Ballachulish preview of film about historic ferries
The newly completed documentary film, The Last Ferries of Ballachulish, will be given a special preview, appropriately, in Ballachulish village hall, on Saturday October 19 at 7pm.
The film has been made by Edinburgh film-maker Graham Kitchener , who also runs the capital’s Film Academy Edinburgh, teaching young people aged from nine to 18 how to make movies.
Mr Kitchener explained to the Lochaber Times how the film came about: ‘As a wee boy of nine in the early 1970s, I used to live in South Ballachulish.
‘Back then, the only way to cross the narrow strait of water, to travel onwards to Fort William, was by turntable ferry, a unique concept to Scotland, and with only one remaining in the world, still operating up at Glenelg.
‘The happiest days of my childhood were spent on and around the three ferries of the early 1970s: the Glenachulish, the Glen Loy and the Glen Duror.
‘So I returned to find out what happened to them after the bridge was opened in 1975.
‘The quest has taken me three years and, as well as the detective hunt for the ferries, the film captures the essence of the turntable ferry, an intrinsic part of Scotland’s cultural and historical heritage.’
Mr Kitchener is hoping his 37-minute film will get an official premier at a documentary festival in the near future.
Entry to the preview screening in Ballachulish will be free but donations towards the Glenachulish Ferry at Glenelg will be gratefully received.