Islay pupils narrowly miss out on Gaelic film award but praise for young learners’ production

Talented Islay High School pupils narrowly missed out on winning a Gaelic film award.

The students were in the running for this year’s FilmG Gaelic Learners Award after beating off stiff competition and being shortlisted for the final.

FilmG is an annual competition organised by Gaelic media service MG ALBA, which celebrates Gaelic screen talent and attracts hundreds of applications each year.

Islay pupils entered two short films, one for learners and one for fluent Gaelic speakers. This provided learners with the opportunity to see new words and phrases and gave fluent speakers the chance to use Gaelic outside the classroom.

It was the young learners who really caught the judges’ attention though, with their production Èirich.

Èirich tells the story of a social media trend that transports people into a dangerous new world, with some students caught in an infinite loop and others caught by the ‘person in the shadows’.

Councillor Robin Currie, leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: ‘Every year this competition attracts a huge number of high quality entries from learners across Scotland and it is an honour our young people made it to the final.

‘These talented filmmakers from Islay High School have created two exceptional productions and I’m very, very proud of them. Gaelic has played an important role in the history of Argyll and Bute for many, many years and we’re committed to continuing to promote the language and its culture to our communities.

‘Gaelic education is offered in more than 24 of our primary schools and five secondary schools.

‘There has been an increase in interest in Gaelic Medium Education, which will have a positive impact on future generations of Gaelic speakers.

‘Competitions such as FilmG definitely play a part in this.’

To watch Èirich, visit http://filmg.co.uk/en/ films/2232/