2nd Hebrides International Film Festival announces Programme lineup

The Hebrides International Film Festival presented by Stornoway based Rural Nations (Scotland) CIC has announced it’s official programme selections for the second year.  HIFF 2015’s annual showcase of environmentally themed films brings together enthusiasts and filmmakers to discover films from Islands and Environments all over the world  between the 13th – 17th October in Stornoway and in six rural venues located throughout the Outer Hebrides. The films which are both drama and documentary are current Cinematic releases and capture recent environmental research as well as vanishing traditional lifestyles. The Festival is one of five film Festivals in Scotland supported by Regional Screen Scotland, others include Cromarty Film Festival and Shetland Film Festival. The idea is to enable rural communities across Scotland to have access to recent world cinema.

This unique little gem of a Festival for the Outer Hebrides will screen 5 feature dramas and 10 Documentary features, 15 short films, 4 archive films, 4 children’s films (including adventure and animation features) plus a special screening of films from Expo North the Creative Industries Festival and of New Zealand filmHip-Hoperation from Luminate Scotland’s Creative Ageing Festival . Films from 17 countries are represented with themes from surfing and fishing to counting penguin populations and remote lifestyles.

Festival Director Muriel Ann Macleod said: “The selected films reveal fascinating aspects of Island and seafaring cultures as well as environmental issues which are affecting us all today. With excellent cinematography from some very talented international film makers the Festival reveals the substantial quality of film being produced currently from the Nordic Film Industry and also from New Zealand and the Pacific.”

HIFF 2015: Islands and Environments is proud to present the following feature films to play in its main programme:

• The Sunfish/Klumpfisken (Denmark)
• Of Horses and Men/Hross í oss (Iceland)
• The Haumana (Hawaii/USA)
• The Dark Horse (New Zealand)

Documentary Features include:

• Reaching Blue: Finding hope beneath the surface. (Canada)
• No Word For Worry (Norway/Thailand)
• Counting Penguins (USA/Antartica)
• Shark Girl (Australia)
• ThuleThuvalu (Tuvalu Pacific/ Greenland /Switzerland)

Fifteen Short films have been selected to precede the feature films, so attending a HIFF screening gives you a feature and a matching short film to enjoy. Among the collection of interesting International shorts, the Festival will feature the Premiere screening of Tide by Gordon J. Napier which was filmed in Lewis last year with actor Gary Lewis.

Additional environmental shorts will be screened at the two Pop-up Cinemas located in Stornoway and Taigh Chearsabhagh, Lochmaddy, through the Festival week. The Pop-up cinemas are free of charge and visitors can view a short film while having a cup of tea or coffee. Visit the HIFF website for updates:www.hebfilmfestival.org or their facebook and twitter pages:www.facebook.com/HebFilmFestival www.twitter.com/HebIntFilmFest

HIFF 2015 Industry events programme presents the opportunity to learn about the filmmaking process through talks and Q&A sessions with the makers of some of the Festival films. The Festival’s special guest speakers include:- Runar Jarle Wiik from Norway,  Director and Camera on No Word for Worry and Emily V Driscoll Director  of Brilliant Darkness (Japan/USA). Although these programmes are geared for industry professionals/enthusiasts, and will be presented at MG Alba’s offices, they are free and open to the public although booking is required.

Festival competitions will also take place again this year.  The Photography competition invites photographers to submit original photos with the theme Island Life – unique glimpses of the Outer Hebrides, with two categories – Young People (Under 16s) and Adults.   This year Festival organisers wanted to encourage locally-based filmmakers so the Short Film competition is also inviting filmmakers to submit their short films (10-15mins) on the theme of Scottish Islands – a unique perspective. The deadline for both competitions is 30th September, 2015.

HIFF 2015’s Sponsors and Partners continue to play an important role in the Festival and underpins the Festival’s commitment to delivering high quality Cinema.  Rural Nations is proud of its relationships with Regional Screen Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Arts nan Eilean, An Lanntair Arts Centre, Taigh Chearsabhagh, UistFilm, ScreenHI and XpoNorth, Harris Arts and Heritage  and Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay without whose continued and generous support, the Festival would not be able to present  the quality and diversity of cinema on offer.

The Festival has been programmed by Muriel Ann Macleod, Creative Director at Rural Nations and Paul Taylor, Cinema programmer at Eden Court Theatre in collaboration with local venue representatives.

HIFF 2015’s programme is available on the website.  Visitwww.hebfilmfestival.org/programme to download the programme.

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