Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Heroic Rolly tale gets hometown screening
A new film about three heroic Lanarkshire factory workers who stood against a South American military dictatorship is to get a special screening in East Kilbride just days after its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival.
The story of brave Rolls-Royce East Kilbride workers Bob Fulton, John Keenan and Robert Somerville, whose act of solidarity led to them being honoured as Commanders of the Republic of Chile in 2015, will be shown at the Village Theatre on March 11. In 1974, the Rolly workers showed their support for the people of Chile by refusing to carry out vital repairs to engines for Chilean Air Force Hawker Hunter planes used during the brutal military coup in September1973.
Their brave blockade of Chilean Air Force jet engines will be told in full in Nae Pasaran – a feature-length documentary by award-winning Chilean director Felipe Bustos Sierra.
The boycott became a minor cause célèbre and endured for four years, until one night in 1978…the engines mysteriously disappeared.
The filmmaker’s research led to their discovery and the film reunites these inspirational men to hear their incredible story.
For the very first time, it tells the story of the many Chileans who crossed paths with the engines.
In 2015, the Chilean ambassador bestowed the highest honour given to foreigners by the government of Chile.
And in an unlikely twist of fate, the pensioners from East Kilbride became Commanders of the Republic of Chile.
Nae Pasaran had its world premiere at a gala screening in the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sunday to mark the end of the Glasgow Film Festival, and now this special post premiere showing is coming to the town where it all began.
Director Felipe Bustos Sierra said: “I’m delighted that Nae Pasaran will have a dedicated screening in East Kilbride. I’m very grateful for the assistance of South Lanarkshire Council over the years. From providing archival footage to filming permissions, they’ve embraced this project early on and facilitated our project whenever they could and I’m very much looking forward to watch Nae Pasaran a stone’s throw from the old factory ground.”
The screening starts at 6.30pm. Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased via www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk or by calling (01355) 261000.