Children of the Mist: The Lost Tribe

Children of the mist: the lost tribe is a 2005 Scottish film short by Peter and Beverly Campbell of the Day Oot Theatre Company and Beaverock Productions. Set in Scotland, in 384AD, the film is a day in the life of a small Scottish clan and the brotherhood that formed a nation.

The film was a huge collaborative community project that included support from several local Dunbartonshire organisations, including: The Milton Inn Hotel and Barnhill Estate, The Tullochan Trust, West Dunbartonshire Council, Dynamic People Solutions, Anderson Marketing and Publicity, the Royal Marines, Aggreko and Galt Transport. Clydebank College was also heavily involved in the project with their media and make-up students carrying out their work placements on the film.

After an open casting call which brought people from all across Scotland to audition, over 700 people were eventually cast in the film. For some, this was their first experience of acting.

Plot

As the whole village prepares for the wedding of Mhari (Annie Bergin) to the Clan Chief's son, told through the storyteller, Rachel Wisson, no-one is aware of a rival clan heading their way to wage war.

Cast

• Rachel Wisson as the storyteller
• Annie Bergin as the bride, Mhari
• Roisin Kelly as the Clan Chief's daughter and Mhari's best friend
• Matthew Baxter as the drowning boy
• Rhiann Connor
• Suzanne Shanks
• Donna Smillie

Production

The film took over 4 months to complete and faced a few challenges, from the large cast of newcomers, to the Gaelic script which required vocal coaches to be on set to coach the actors.

Peter Campbell said in an interview about the project "I wanted to tell the story in a simple but atmospheric way, placing strong emphasis on cinematography and imagery. The film’s soundtrack plays an integral part in bringing the tale to life as there is very little dialogue - the few words that are spoken are in Gaelic which was a conscious decision as I wanted an audience anywhere in the world to view the film as a piece of art, following the story through the strong visual imagery, whilst recognising our native tongue. We didn’t want to tie ourselves down with a definitive script to allow the community themselves to play a significant part in moulding the end result."^[1]

'The Lost Tribe' together with an accompanying documentary on the making of the film cost a total of £30,000 to produce and was jointly funded by West Dunbartonshire Social Inclusion Partnership and Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire.

Premiere

More than 400 people attended the premiere at the IWERKS theatre in Drumkinnon Tower to see the film. The stars of the community film project were joined by invited guests, including BBC’s River City star Ryan Fletcher and Scotland’s media for the first screening of the film at Loch Lomond Shores in Balloch.

References

1. ^ Michelle McMenemy/Emmy Young (2005-03-17). "Red Carpet Rolled Out for Premiere of 'Children of the Mist - The Lost Tribe'". Scottish Enterprise. http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/about-us/se-whatwedo/news-se-about-us/news-se-about-us-details.htm?articleid=102245. Retrieved 2005-03-17. 

External links

• IMDB Page
• Official Blog