Film 2026
Two new films take a journey into another Orkney, with a feeling of entering enchanted territory. One of them looks at the glens of Hoy, showing the clues to their shaping by ice, with panoramic views from the top of the Cuilags, and then the route to Rackwick past the Dwarfie Stane.
The second film shows Swona, out on the edges of the Pentland Firth, with its tides sweeping round the island. The filming took place at a time of activity on the island, with study of the wildlife and investigation of a possible site of early Christianity in Orkney. There are stories of the people and the life of the island in recent times, scenes of birds and wildflowers and the sea, and haunting images of a landscape transformed at times by light.
Meanwhile West Side Cinema are showing the film made from Robert Macfarlane’s book Underland, seeking out hidden places in the depths of the earth.
Several Orkney groups have come together to make possible the showing of a film which is circulating across the whole UK with a stark message, warning of the consequences of climate change and nature loss.
Due to ongoing work at the Hoy Kirk this event has been held over to next year's programme. For anyone who has already booked the ferry, Orkney Ferries are able to offer refunds. As long as you cancel at least one hour before a sailing departs, they are able to give a full refund. Cancellations can be made by email, phone or on their website if you have booked online.
Out on the edge of Orkney, Swona is exposed to the full force of the Pentland Firth’s tides. Selena S. Kuzman’s new film looks at an island uninhabited today but retaining so much of the life of the past. Katy Firth meets William Annal, whose family have owned the island for several generations, naturalist Penny Martin, and Gordonstoun School students helping to restore buildings and study the island’s story. Several of them are helping their housemaster Dan McLean to follow clues to a possible early Christian site on the island, in liaison with archaeologists from UHI Orkney.
Greener Orkney, the Highlands & Islands Climate Hub, Orkney Renewable Energy Forum and Kirkwall East Church invite you to join them in viewing a new film on climate change and nature loss. It sets out stark predictions from a range of experts and calls for urgent government-led national briefing on the scale of the dangers.
Voyage into worlds rarely glimpsed by human eyes. Underland, based on the bestselling book by Robert Macfarlane, is a cinematic documentary exploring the territory beneath our feet, from ancient burial caves to flooded storm drains. Narrated by Oscar-nominated Sandra Hüller, it's a deep dive into the Earth providing a powerful and poetic vision for looking afresh on our lives on the planet’s surface.
