Short film throws spotlight on Erraid

The tiny Hebridean island of Erraid is the setting for a short documentary which premiered at the Glasgow

Film Festival last month.

Against the Tide is part of the Bridging the Gap initiative by the Scottish Documentary Institute and Screen Scotland and was directed by Giulia Candussi, pictured, and produced by Julia Moon with Cloud Break Pictures.

The film follows a woman’s journey to become a member of a remote community.

Accessible only by private boat, the community of 10 people on Erraid lead a simple life in connection with the land and the tide whilst practising spiritual values. The residents share tasks and machines, they grow their vegetables, they cook and eat together, they communally take care of the maintenance of the cottages and the land.

Gill has been living there for almost six months and is going through the final stages of her membership process.

This film follows her emotional journey and culminates in the final decision: will she be accepted and become a full-time resident of the community? Giulia is a documentary filmmaker and photojournalist committed to producing visual stories that have an impact on society and raise awareness about human and environmental issues. Her background is strongly focused on human rights and she has worked for almost a decade as a photo journalist, before shifting to documentaries. She now regularly collaborates with BBC Scotland making short documentaries for their platform The Social.

Against the Tide is her first documentary for international distribution.

Bridging the Gap is a leading documentary new talent initiative that offers development training, a cash budget and production support to make a short film. This year’s films are responding to the theme of Turbulence.

To find out more about the documentary visit www. scottishdocinstitute.com and search films.

Against the Tide has also been selected at Glasgow Short Film Festival to be part of the Scottish Competition.