Back to the Island. Back to Arran

So, I recently spent a weekend in Arran for a filmmaking retreat. Funded by AYAN (Ayrshire Youth Arts Network) I jumped at the opportunity. Because, hey, a free trip to Arran

What a weekend it was. Amazing people. Wild weather. Cancelled ferries. Getting lost. Drinking lots of Arran Ale. Oh, and some filmmaking too.

After an exciting walk into the wilderness and doubling back to find the accommodation we had walked past, we were welcomed with open arms and warm food and had a night of mixing and getting to know each other before having an early night.

In the morning we were split into groups, trying to mix those with more experience to those who had less. I was teamed with an incredibly talented group and we discussed a few ideas and decided to make a short documentary about life on the island. We interviewed the staff around the hotel and upon walking into town saw the postie drive by and promptly ran after her up the street, and a steep hill, to see if she would mind doing an interview with us.

Always a nerve-wracking thing, asking someone if they would like to answer a couple of questions on camera (the worst that can happen is they say no, but I don’t handle rejection well!) but everyone was so accommodating and lovely to the point I was actually blown away by how kind and supportive everyone there was. And the stories! The stories people had about why they moved to the island; family, love, a peaceful and quiet place to retire being but a few of the reasons people retreated to Arran.

Turns out my mother was quite right when she said I should pack a rain poncho, and plenty of socks, and warm jumpers and gloves... The rain poncho was actually a good shout to be fair...

Despite the weather, it was an incredible weekend. I was actually quite pleased when the ferry was cancelled on the last day, meaning we would be spending an extra night there (oh, woe is me! How terrible this is… I thought, as I sat by the fire with a bottle of Arran Ale).

I felt like a student again, staying up until stupid o’clock talking to people I had only just met. Discussing ideas and aspirations for future projects. Then getting up early and going out and making a documentary in the space of two days. I realised how much I missed filmmaking (and in a way, student life, even though I was knackered). It felt good to be out there and meeting people and getting such an incredible response from everyone as well. It was great fun scouting out interesting places to go and finding such remarkable people to interview. But overall, for me, it was just a good feeling to be part of such an incredible project and to meet an amazing team of young filmmakers.

I’m hoping we get back to Arran soon to do a follow-up documentary in the summer. Fingers crossed on that one!

Anyhoo… here’s the link to the film we made. Hope you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgtzfCTkv-A