Bannan - a film review

Bannan gets its world premier at the Edinburgh International Film Festival later today. Strictly speaking it's not a film but the first three pilot episodes of a new Gaelic language television soap opera set on the Isle of Skye. The show will hopefully air on BBC Alba.

The story follows Mairi a young woman who is returning to Skye to attend a funeral and finds herself unable to easily leave to return to her life on the mainland. She finds it difficult to leave her grandmother and finds herself becoming interested in local issues of land ownership. Will she ultimately decide to stay and make a life for herself on the island?

The characters are engaging and there are enough hooks to promise plenty of interest if the series does go ahead, while at the same time the conclusion at the end of the three episodes is satisfying enough in the case that the series doesn't go ahead.

Skye looks stunning in this programme and it's great to have a drama that focuses on people returning to the Scottish Islands and seeking to make their lives there, given the fact that so often it seems that people are leaving the islands in droves.

Bannan is showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival at 2040, 28 June at Filmhouse.

You can read my previous reviews of the film festival so far by following the links below:

Two Films Featuring Dogs - Greyhawk and The Nut Job. 




Garnet's Gold.

The Japanese Dog.

Beloved Sisters.

Virunga. (and you can read about the Q & A with the Virunga team here)

A Dangerous Game.

My Name is Salt.

Snowpiercer. 

The Owners.

Legacy, Mistory and Language - a review of N: The Madness of Reason; A House in Berlin and Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?

Ancient Temples, Vertigo and Film-making - a review of Manakamana and La ultima pelicula.

Disclaimer: I have a press pass for the Edinburgh International Film Festival amd am attending free press screenings of these films. 

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