Life in the Orkneys

The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles(en)

In 1994, a masked man shot a waiter in the only Indian restaurant in the Orkney Islands. The murder remained unsolved for years, until new evidence emerged. Delve into one of Scotland's most controversial cases, now with powerful new testimony.

Glimpses from a Visit to Orkney in Summer 1995(xx)

In Aurand’s signature diaristic form, roses in bloom, farm animals, Orkney landscapes, and scenes of the late filmmaker Margaret Tait having tea are rendered through expressive Bolex movements as well as the director’s active camera, and punctuated by abstract swaths of saturated and shifting colors. The film is an homage to Tait, whom Aurand visited in Orkney.

Orkney(en)

Three stories reflecting life in the Orkney Islands, two set in the past, and one in the present.

The Spy in Black(en)

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

Andrina(en)

Captain Bill Torvald has retired to his quiet home in Orkney after fifty years at sea. When a young woman, Andrina, begins visiting him through the dark winter, he is grateful for her kindness and company. But as she starts to enquire about his past, he worries about the long-held secret he'll have to reveal to her.

Handba' at Kirkwall, Orkney(en)

Scenes from the Handba' festival on New Year's Day in Kirkwall. Winner of the Scottish Prize, The Andrew Buchanan Cup at Scottish Amateur Film Festival, 1940. This was the last festival to be held until the end of the war.

The Immortal Land(en)

Ancient Greece, contrasted with modern Greece.

The Monte Cristo Cottage: Boyhood Home of Eugene O'Neill(en)

The new and restored documentary introduces visitors to the early life and works of O’Neill, his troubled family relationships, and the role the cottage played in his dramas. The original film won a Grand Prize “AMI” Award for Best Documentary at the Association of Multi-Image International Festival in 1982.

Arctic Tale(en)

Arctic Tale is a 2007 documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, also from National Geographic.

Let's be Together(ko)

Christmas with Strangers(en)

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the Scottish Indie feature film Lost at Christmas (2020). The stars and filmmakers take us on their journey from script to screen as the world braces itself for a global pandemic.

The Swedes(sv)

Svenskarna (The Swedes) is a folk fusion band whose members are four middle-aged Swedish actors with roots from Turkey, Russia, Uganda, France and Spain. Manolo Diaz Rämö starts filming them in his search for answers regarding his own conflicting feelings about identity and belonging. —Manolo Diaz Rämö

A Pure Heart(is)

A priests work is never done. In Clean Heart we get to know Kristinn Ágúst Friðfinnsson a priest in the town of Selfoss. While fulfilling the various duties of priesthood he still has his own demons to deal with.

50 Shades of Chocolate(fr)

Since the discovery of America onward, the use of cacao has kept evolving across time and space. Currency or sacred drink for the Mayas and Aztecs, it became a medicine or aphrodisiac for the Europeans.

The Homestead(en)

A group of friends explores the area surrounding their Midwestern homestead

My Boyfriend, The Sex Tourist(en)

A look at global sex tourism, focusing on the situation in Venezuela and Thailand.

Jean de la Fontaine and His Fables(fr)

An account of the life of the French poet Jean de la Fontaine (1621-95), author of more than one hundred fables and a model for many other European fabulists of later times.

Human Flow(en)

More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.

Days of Thrills and Laughter(en)

An appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century through the 1920s.

Love & Crashes(fr)

Lucile Chaufour’s Love & Crashes takes us for an unforgettable ride in partnership. With a mixture of fictional and documentary techniques, the film immerses us in the universe of sidecar racing, paying attention to the peculiarities of a vehicle driven by a magical alliance between pilot and passenger (or as it is known in sidecar jargon, 'monkey'). Aided by a dreamy musical score and Hélène Louvart’s deft cinematography, Love & Crashes explores technique and sensuality, control and spontaneity, the physical and the mental, speed and care.