Brìgh na Sgeòil

Ann am Marram, tha stòiridh air innse mu theaghlach ann an eilean Innse Gall an Alba. Fad is a tha iad a‘ deanamh moran strì gu am mac gràdhach a thuigsinn is a bheothachadh, tha am muran a dh' fheumas iad airson mullach an taighe a chòmhdach, air fàs gann bho cnàmhadh talmhainn-a-chladaich.

Synopsis

Marram tells the story of a family on a Scottish Hebridean island. While they are going to great lengths to understand and revive a beloved son, the marram grass they need to thatch the roof over their heads recedes from a gradually eroding coastline.

Who we are...

Hello! We are writer Elspeth Turner and DOP Robbie Jones, and together we're directing Marram.

What we're doing...

We began collaborating on this idea several years ago, and this year we are really delighted to be moving this film into production. We have secured our dream cast of actors, gathered together an incredible crew, and teamed up with the incredible producers at RPP Productions. We are planning a one week shoot on the Scottish Hebridean island of Berneray, Harris, this winter. Because the film revolves around a family who are cutting and gathering marram, we are committed to shooting in November, when the marram is being cut in the community. We are raising money to support us in the production of this film.

Writer's Statement

The idea of making a film on Berneray occurred to me in November 2015. My father is from the island, and I was there with my brothers, gathering marram grass out on the West side, for thatching the roof of our family cottage there. I was especially intrigued by the sounds I was hearing whilst doing this work - which is sometimes quite meditative. I grew up spending summers on the island, and so I have always been in awe of the beauty of the landscape. However, I wasn’t prepared for the beguiling quality of the light, wildlife, and the land itself, which can be seen in the winter months, and I thought: I think this place will always be unravelling itself to me. So it occurred to me to make a film which might communicate this majestic and in some ways unknowable place to other people.

The characters then grew out of my love for and fascination with the place, and I knew I wanted to follow a family who were working with the marram – I think it’s interesting to watch modern characters carry out this very old practice. This is particularly interesting and important to explore these days, as coastal erosion and other environmental pressures mean that some areas of marram grass which must have once seemed plentiful, are now under threat.

I always wanted the story to be a modern story, complete with some very old beliefs, and to be told in Gaelic. It is very important to me that Gaelic be recognized as a living language, and therefore it’s important for me, as an artist, to show it as such. Therefore I hope we can make the film in such a way that the characters speaking Gaelic is not a big deal, but a matter of course.

I have done some writing for screen before, but this is my first venture as a director of film. I am running towards the opportunity with lots of excitement, partly because I’ll have the chance finally to collaborate with DOP Robbie Jones, who will co-direct. Robbie and I got to know each other working on the feature film Riptide – a schizophrenia love story. I saw first hand just how endlessly inventive and determined Robbie can be as a DOP, and I can’t wait to work with him in capturing the landscape in the Outer Hebrides, and in finding the most interesting and beautiful ways to turn this script into a film.

Previous Work

Elspeth Turner - Writing

What We Need 

We are currently raising money to cover the cost of shooting the film. Between us all, we own or can borrow certain items, so the figures below are based on what we will need to cover the remainder of necessities.

This does not include a budget for post production or festival submissions.

EQUIPMENT RENTAL - £1000

PRODUCTION COSTS - £200

Props/wardrobe: £100

Flashdrives (for footage): £100

TRAVEL, FOOD & ACCOMMODATION - £2000

Accommodation: £900

Fuel and ferry tickets: £600

Food: £500

These numbers are calculated based on the needs of catering for 13 people for the duration of the 4-day shoot.  Some of the accommodation is being generously donated to us.

ARTIST/CREW FEES - £2500

This amount allows us to pay the cast and crew for their work. With a team of 13, this was always going to be the largest portion of our budget. We are immensely grateful to have such a gifted team and believe their skills are worth paying for. 

INSURANCE - £300

TOTAL TARGET : £6000

If we do not reach our entire goal, but we raise enough to survive the shoot (basics only), we will proceed with filming if at all possible, as the content is so time-specific to November.

Your impact

We can't bring this story to production without you - our audience.

We heartily believe in the potential power of this film. Firstly because it is vital to the survival of indigenous, minority languages that we use them to tell compelling, contemporary stories around characters you can recognize. Secondly, we believe we can contribute in a positive way to conversations around LGBTQ+ narratives.

By getting involved with us, you will be supporting our belief that stories like this do need to be told in this way, and that there is an audience out there passionate about watching them.

We are immensely grateful for your contributions, and have designed an array of perks over on the right hand side of this page. They're named after some beautiful Hebridean islands!

Other ways to support us

If you would like to support us but don't feel you can contribute financially, there's loads of other ways you can help, for which we'd be most grateful!

• Share our campaign
• If you think any of your pals would be interested in our work, let them know what we're up to!
• Follow us on social media - we're on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (hover and click!)

Thank You

Lastly, mìle taing / thank you so much for reading our page, a considering contributing to our film. Any support is greatly appreciated.

We also wish to thank Kristina Low and Malcolm Turner for the stills from Berneray, and Roderick Turner for the footage, used in our video here. Also thank you to Brian the dog for use of his image in the video :-)

Sincerely,

The Marram Team