Tag: Hebrides

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 announce Opening Night film

  • Silent Roar is a teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides 
  • The film is the debut feature from BAFTA nominated Scottish writer and director Johnny Barrington and produced by Scottish producer Chris Young 
  • Cast of emerging talent includes Louis McCartney, and rising star Ella Lily Hyland soon to be seen Amazon Prime’s Fifteen Love 
  • The film’s score is created by award-winning composer Hannah Peel (Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, The Midwich Cuckoos) 
  • Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from Friday 18 to Wednesday 23 August 2023 with full programme details released on Thursday 6 July 2023 
  • Press Accreditation for this year’s Festival will open soon 
  • Download the Silent Roar lead image here
  • All tickets for Edinburgh International Film Festival go on sale at midday on 7 July via eif.co.uk/edfilmfest

Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) which this year is hosted by Edinburgh International Festival, is delighted to announce that the Festival will open on Friday 18 August 2023 with the world premiere of Silent Roar, the debut feature from Scottish writer and director Johnny Barrington.  

A teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire set in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, Silent Roar stars newcomer Louis McCartney as Dondo, a young surfer struggling to accept his father’s recent disappearance at sea. Caught up in grief, he is brought to his senses by rebellious crush Sas (Ella Lily Hyland), a high achiever who dreams of escaping the island. When an oddly-behaved new minister arrives on the island, Dondo begins to have cosmic visions …   

Silent Roar is the first feature film from BAFTA-nominated writer and director Johnny Barrington, and has been produced by Scottish producer Chris Young (The Inbetweeners Movie).

The film was shot in the beautiful surroundings of Uig, on the Isle of Lewis, and draws inspiration from Barrington’s teenage years on the Isle of Skye.  

The cast includes Louis McCartney (Hope Street), Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love), Mark Lockyer (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Fiona Bell (The Nest, Shetland), Victoria Balnaves (Trust Me), Anders Hayward (Looted) and Chinenye Ezeudu (Sex Education). 

Hosted by Edinburgh International Festival in 2023, Edinburgh International Film Festival will present a bold, hand-picked programme celebrating the work of exceptional local and global filmmakers and ensuring the flame of EIFF burns bright for future generations of passionate cinema fans. 

Writer/Director of Silent Roar, Johnny Barrington has said: “I’m delighted for Silent Roar to have its world premiere at EIFF, and start its life from a festival and a city so close to my heart.

“The film is a fun ride into surfing, death and the cosmos and awkward high school memories from the 90’s. The shoot was the best time of my life, with the best cast and crew in the world sweating creative blood… (and partying hard at weekends – or so I have been told).

“What formed is a story well wadded with ineffable nonsense, tears and laughter. So, if you like staring into sea caves, the human soul and cement mixers, then you’ll love Silent Roar.” 

Kate Taylor, Programme Director, Edinburgh International Film Festival, said: “Silent Roar is a very easy film to fall in love with. From the idiosyncratic charm of Louis McCartney’s performance, to Ella Lily Hyland’s turn as crisp-chomping cool girl Sas, to Hannah Peel’s soaring score, the film is infused with mystic charisma.

“Johnny Barrington renders the Hebridean landscape, shot on film, as something strange and elemental: a place where we can see transgressive explorations of mourning exist alongside witty forays into religion and teenage hormonal curiosity. 

“Stylistically, Silent Roar is the kind of bold, vivid and highly absorbing cinema that EIFF wants to champion, and we can’t wait to give the film a beautiful launch into the world.” 

Isabel Davis, Executive Director at Screen Scotland said: “It is so exciting that Johnny’s hotly anticipated debut feature will first meet its audience at Edinburgh. As one of Scotland’s most distinctive and beguiling new voices, it’s been a privilege to have supported his creative journey.”   

Silent Roar was made with the participation of Screen Scotland, BBC Films, and BFI.  

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 programme including participating film festival venue information launches on Thursday 6 July 2023. 

Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from Friday 18 to Wednesday 23 August 2023.  

All tickets for Edinburgh International Film Festival go on sale at midday on 7 July via eif.co.uk/edfilmfest 

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Levelling Up reaches the Hebrides

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart has visited the Hebrides to meet community groups, businesses and council representatives.

Levelling up was top of the agenda as UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart visited innovative island businesses and community projects on a five-day visit to Skye, Lewis and Harris, ahead of the inaugural Islands Forum later this year.

Starting his visit in Skye, Minister Stewart met with the Staffin Community Trust and local fishermen to discuss plans to redevelop Staffin Harbour and consider ways the UK Government could support the project. He then headed to Skye’s largest town, Portree, to host a roundtable discussion with representatives from local community groups, where he invited views on how levelling up could enhance the area.

Minister Stewart at Staffin Harbour, Skye

The Minister then made his way to Harris where he paid a visit to the Harris Distillery. He enjoyed hearing about how the island-based enterprise has grown through training and employing young people from the local area, meaning they don’t have to leave the island for work.

Minister Stewart at Harris Distillery

In Lewis, Minister Stewart’s busy itinerary included meeting Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – Western Isles Council – to talk about how levelling up could benefit the local community.

He visited the headquarters of Gaelic Media Service MG Alba to learn about how they are creating premium Gaelic language content, and also paid a visit to Charles Macleod butchers, makers of the world-renowned Stornoway Black Pudding, to discuss their success in exporting from the island.

Minister Stewart meeting Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in Lewis

He also met with Lewis-based Horshader Community Trust, a charity taking forward green initiatives including decarbonising transport and nurturing trees to create woodland. The trust has received more than £70,000 from the Community Renewal Fund to help local residents gain new skills, support the development of two green projects, and work with business partners to strengthen the island’s renewable energy sector.

Minister Iain Stewart said: “It was a pleasure to visit Skye, Lewis and Harris. From discussing plans to regenerate Staffin Harbour, to seeing how the Horshader Community Trust is making Lewis more sustainable, to hearing how the Harris Distillery is supporting jobs for young people, it’s clear these islands have talent, innovation and resourcefulness in droves.

“It’s also clear that the Islands Growth Deal and investment through the UK Government’s Levelling Up Funds are making a real difference in these places, for the benefit of people who live here.

“However, while our island communities have unique strengths, they also face unique challenges. Infrastructure, transport and depopulation are issues that islands often have to contend with, and must be addressed for our rural areas to truly thrive.

“The Islands Forum was set up to discuss these problems. It will give a platform for those who understand remote communities and their needs best, putting islands at the heart of our Levelling Up agenda which has so far resulted in more than £2 billion being invested directly in Scottish projects.”

The UK Government’s first Islands Forum will take place in Orkney later this year. The forum will put islands at the heart of the Levelling Up agenda, with island communities across the UK invited to discuss common challenges including connectivity, infrastructure and demographic trends.