Home media debut for film shot in Orkney

A feature film shot in Orkney in the 1980s is to be released for home entertainment, for the first time.

The 1989 drama, Venus Peter will be released on Blu-ray DVD by Panamint Cinema on Monday.

This is the first time the film has been released on any home video format.

Venus Peter follows a young boy named Peter growing up in a fishing community with his grandfather and his mother, all-be-it with a fantastical twist.

Panamint Cinema describes the plot of the film: “Peter loves poetry and, influenced by his teacher, he constantly imagines life on a large ship as he ponders the whereabouts of his absent father.”

“Full of mischief, Peter leads a magical life in a changing world in this wonderfully evocative film.”

Directed by Ian Sellar and features actors such as Ray McAnally, Gordon R. Strachan, David Hayman and Sinéad Cusack.

The film also included a few Orcadians as extras and was selected as one of the top 20 Scottish films of the century by the National Museum of Scotland.

The film is an adaptation of the novel Twelvemonth and a Day by Christopher Rush and was financed by Orkney Islands Council.