Weel, Weel!  

I hiv tae say that yer meely moo’ed Hollywood hisna got a look in when it comes tae the Doric Film Festival. It was grand affair indeed.

Hosted by Frieda Morrison, attended by VIPs and distinguished guests…

For your viewing pleasure… Here are the edits of the event held at the Belmont Cinema in Aberdeen on the 2nd of July 2019.

A celebration of our doric culture, music and song. Some great poems and scripts.

Part 1 (schools)

Part 2 ( Individuals & community groups )

Here is our shortlisted entry Directed by Duncan Harley. “Awa we gaed tae Aikey”

You can also buy our Aikey Brae song online. It costs less than a fancy bag o’ tattie crisps. Ye can find a’ the popular download links here… https://ironbroo.scot/cal-records/aikey-brae/

The doric film festival was a great thing to see. There’s something that grabs your heart deep inside and gives it a kick. It’s intimate like a childhood memory of your mother whispering something close to your ear. It reminded me of a distant childhood memory I had forgotten about. What hit me the most was realising that in our everyday lives we never hear our own tongue portrayed on the big screen unless it’s a comedy or derogatory. If it is heard spoken in the news reports of the mainstream media it would also be sub-titled to emphasis how ignorant and uncultured us heathen doric speakers are. Nobody can understand us even when we speak English. To hear your own people speak on screen in the language that we all understand is a breakthrough. Doric is a powerful language and carries more depth and emotion than English can. We can get away with much less words. We also have words where English equivalents don’t really exist. Di yi ken fit hozzlin is? or Knap Darlich?
The intonation and the use of cursing is an art form in doric and Scots. Swear words are adjectives, nouns and verbs.
From a young age, in Scotland, we were taught not to speak our own words. We were often punished for using them in class, for example. Sometimes enthusiastically by overzealous teachers that felt they were a class above us. Even though they were Scots themselves. If you wanted to get on in life, “dinna spic lik at min”
This is why it makes the Doric Film Festival something unique and groundbreaking in my eyes. It was difficult not to be moved by it. I think there is now a recognition in some places that our language is special and should be celebrated. It’s more than just part of our identity and shared history. It is the spirit of the North East of Scotland.

We had great fun making Aikey Brae and are looking forward to the next film festival and are researching our next project for an entry.