• Macrobert Arts Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
BOOKING
ONLINE
You can book online 24 hours a day at centscotdocufest.org
IN PERSON AT THE BOX OFFICE
Macrobert Arts Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
HOURS
Mon - Sun: 10am - 7pm
BY PHONE
01786 466 666
TICKETS
YOU CHOOSE: £4.50 / £6.50 / £8.50
All films, excluding A Doc | A Dinner | A Drink and Whisky Tasting. Ticket prices for those films are:
A Doc A Dinner A Drink - You Choose: £14.50 / £12.50 / £10.50
The New Spirit of Whisky (+ Tasting) At Stirling Distillery
You Choose: £23.50 / £21.50 / £19.50
FESTIVAL PASS (EXCLUDING A DOC | A DINNER | A DRINK): £15 / £10 (STUDENTS)
A Doc, A Dinner, A Drink tickets can booked with pass incurring a £6 supplement. Whisky Tasting can booked with a pass incurring a £15 supplement. Get entry to any film (subject to availability).
TERMS & CONDITIONS
All discounts and offers are subject to availability, cannot be retrospectively applied, and are offered at the discretion of the Festival. We’re unable to offer any refunds unless an event is cancelled - full terms and conditions are on the website. Please note all films are subject to certification and the programme is correct at the time of going to print but is subject to change with our prior notice. The Festival cannot be held liable for any arrangements made due to changes to the brochure.
Please note there will be no adverts or trailers before any screening at the Central Scotland Documentary Festival, all non-English films will be subtitled and unless otherwise stated all films are rated 18 at the time of going to print - please check the website for up-to-date British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) ratings.
GRAHAME REID Head Curator Central Scotland Documentary Festival
Documentaries possess a unique ability to open our eyes and hearts to the myriad realities of the world around us. They challenge our perceptions, evoke empathy, and inspire action. In curating this festival, the goal has been to select films that not only inform and educate but also move and transform. Each documentary in our lineup has been chosen for its compelling narrative, artistic integrity, and its capacity to engage with audiences.
The 2024 festival features an eclectic mix of topics and styles, from hard-hitting investigative pieces to intimate personal stories, from visually stunning explorations of our natural world to insightful examinations of cultural and social issues. We are proud to present works from both acclaimed filmmakers and emerging voices, all of whom bring their unique perspectives and exceptional talents to the screen.
As we embark on this journey of discovery and reflection, I invite you to immerse yourself in the world of documentary cinema. Let us celebrate the stories that matter, the voices that need to be heard, and the images that leave a lasting mark on our minds and hearts.
THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS & SUPPORTERS
Grahame Reid
Curated and presented by Macrobert Arts Centre
OPENING EVENT
MEET THE BUCHANANS
Barbara Orton, Darren Hercher, Jack Cocker UK 2024 | 94 mins
Historical fact and historical fantasy collide in Meet the Buchanans, which observes the coming inauguration of millionaire Scottish landowner Mike Buchanan as the newly confirmed Clan Buchanan Highland Chief, along with his wife Lady Paula and their teenage family.
Join the family in real Outlander style as the Buchanans attract tartan-mad enthusiasts from around the world. We meet characters drawn to Scotland by kinship, connection, and the excitement of the Clan’s first chief in over three hundred years - from two American sisters who wear the Buchanan tartan proudly, to Mexican Pedro Buchanan.
The driving force behind his claim to the title, Mike’s determined wife Paula is planning the inaugural three-day bonanza and ceremonial regalia on their magnificent Highland estate. She is now the chief architect of his ‘coronation’ (well, much of it, if an ancient source can’t
be found). Following in the footsteps of famous Buchanan house guest, the nineteenth-century Scottish writer Walter Scott – ceremony and ritual are being freely invented.
A hidden world of British wealth and privilege unfolds as the family uncover and invent fresh entitlements of the new role: revealing not only whether they can pull off this massive event, but also how history is made (up). Meet the Buchanans raises important questions around identity, historical values and traditions, belonging, and the place of Clans in the modern world.
Q&A:
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-director Barbara Orton.
Thu 31 Oct | 7.30pm | Filmhouse
CLOSING EVENT
SINCE YESTERDAY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SCOTLAND'S GIRL BANDS
Blair Young, Carla J. Easton | UK 1965 | 97 mins
The McKinleys, The Ettes, Strawberry Switchblade, Sophisticated Boom Boom, Twinsets, His Latest Flame, Sunset Gun, Lungleg, Pink Kross, Sally Skull, Hello Skinny and The Hedrons.
Ignored by the industry and deprived of the global success afforded to the male-dominated bands of the day, Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands is a celebration of the women and the music of yesteryear, and a rallying cry to the female talent of tomorrow.
Blending personal anecdotes with a scrapbook-style audio-visual aesthetic, Since Yesterday takes us on a decadeby-decade adventure, crafting the ultimate visual mixtape. Discover unheard demos, lost archives, and
rare performances that celebrate the Game Changers, Trailblazers, Popstars, Post Punks and Pioneers who never compromised, and subsequently got lost in time.
The film takes a critical look at the barriers women have faced making music in the past, and still face today. It asks how we can inspire young women to make music, if those who do so are continuously erased from our cultural history. Written & narrated by award-nominated musician Carla J. Easton, this is a powerful global story told through a local lens.
Q&A: This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Blair Young.
Mon 4 Nov | 7.30pm | Mainhouse
A DOC | A DINNER | A DRINK
Every ticket includes admission to the documentary, a main course and an alcoholic or soft drink.
HITCHCOCK ON GRIERSON
Douglas Moodie | UK 1965 | 60 mins
Every ticket includes admission to the documentary, a main course (vegan) and an alcoholic or soft drink. Food will be served at the film start time and can be eaten during the film
John Grierson is often hailed as the father of the British documentary movement, a title earned through the critical acclaim of his 1929 film Drifters as well as the many documentaries he produced, credited and un-credited. He played a pivotal role in establishing the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and, alongside H. Forsyth Hardy, inaugurated the First International Festival of Documentary Films in 1947.
As we acknowledge Grierson’s contribution with the Stirling 900 Award for Achievement in Documentary, Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, honours Grierson’s legacy, his significant
contributions to documentary filmmaking and recognising him as a true pioneer in the field.
Post-screening, we will be honouring John Grierson with the The Stirling 900 Award for Achievement in Documentary.
Festival pass holders will incur a £6 supplement charge
Fri 1 Nov | 7.30pm | Mainhouse
Tickets: £14.50 / £12.50 / £10.50
SPECIAL EVENT
Every ticket includes admission to the documentary and whisky tasting.
THE NEW SPIRIT OF WHISKY
Michael Hilger | Germany 2024 | 67 mins
The New Spirit of Whisky takes a closer look at the underestimated role of women in the current Whisky industry in Scotland. The documentary features six leading figures who work in different positions in some of the biggest Scotch Whisky companies of the country, from master blenders to brand managers, combining tradition with progress. The film’s story focuses on the creation of flavours, on sustainability and on the impact of climate change. But above all it’s about the passion of its protagonists and the distinct beauty of the Scottish landscape.
Special Event:
There will be a special guided whisky tasting held post-screening.
Please Note: Festival pass holders will incur a £15 supplement charge.
Sun 3 Nov | 7.00pm | Stirling Distillery Tickets: £23.50 / £21.50 / £19.50
A SUDDEN GLIMPSE TO DEEPER THINGS
Mark Cousins | UK 2024 | 88 mins
Exploring the pivotal 1949 experience atop Switzerland's Grindelwald glacier that reshaped British modernist painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham's artistic perspective for decades to come.
Q&A:
There will be a post-screening Q&A with Director Mark Cousins.
Fri 1 Nov | 5.15pm | Filmhouse
LA GUARDIA BLANCA
Julien Elie | Canada 2024 | 109 mins
The Mexican landscape fades away into ashes and dust, fragmented, defaced and scorched. Behind barbed wire fences, forests, rivers and mountains fall to the hands of private companies. Once transformed, the landscape becomes a separate universe, an incongruous and dangerous area where the new masters and their mercenaries terrorize people into silence. Like other farmers from across the country, Roberto de la Rosa now walks on pathways riddled with booby traps. In recent years, it’s in Mexico that the number of defenders of the land assassinated has been highest.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Fri 1 Nov | 5.30pm | Playhouse
THE CONTESTANT
Clair Titley | UK 2024 | 105 mins
The Contestant is the incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving and alone… and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Fri 1 Nov | 7.45pm | Filmhouse
I AM FRANCE
Sarah El Attar | France 2024 | 97 mins
A feature-length documentary tells the stories of five young men killed by police and follows their families' fight for truth and justice.
The film features emblematic figures of the fight against police brutality in France: Ramata Dieng, sister of Lamine Dieng, Assa Traoré, sister of Adama Traoré, as well as Mahamadou Camara, brother of Gaye Camara, Farid El Yamni, brother of Wissam El Yamni, and Awa Gueye, sister of Babacar Gueye. The film also includes rare intimate interviews of young men of color from 'Banlieues' (working class neighborhoods) who expose how they have endured police repression throughout their lives and how it has impacted them.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Fri 1 Nov | 8.00pm | Playhouse
ScottishPremiere
BURDEN
Miguel Eek| Spain 2024 | 66 mins
Thirteen men retreat to a country house where they undergo a personal and collective transformation in search of new ways of being men. They confront their wounds and blockages through physical and emotional dynamics that will put them to the test. For three days they will live a tribal and cathartic experience, for which not all of them are prepared.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 12.00pm | Playhouse
POEMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH ICELANDIC POETRY
Robin Thomson | Germany 2024 | 66 mins
In Poems, we follow Icelandic composer Viktor Orri Árnason and soprano Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir on a musical road-trip through Iceland, where they set out to discover more about the poetry that inspired their latest album ‘Poems', released via the iconic Deutsche Grammophon label in late 2023.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 12.15pm | Filmhouse
SIKAT SUBAR: A HIDDEN COLOURFUL FEATHER
Diogo Pessoa de Andrade | Portugal 2024 74 mins
A journey into the millennia-old practice of cockfighting in Timor-Leste and its profound impact on society, including the struggle for independence, dispute resolution, ceremonial practices, economy, employment, gender issues and domestic violence. An insightful look at the central role of the rooster in Timorese culture, daringly confronting tradition with ethics and basic human needs.
Please note: This film contains scenes of cockfighting.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 1.45pm | Playhouse
UNBOUND
John English | Spain 2024 | 92 mins
Abuse, discrimination, body shaming & violence. This is ballet in 2024. But a group of dancers who suffered this abuse, want to fight back - forming a radical, diverse company that gives talented, traumatised survivors a chance ‘to reclaim the stage’.
It is a journey of pain, hope, & above all resistance - to fight injustice, change lives, & create groundbreaking, liberated balletone choreographed step at a time.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 2.00pm | Filmhouse
STRIKING WITH PRIDE
Ashley Francis-Roy | UK 2024 | 74 mins
Between London Pride 1984 and 1985 an unlikely alliance was forged between the gay men and lesbians of London and the striking miners of South Wales. Everyone loves a good love story and this is one of the most unexpected and uplifting love stories ever, not between two people, but between two communities who - seemingly worlds apart - found common cause and compassion for each other in the face of immense challenges, and changed the course of history for queer people in the UK.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 3.45pm | Playhouse
THE NEW SPIRIT OF WHISKY
Michael Hilger | Germany 2024 | 67 mins
The New Spirit of Whisky takes a closer look at the underestimated role of women in the current Whisky industry in Scotland. The documentary features six leading figures who work in different positions in some of the biggest Scotch Whisky companies of the country, from master blenders to brand managers, combining tradition with progress. The film’s story focuses on the creation of flavours, on sustainability and on the impact of climate change. But above all it’s about the passion of its protagonists and the distinct beauty of the Scottish landscape.
Sat 2 Nov | 4.00pm | Filmhouse
ScottishPremiere
IT"S ALL GONNA BREAK
Stephen Chung | Canada 2024 | 89 mins
In the early 2000’s, in Toronto , a group of young creative musicians collectively known as Broken Social Scene, got together and soon became a worldwide phenomenon. Cinematographer and friend, Stephen Chung was there, behind the lens of his camera, capturing it all. Words were not his strong suit, but his camera was. Friendships, relationships, business and art… Stephen lovingly documents the highs and lows of a band who only wanted to create music on their own terms, and ended up changing everything. It is a celebration of the creative process, an homage to art and artists, and a love letter to the community and city which allowed it to thrive. With actual footage from a time before everyone had a camera in their pocket, It’s All Gonna Break is a time capsule showing how special those moments were, and how they helped form the people we are today.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 5.30pm | Playhouse
WE CAN BE HEROES
Carina Mia Wong, Alex Simmons USA 2024| 87mins
For attendees of a live action role-playing (LARP) camp in upstate New York, the deeply accepting environment has given neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed "nerdy" teenagers the space and community for self-discovery that they have never found anywhere else.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 5.45pm | Filmhouse
MOTHER VERA
Cecile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson | UK 2024
91 mins
From the thick snow of the Belarusian forest to the heat of the reeds in the French Camargue, Mother Vera is the story of a young Orthodox nun; her turbulent past, and fragile future. After 20 years as a monastic, Vera faces deep inner conflict; now, she must confront her past and trust her instincts to find the liberation she desires.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 7.30pm | Playhouse
THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT
Mike Lerner, Martin Herring | UK 2024 94 mins
The Accidental President follows the incredible but true story of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an ordinary housewife from Belarus who was thrust onto the international political stage when her husband was arrested for daring to challenge Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency. With her husband a political prisoner, Sviatlana courageously stepped forward and won the popular vote – but was robbed of her democratic victory by Lukashenko's dictatorial hand of power. Unbowed by deadly threats from her powerful political rival and the KGB, Sviatlana became a beacon of hope for change in her country.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sat 2 Nov | 7.45pm | Filmhouse
SPECIAL EVENT
Screening will be a standing, immersive experience with live lighting and sound.
STOP MAKING SENSE
Jonathan Demme | USA 1984 | 120 mins
The greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense brings to the screen Talking Heads at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983: David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison, alongside an ecstatic ensemble of supporting musicians.
Renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) captures the band at their exhilarating best, in this new and complete restoration for the film's 40th anniversary.
This screening will be a standing, immersive screening with light show to give the full ‘gig’ experience.
There will be a limited number of seats available on the night but these are not bookable in advance and can be obtained on the evening on a first-come-firstserved basis.
Sat 2 Nov | 8.00pm | Mainhouse
PREEMPTIVE LISTENING
Aura Satz | UK 2024 | 90 mins
Through a soundtrack of new siren sounds composed by an array of experimental musicians, the film asks: Does an alarm have to be alarming? How can we counter alarm fatigue, both as a lived reality and as a metaphor for our current state? Can we envision sounds not only scored to immediacy, but signals set to a longer temporal frame, sounding the alarm for the distant future, the cries on the cusp of ecological catastrophe? Can we imagine sirens beyond the human?
The film posits the siren’s loud glissando wail as a conditioned and learned signal, one that can potentially be rewired.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 12.00pm | Filmhouse
HEARTIST
Marianna Mørkøre, Beinta á Torkilsheyggi Faroe Islands 2024 | 60 mins
Heartist explores the life and work of artist Sigrun Gunnarsdóttir - one of the most important contemporary painters on the Faroe Islands. The colourful simplicity of her style has resonated with the art world, resulting in local and international recognition. With aesthetically pleasing and carefully composed imagery, inspired by Sigrun's own approach, this documentary delves into her artistic vision, her life journey, and personal challenges and quirks.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 12.15pm | Playhouse
JOHN CRAXTON: A LIFE OF GIFTS
Tony Britten | UK 2023 | 90 mins
The painter John Craxton was born into a famous musical family in 1922, and although he had a lifelong love of music, his passion and genius was art. In his late teens, he and his best friend Lucian Freud attained much early success. But his subsequent move to Greece and finally to Crete, where he lived for many years, removed him from the London art scene and his work became somewhat overlooked. His relationship with Freud soured in later life, but his unrepressed homosexuality, along with deep relationships with women such as Lee Miller and Margot Fonteyn made his life gloriously colourful. And his paintings reflected this life, particularly after his move to Crete, where vibrant colour and vivid action are expressed in a fashion that elevates Craxton to the first rank of English twentieth century artists.
Q&A:
This screening will be followed by a discussion hosted by the University of Stirling Art Collection.
Sun 3 Nov | 1.45pm | Playhouse
House of Gloss
Mark Lyken | UK 2024 | 78 mins
House of Gloss is an intimate and affectionate portrait of a queer trans femme couple — Opal, a drag queen, and Lana, a DJ & graffiti writer — as they live out their dreams and desires in downtown Dundee.
Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland & Hope Scott Trust.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 2.00pm | Filmhouse
THE RIDE AHEAD
Dan Habib, Samuel Habib | USA 2024 97 mins
Samuel Habib’s goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Samuel is determined to avoid the statistical realities: unemployment, isolation, institutionalisation.
A turning point comes when he starts talking to disabled adults, who have been through all he is going through now. And when he begins to channel their insights, a roadmap for himself, and for other young adults like him, begins to take shape.
THE RIDE AHEAD WILL BE SHOWN WITH OPEN CAPTIONS. THE VENUE IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. AUDIO DESCRIPTION IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 4.00pm | Filmhouse
PLASTIC PEOPLE
Ben Addelman, Ziya Tong | Canada 2024 96 mins
The ground-breaking feature documentary Plastic People investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics on human health. Almost every bit of plastic ever made breaks down into "microplastics.” These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in all bodies of water, and mix into the soil, becoming a permanent part of the environment.
Now, leading scientists are finding these particles in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue, and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? And can anything be done about it?
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 4.15pm | Playhouse
European Premiere
BEING HERMAN
Oliver Guy-Watkins | Netherlands 2024 80 mins
A documentary following the life of Herman ten Kate, a man who had a severe stroke 7 years ago and who has shown unparalleled determination to adapt to his new life. Once an accomplished mathematician, painter and lecturer, he is now limited by both his body and his mind. This film shows how his family have provided a backbone for him to live his life to the fullest, and how the worst situations can still provide a life of hope and positivity.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 6.15pm | Filmhouse
CELLULOID UNDERGROUND
Ehsan Khoshbakht | UK / Iran 2023 | 80 mins
This poetic, dexterous film manifests Ehsan Khoshbakht's intense and multifaceted relationship to cinema, inspiring to reflect on your own trajectories.
Sun 3 Nov | 6.30pm | Playhouse
SILENT MEN
Duncan Cowles | UK 2024 | 88 mins
Why do so many men struggle to show their feelings?
Part therapy, part road trip, BAFTA award winning filmmaker Duncan Cowles asks men how they open up in order to directly address his own difficulties in being intimate and open with his loved ones.
Exploring aspects of masculinity that all too often are little discussed, this film opens the door for other ways of being, communicating and healing, as well as attempting to de fine masculinity.
Eligible for Audience Award and Jury Award
Sun 3 Nov | 8.00pm | Filmhouse
THE TASTE OF MANGO
Chloe Abrahams | UK / USA 2024 | 75 mins
The Taste of Mango, Chloe Abrahams’ debut feature, is an enveloping, hypnotic, urgently personal meditation on family, memory, identity, violence, and love. At its centre are three extraordinary women: the director’s mother, Rozana; her grandmother, Jean; and the director herself. Their stories, by turns difficult and jubilant, testify to the entangled and ever-changing nature of inheritance and the ways in which we both hurt and protect the ones we love.
Sun 3 Nov | 8.15pm | Playhouse
Thu 31 Oct
7.30pm MEET THE BUCHANANS Filmhouse
Fri
1 Nov
5.15pm A SUDDEN GLIMPSE TO DEEPER THINGS Filmhouse
5.30pm LA GUARDIA BLANCA Playhouse
7.30pm HITCHCOCK ON GRIERSON Mainhouse
7.45pm THE CONTESTANT Filmhouse
8.00pm I AM FRANCE Playhouse
Sat
EVENT CALENDAR
1.45pm SIKAT SUBAR: A HIDDEN COLOURFUL FEATER Playhouse
2.00pm UNBOUND Filmhouse
3.45pm STRIKING WITH PRIDE Playhouse
4.00pm THE NEW SPIRIT OF WHISKY Filmhouse
5.30pm IT'S ALL GONNA BREAK Playhouse
5.45pm WE CAN BE HEROES Filmhouse
7.30pm MOTHER VERA Playhouse
7.45pm THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT Filmhouse 8pm STOP MAKING SENSE Mainhouse Playhouse
2.00pm HOUSE OF GLOSS Filmhouse
4.00pm THE RIDE AHEAD Filmhouse
4.15pm PLASTIC PEOPLE Playhouse
6.15pm BEING HERMAN Filmhouse 6.30pm CELLULOID UNDERGROUND Playhouse
7.00pm THE NEW SPIRIT OF WHISKY + WHISKY TASTING Stirling Distillery 8.00pm SILENT MEN Filmhouse
8.15pm THE TASTE OF MANGO Playhouse
2 Nov Sun 3 Nov Mon 4 Nov
12.00pm BURDEN Playhouse
12.15pm POEMS: A JOURNEY THROUGH ICELANDIC POETRY Filmhouse
12.00pm PREEMPTIVE LISTENING Filmhouse
12.15pm HEARTIST Playhouse
1.45pm JOHN CRAXTON: A LIFE OF GIFTS
7.30pm SINCE YESTERDAY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SCOTLAND'S GIRL BANDS Mainhouse
