The Community Cinema is a longstanding initiative at Timespan bringing archival and contemporary films to our local community. Browse some of the films we previously showcased as part of our programme
2025 Screenings
Saturday, 1st March 2025, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
The Ant and the Grasshopper: from Malawi to the US to fight the climate crisis
This consciousness-raising documentary follows Anita, a farmer from Malawi, as she works to change perceptions in her patriarchal village and beyond.
Anita persuades her husband to join her in cultivating their single acre of poor soil, a task traditionally seen as women’s work, which has become even more challenging due to the climate crisis causing both droughts and floods. Follow Anita as she travels to the U.S. to share her harrowing experiences of climate change with an audience that is skeptical and largely unaware of the issues she faces.
Directed by Raj Patel, Zak Piper. Countries of production: United States
Supported by Take One Action
Saturday 8 March 2025 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Neil Gunn – Light in the North, 22mins
Caller Herrin, 1947, 18mins
Kippers, 1952, 7mins
This selection of films delves into the life of the prolific Scottish author Neil Gunn, whose novels, “Butcher’s Broom” and “The Silver Darlings,” raised political awareness about the events surrounding the Highland Clearances. In the first film, Neil Gunn has an intimate conversation with Gerige Bruce from his home in Dunbeath, offering insights into his life and work.
Saturday 5 April 2025 11:00 AM to 1 PM
Metamorphosis, 2018, 85mins
Metamorphosis explores how humanity is being transformed by the environmental crises we have created. It weaves together stories of creativity and reinvention from artists, scientists, thinkers, and young children who offer innovative, systemic solutions for our planet and our communities.
Through a captivating array of stunning images, Metamorphosis creates a journey from the present to the future.
Directed by Nova Ami & Velcrow Ripper. Countries of production: Canada
Supported by Take One Action
Saturday 19 April 2025
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Eating Up Easter, 2018, 75mins
The most isolated community in the Pacific grapples with environmental and social challenges brought on by booming tourism and rapid development.
Directed by Sergio Mata’u Rapu. Countries of production: United States
Supported by Take One Action
2024 Screenings
Saturday, 30 November, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Last of the Hunters, 1986, 54mins
Seas Around Us, 1979, 28mins
These documentaries explore the state of the fishing industry in the 1980s, including new technology, larger ships, livelihoods, and reduced quotas. They will also include a look at the overlap in technology and interests of British Gas and the White Fish industry.
Saturday, 16 November, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Anote’s Ark, 2018, 77 mins
Directed by Matthieu Rytz. Countries of production: Canada
Supported by Take One Action
As rising sea levels threaten the low-lying Pacific nation of Kiribati, its president, Anote Tong, seeks to wake up policymakers across the globe to the reality of climate change and to help his homeland from being washed off the face of the earth.
This film is presented by Take One Action, bringing communities together to harness the transformative potential of film and storytelling for collective change.
Saturday, 2 November, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
In Great Waters, 1974, 33mins
North Sea Bonanza (North Sea Oil Fields), 1972, 12mins
Shapes in the Water, 1974, 29mins
This selection of archival films captures the turning point in the North Sea Fisheries with the developments in North Sea Oil, the decline in the reliance on sea fishing for many coastal communities, and the adaptions to fishing methods to compensate for the shrinking catch areas.
Saturday, 19 October, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Artifishal, 2019, 83 mins
Directed by Josh “Bones” Murphy. Countries of production: Canada, Norway, United States
Supported by Take One Action
The full-length film called “Artifishal” sourced through Take One Action, was made in 2019 by Josh Murphy. Artifishal is a film about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them. It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature.
Saturday, 5 October, 2024,
from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Sea Food, 1938, 12mins
Toilers of the Deep, 1940, 8mins
Fish and the Seine Net, 1952, 19mins
Underwater Story, 1951, 20mins
These films offer commentary on the evolving North Sea Fisheries. They cover a range of topics, from following a herring trawler at sea for nine days to demonstrating how to use a Seine net, and how marine scientists addressed declining fish stocks in the North Sea.
Saturday, 21 September, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Living Proof: A Climate Story, 2021, 98 mins
Directed by Emily Munro. Countries of production: Scotland.
Supported by Take One Action
Living Proof is a feature-length archive documentary nominated for the FOCAL International Award 2022, that looks for the roots of the climate crisis in post-war history. It includes archival footage from the early 1900s to 2020. Are we heading into new territory or caught in a cycle of familiar promises?
Saturday, 7 September, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Crofter’s Life in Shetland, 1931, 46mins
St. Kilda – Britain’s Loneliest Isle, 1923 & 1928, 18mins
Evacuation of St. Kilda, 1930, 11mins
These films illustrate the sustainable crofting lifestyle in remote islands and the cultural connections that supported these communities through changing climate, land injustices, and the upheaval of evacuation and relocation. The journey from Glasgow to St. Kilda includes scenes of the Western Isles, the life of the farmers on St. Kilda, and their evacuation in 1930.
Saturday, 24 August, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Fibre to Fabric: The Story of Aberdeen Flax, 1970, 14mins
Luath, Lochdar (Waulking the Tweed), 1977-81, 18mins
My Carpet: A History of Templeton’s, 2021, 24mins
A cinematic presentation of the Scottish flax and wool textiles, from the cottage homespun industries to the factories employing weavers and unemployed fisher girls from the Highlands and Islands. It includes the history of the carpet factories established in 1905 by philanthropic Countess of Sutherland at Helmsdale, Embo, and Lybster.
Saturday, 3 August, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Herring Harvest at Yarmouth, 1910-15, 6mins
North Sea Herring Fleet, 1935, 7mins
Scotch Fisher Girls at Yarmouth, 1930, 3mins
Eyemouth Revisited, 1940-59, 59mins
We will present a selection of short films exploring the working lives and collective power of Scottish women herring gutters, who travelled along the east coast from Shetland to Yarmouth following the herring shoals. After World War 2, the decline of the herring fishery resulted in many gutters returning home, but their independent spirit opened up new opportunities in other areas of employment.