Iorram – Boat Song 

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Margaret Mary Murray

Adam Dawtrey

Mary Bell

Mark Thomas

Colin Monie

Iorram – Boat Song

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Factual: History

Music: Folk

Iorram

BBC ALBA - Iorram – Boat Song

Across the islands of the Outer Hebrides, voices from the past tell stories of the sea.

Across the islands of the Outer Hebrides, voices from the past tell stories of the sea. Guthan bho chian ag aithris sgeulachdan mara Innse Gall.

A cinema documentary entirely in Scottish Gaelic, Iorram (Boat Song) is a lyrical portrait of life in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, past and present. Director Alastair Cole takes the audience on an immersive journey into the heart and soul of a 1000-year-old community, blending archive sound recordings of voices from the past with visuals of island life today and 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 in the mid-20th century, who visited the Western Isles 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. 

This soundtrack of voices, stories and songs from the past is accompanied by moving imagery of the daily working rhythm of the islands, on land and on water, shot over the past three years. 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. 

A’ chiad film aithriseach tur ann an Gàidhlig cruthaichte son taighean dheilbh.   Dealbh liriceach air Innse Gall, an-diugh agus an-dè. Tha an Stiùiriche, Alastair Cole, a’ toirt an luchd-amhairc air turas do chridhe coimhearsnachd a tha còrr is 1,000 bliadhna, a’ snìomh clàran fuaim tasglainn de ghuthan bhon t-àm a dh’fhalbh le ìomhaighean beatha nan eilean san latha an-diugh cuide ri 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 Albannach am meadhan an 20mh linn, a thadhal air na h-Eileanan an Iar airson glacadh cruadal agus dearbhachd 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 trì bliadhna.

Tha na cruadalan an cois a bhith ag iasgach agus a’ cutadh anns gach sìde agus ràithe beò taobh-ri-taobh le seallaidhean de mhaighdinnean-mara, sìthichean agus eileanan à sealladh bho shaoghal eile.
Tha a’ chiad sgòr-film le Aidan O’Rourke  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

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