2nd 2nd July, July, 7pm 7pm find his voice again? The first feature film to journey across Africa to find the only man who be made in Burkina Faso, Wend Kuuni draws can save her. Drawing on a masterful use of Il Dono from African oral tradition to create a powerful colour, camera work and landscape, Buud Yam Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy, 2003 cinematic fable. is one of the great films of world cinema. Silence Pat Collins, Ireland, 2012 In Michelangelo Frammartino’s near wordless Buud Yam is presented with the kind support of Wend Kuuni is presented with the kind support first feature, an elderly farmer befriends Africa in Motion. Hired as a sound technician to find and record of Africa in Motion. a woman believed by her family to be places free of manmade sounds, a young possessed, in a small, ageing community in LIVE, IN CONVERSATION LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION LIVE, IN CONVERSATION man (Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde) travels back which young people are slowly disappearing Gaston Kaboré with Zacharius Kunuk GastonGaston Kaboré Kaboré with with Zacharius Zacharius Kunuk Kunuk Gaston Kaboré with Zacharius Kunuk to Ireland for the first time in 15 years, finding to the city. Finding moments of luminous Friday 2nd July, 7pm FridayFriday 2nd 2nd July, July, 7pm 7pm Friday 2nd July, 7pm himself drawn back to the mountains, bogs beauty in the rhythms and routines of a and lakes of Connemara where he grew community life, Il Dono masterfully blurs the up. Through a series of conversations and boundary between drama and documentary. encounters Eoghan is drawn back to a place Led by a cast of non-actors, and driven by TICKETS of deep personal significance. Blurring the the same visionary poetry and humour that boundary between documentary and fiction, Frammartino later brought to the award- For information, and to purchase tickets, click >HERE< Pat Collins’ meditative feature explores a winning Il Quattro Volte, Il Dono is a gentle yet powerful sense of place, and the deeply- profound look at the gradual depopulation of a A festival pass will get you access to all of these films, events and more. We want the Folk Film rooted relationship between a young man and small town in the Calabrian Mountains. Gathering 2021 to be accessible to all, no matter their means, so festival passes are available at the landscape around him. different price points, which will operate on an honesty basis. Please pay what you can afford. This film will be available to stream between LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION 19.00 on 25/6/21 to 19.00 on 27/6/21. £10 concessions £20 standard £30 full price PatPat Collins Collins with with Michelangelo Michelangelo Frammartino Frammartino Il Dono is presented with the kind support of Low income Middle income Low income SundaySunday 27th 27th June, June, 7pm 7pm the Italian Cultural Institute By purchasing a ticket, you will receive a promo code that can be used to access the films for free once they are released on the platform. Films will also be available to stream individually for a small LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION fee, for those who do not wish to purchase a pass for the whole festival. We would recommend MichelangeloMichelangelo Frammartino Frammartino with with Pat Pat Collins Collins purchasing a festival pass, however, both in terms of value for money and also in order to gain SundaySunday 27th 27th June, June, 7pm 7pm access to all of our live events which will only be available to those with a festival pass.

4 www.folkfilmgathering.com FOLK FILM GATHERING 2021 5 STREAMING PROGRAMME (continued)

The Secret of Roan Inish What Happened Here Acceptable Levels Amussu John Sayles, USA, 1994 Amber Collective, England, 2020 Northern Ireland, Belfast Film Workshop / Nadir Bouhmouch, Morocco, 2019 In Celtic mythology, a selkie is a seal that can On August 24th 1984 - six months into Frontroom, 1983 Made collectively with the Imider community shed its skin to become human. A magical the British miners’ strike - 2000 policemen A BBC film crew is interviewing what they in southeast Morocco, Nadir Bouhmouch’s cinematic reimagining of selkie stories, The descended on a small colliery village in consider to be a typical Catholic family in the rousing documentary chronicles a Secret of Roan Inish tells the story of Fiona, County Durham with the aim of getting one Divis Flats in Belfast when the news comes courageous act of community resistance. In a young girl who is sent to live with her man across the picket line. The community in a child known to the family has been hit by 2011, the women, men and children of the grandparents in the 1940s, in their small Irish of Easington thus found themselves under a plastic bullet fired by a British soldier. The indigenous Amazigh community of Imider fishing village. There she hears the story of occupation. Thirty-five years later, the latest British army, however, contests this version in rural Morocco came together to shut her long-lost brother Jamie, who was stolen film by Tyneside’s Amber Collective looks of events. Back in London, the producer and down the water pipeline to Africa’s biggest by the sea and now lives with the seals. As back upon the events of 1984-85, focussing researcher editing the footage wrestle with silver mine, in order to stop it drying out the Fiona wades deeper into the secrets of her in particular on the efforts of a number of how to present the incident, and with their community’s almond groves and destroying past, will she unravel the mystery of Roan remarkable women to keep Easington fed responsibility to the family they filmed. The their oasis. Filmed eight years later, Amussu Inish and reunite her family? A sublime work during the miner’s strike. Using photography, first fiction feature to be made under the follows the villagers as they consider an of magical realism, John Sayles’ film is one of archive footage and contemporary interviews British Workshop Declaration of the 1980s, ongoing resistance cobbled together from the great folk tales of world cinema. with community members, Amber explore Acceptable Levels is a powerful meditation on the few means at their disposal: songs, what happened through the eyes and words the ethics of filmmaking with working class weekly assemblies, a flimsy camera, a film LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION of the community. Framing the past within communities, and presents a still-resonant festival and endless ingenuity. John Sayles with Kleber Mendonça Filho John Sayles with Kleber Mendonça Filho the present, What Happened Here is a critique of the mainstream media. SaturdaySaturday 26th 26th June, June, 7pm 7pm powerful testament to the dignity, resilience LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION and solidarity of a community under LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION NadirNadir Bouhmouch Bouhmouch with with Elisa Elisa Cepedal Cepedal unimaginable pressure. MembersMembers of of Frontroom Frontroom / /Belfast Belfast Film Film Workshop Workshop WednesdayWednesday 30th 30th June, June, 7pm 7pm withwith Amber Amber Collective Collective Monday Monday 28th 28th June, June, 7pm 7pm Aquarius LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, 2016 AmberAmber Collective Collective with with members members of of Frontroom Frontroom / / BelfastBelfast Film Film Workshop Workshop Monday Monday 28th 28th June, June, 7pm 7pm Work, or To Whom Does 65-year old music critic Clara (Sônia Braga) is the last remaining resident of the Aquarius the World Belong building in Recife. Strong-willed and defiant, Elisa Cepedal, Asturias, 2019 Clara has survived cancer and the death of her husband, yet now faces another battle After the failure of their last strike, Asturian when property developers seek to remove mine workers are faced between a critical her from her appartment. Who will win the choice between apathy or action. Elisa battle of wills that ensues? A celebration of Cepedal’s debut feature documentary powerful womanhood and a resonant critique chronicles a powerful history of resistance of urban gentrification, Kleber Mendonça among the mining communities of Asturias, Filho’s (Neighbouring Sounds, Bacurau) an autonomous region of Northern Spain second feature is a rich, humorous tale of separated from the inner plateau by the survival and resistance. Canatabrian Mountains. Adopting a daring, innovative approach to cinematic form that LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION mixes aspects of observational documentary KleberKleber Mendonça Mendonça Filho Filho with with John John Sayles Sayles with a formally playful approach, Cepedal’s SaturdaySaturday 26th 26th June, June, 7pm 7pm powerful film explores a community negotiating the decline of its core industry.

LIVE,LIVE, IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION ElisaElisa Cepedal Cepedal with with Nadir Nadir Bouhmouch Bouhmouch WednesdayWednesday 30th 30th June, June, 7pm 7pm

6 www.folkfilmgathering.com FOLK FILM GATHERING 2021 7