MG ALBA’s national Gaelic short film competition, FilmG, has received a record 76 films this year – more entries than ever before.
All entries can be viewed online from today (Monday 16 January) on the FilmG website www.filmg.co.uk, where you can vote for your favourite film until the 31st of January. Your vote will help determine who receives this year’s esteemed People’s Choice award.
The FilmG Jury, composed of representatives of the broadcast industry in Scotland – including Chris Young, producer of box office hit and award-winning film ‘The Inbetweeners’ and ‘River City’ actor Tony Kearney – will work alongside BBC ALBA executives to judge the films and compile a shortlist of finalists. This year’s entrants have come from throughout the country and further afield from Canada and offer an impressive mix of traditional and contemporary interpretations of this year’s theme ‘Air an Stairsnich’ / ‘On the Threshold ’.
The adult category has seen an increase in the number of documentaries made by those keen to explore and share a slice of real life from their own home turf. Among the documentaries submitted include a short film from the Isle of Eigg about a local resident and her famous clootie dumpling, whilst a local from Stornoway has submitted a film about two siblings who, being deaf, have never known a word of Gaelic despite their upbringing in a Gaelic speaking family in Harris.
The 50 short films in the 12-17 category feature a variety of storylines ranging from ‘X-factor’ parodies to haunting hijinx!
The entry from Mallaig High School offers their own take on the infamous ‘A-TEAM’ in the form of the ‘G-Team’ helping to protect Gaelic from their arch enemies, whilst Plockton High School’s short film depicts a scientist creating a new cleaning product with the help of a monkey!
As well as an exceptional increase in the number of schools entering this year, there have also been individual young film-makers eager to go it alone. Having previously entered the competition through her school, Ardnamurchan High, Caitlin Ferguson (17) borrowed equipment available from FilmG and shot her own film – a moving story about a young pregnant girl who finds herself up in court.
Caitlin said: “I’d like to thank FilmG for their guidance in past years which gave me the confidence to take this year's competition on alone. When I first thought about producing my own film it was a bit daunting, but having had the support from FilmG’s mentors I was amazed at how enjoyable and rewarding the production process was. I’m very excited about this year’s competition and look forward to hearing the shortlisted films.”
Donald Campbell, chief executive of MG ALBA, said: “Each year more and more people enter FilmG, and this year is no exception. The appetite of the schools and youth sector in particular to embrace the competition and produce high quality short films is extremely encouraging. We are also particularly pleased with the number of entries submitted from young people and schools both within and beyond the Gaidhealtachd.”
The winning films will be announced at the prestigious FilmG Awards ceremony to be held at the Fruitmarket in Glasgow on the 9th of March.