Thefreezingcold anddarknessof theArcticdon’t scareme..Igrew uponShetland
THERE is nothing that looks better or is more comforting than hot apple crumble with custard or fresh cream. Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 800g of cooking apples such as Bramley apples or a lovely Scottish heritage apples, like White Melrose. 25g-50g of light brown sugar (depending on the apples). 100g of golden sultanas. 1 tbsp of Calvados or Marsala. 1 vanilla pod. For the crumble 50g of chilled butter (unsalted) 150g of self-raising flour 50g medium rolled oats 100g of demerara sugar Pinch of salt Shona Main is set to travel almost 3000 miles in the footsteps of a filmmaker who documented struggles of remote Inuit people FILMMAKER Shona Main is preparing to travel about 2700 miles from Scotland to the Arctic for her latest project.
But she says growing up in Shetland has prepared her for the cold and darkness she’ll face in the remote location. She’s planning to follow in the footsteps of the pioneering documentary maker Jenny Gilbertson, who filmed Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic as well as crofters in Shetland.
Gilbertson became known as “Eskimo Jen” and was in her 70s when she filmed communities in Grise Fiord in the Arctic 40 years ago.
Shona, 48, who now lives in Dundee, grew up in Shetland and plans to head to the same Arctic community visited by Gilbertson for six months so she can shine a spotlight on the filmmaker as part of a PhD study project.
At the end of this month, she’ll travel to Grise Fiord, 721 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It has 24-hour sunshine from April to August – but summer temperatures only go up to 5C and it never completely thaws out.
Come November, the area is plunged into darkness and extreme midwinter temperatures can BY MARIA CROCE drop to -50C. The sea is frozen for 10 months of the year. Shona will be heading out to the Arctic on her own with only her camera – just like Gilbertson – and hopes to also visit Coral Harbour and Shetland, where Gilbertson filmed. Gilbertson was born in Glasgow but turned to filmmaking in Shetland in the 1930s, then met her farmer husband Johnny and settled there. She went into teaching but returned to filmmaking after she retired and, after her husband died, spent a lot of time filming in the Arctic in the 1970s. Shona is learning Inuktitut – the language of the Inuit – in preparation for her trip which will involve six plane journeys. She’s due to return in December – if she doesn’t get stuck there if the weather turns bad. Shona sees similarities between the Arctic and Shetland. She said: “There’s the expanse of sky and sense of freedom. Jenny Gilbertson said she liked Shetland because she liked the openness of it and the openness of people. She often commented that the people from Shetland and the Inuit were similar. The environment, natural resources and community are important to both. “Growing up in Shetland, it’s all about people and about communities, but there’s this wonderful sense of freedom. You’re not bothered by cold and rain and can go out whatever the weather.
“I don’t think I’m going to an isolated remote spot in the Arctic – I’m going to a community. This idea that it’s remote and primitive is nonsense. They’ve been embracing technology for years. I’ve been Facebooking and emailing backwards and forwards. They’re just like us – but it’s a very different and very cold place.
“They also have this incredibly rich culture. I think I will learn a great deal.”
Imported food is expensive so seal meat is eaten and Shona has discovered the Inuit community like bannocks – a type of scone popular in Shetland.
“I’ll certainly cook them Shetland bannocks and Shetland soup,” she said.
When she arrives, the region will be experiencing 24-hour daylight – but by mid-November, it will be completely dark. Although Shona has not experienced complete darkness before, she says she was used to the short daylight hours in Shetland.
Shona worked as a journalist in Dundee and she was a Labour city councillor in the late 90s.
She spent time as a researcher at the Scottish Parliament and after freelancing as a journalist, moved into filmmaking in 2011 after taking a training course.
She said: “This changed everything for me. I was at a low ebb, wasn’t really going anywhere in life and I had nothing to lose so I thought I would try making films. It’s a way to be with people and hearing about their lives and then creating something from your time with them.”
After Shona made her first film, Clavel, she started researching Gilbertson and filmed some of her family in Shetland. Then Dr Sarah Neely from Stirling University, a specialist in early cinema, encouraged her to apply for a Scottish