Orcadian animation wins film festival award

An animated short film, which portrays the story of the Orcadian Woman’s Suffrage Society, has won an award at the 2019 Scottish Short Film Festival in Glasgow.

A Gude Cause Maks A Strong Erm won an award in the category of Most Creative/Original.

The animation, which tells one of Orkney’s more forgotten stories, was researched and written by Fiona Grahame. It was hand-painted and animated by Martin Laird, who was inspired by the involvement of the artist Stanley Cursiter with the Orcadian Woman’s Suffrage Society.

The visuals are accompanied by a haunting original musical score composed by James Watson. Kim Foden provides the narration in a well-spoken Orkney accent.

Rosann Ferrier, one of the judges at the Scottish Short Film Festival, described the film as “a breath of fresh air.”

The awards ceremony, a red carpet affair, took place on Saturday the July 27 at the Art School on Scott Street in Glasgow.

Selected short films were screened for the audience and followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Mr Laird was there to answer questions and accept the award for Most Creative/Original on behalf of the team.

A Gude Cause Maks A Strong Erm was released this year to coincide with International Women’s Day, on March 8. It premiered at the Phoenix Cinema in Kirkwall, where it was shown alongside a week of films featuring female leads or directors.

It has now been shown at several film festivals around the country, including XpoNorth in Inverness, and is free to watch online on YouTube.