News Release

Father of the Bard graces the silver screen

29th January 2009

A fly-on-the-wall documentary following the production of a Scottish history DVD by people with learning disabilities hit the silver screen this week.

As part of the Year of the Homecoming, Stonehaven’s Father of the Bard Project has been working on a DVD charting the life and times of William Burnes, Robert Burns’s father.

The project is focussing on the life and times of William Burnes and the heritage of the Burnes family in Kincardineshire.

The project is jointly funded by Aberdeenshire Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and is working with people with learning disabilities across South Aberdeenshire.

The 30-minute documentary was screened to an invited audience of more than 160 distinguished guests and senior officials at the Cineworld complex on Aberdeen’s Beach Boulevard on Monday. (January 26)

Children and representatives from Glenbervie Primary School, the voluntary and business sectors, and representatives from a variety of local Burns organisations all attended, as did Aberdeenshire Council Chief Executive Colin Mackenzie.

Aberdeenshire Provost Bill Howatson and chairman of the council’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee, Richard Stroud, were also at the event, along with broadcaster and singer Fiona Kennedy and the Lord Lieutenants of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire, Angus Farquharson OBE and Carol Kinghorn, respectively.

They were part of a panel of distinguished speakers who talked before the screening, each providing their own perspective on the Father of the Bard history, and on the project as a whole, including: Keith Newton, Aberdeenshire Council’s Lead Officer for Tourism and Homecoming; Pamela Walker, a service-user who stressed the importance of accessible communication; and Kevin Hutchens from Aberdeenshire Council’s Community Development (Learning Disabilities) service.

From the comfort of their seats, the audience followed the project team through the planning and filming process and the approach towards the first DVD’s launch in May. The team’s second DVD will be launched on St Andrews day. (November 30)

The documentary charts the team’s progress as they find filming locations, plan their schedules and learn a variety of other valuable skills to aid the production of the DVD.

Skills such as digital photography, DVD production and Scottish cookery are training and education components delivered by Aberdeen College to support the Father of the Bard Project.

PHI Post Production and Recording Studios, part of the Peter Hodge International film organisation, has been working with project officer Dave Ramsay and those involved to produce and screen the documentary.

“This has been a fantastic experience,” Dave said. “Making the documentary has given us a taste of the issues we need to address in the production of the next DVD about William Burnes.

“It has been hard work, but we have also had some great filming moments.

“The generous gesture of support and sponsorship through the use of Cineworld, by manager Steve Buchan, was a unique and fitting showcase for the work to date.

“PHI has been enthusiastic in its support and sponsorship of the project, and the relationship between the film crew and service users has been excellent, with many laughs along the way,” added Dave.

“Their professionalism and ability to get behind the project brief has been instrumental in producing some stunning location footage of the Fatherland of Burns.”

Ronnie Brown, a studio engineer from PHI, said: “We’ve had a fantastic time working with Dave and the various groups of service-users. 

“It’s not only been enlightening and fun, it’s also been an enormous privilege to be temporarily allowed to be part of the wonderful relationship that exists between the service users and the staff members at the various centres.”

In his keynote speech, Provost Howatson said: “The Mearns can justifiably lay claim to be the cradle of the Burns family and an integral part of its history and social life.

“This project is about underlining that fact, not just for the year of the Homecoming, but as an on-going recognition of what this part of Scotland has to offer and how it links in with the life and times of the nation’s greatest poet.

“And that is why this project is so important. It is about digging into the past, to explore and reveal the connection between the land and its people, and put the Father of the Bard into the context of the times – very different from our own.”

Three Stonehaven businesses involved as part of an expansion of the project to harness the commitment of the local community - the Cool Gourmet, the Harbour Bakery and the Marine hotel - provided a distinctively Scottish buffet lunch for the event.

 

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