Inspiration - #2 - 28/11/14

Ceol na Mara: The Uist Selkie Story

The Uist Selkie Story is the first film in 'Ceol na Mara - Sound Of the Sea' a new series of shorts devised, produced, directed and edited by Ruaraidh Urpeth, that explores the relationship between the Outer Hebrides and the sea through art, music and storytelling.The Uist Selkie Story is told by Ian Stephen, and is a traditional story from South Uist that tells the tale of a selkie who becomes trapped in human form and is unable to return to the sea.Selkies are a common subject of North Atlantic seaboard stories, and are seals who can shed their skins and come on land, assuming human form but they can only return to the sea if they put back on their own skins which they stow by rocks at the shore.The Uist Selkie Story is from the tradition of female selkie stories.
I particually like this short film as I think it's a complete original piece of work; the use of storytelling as well as landcsape videoography mingled into one is what makes this short film so breathtaking.

Upon watching this short film and having a conversation with my teacher, I have decided to go ahead and use the quote from Annie Dillard's novel, however - I will be using it in a way that is not just the audio; if all goes to plan my short film will include a storyteller that tells Dillard's passage from her book.