Uisdean Murray is an award-winning filmmaker from The Outer Hebrides of Scotland. He’s been making independent films and music videos for nearly 20 years. His work includes the award-winning Gaelic language short film Siubhlachan (The Traveller) which was developed into a half-hour drama for BBC ALBA, the macabre Jemima Trilogy, and the award-winning supernatural comedy web series Demonologist For Hire. Uisdean’s most recent film project titled ‘Mara: The Seal Wife’ (2021) features at the FirstGlance Film festival. We had the opportunity to speak to him about his work and independent filmmaking.
Uisdean, Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your career to date. For readers who are unfamiliar with you, how did you get into the film industry?
Thank you! I have been an independent filmmaker for some time, though it has never been something I’ve been able to make my full-time job. For instance my latest film Mara: The Seal Wife was produced during my holidays from my day job at the time, which had nothing to do with the film industry. Mara: The Seal Wife is the first drama film I’ve written & directed for nearly ten years and is a project that I have tried to get off the ground for some time. After many failed attempts at trying to find the funding we turned to crowdfunding and ran two successful campaigns which gave us the opportunity to get the film made.
Who are your biggest influences?
I love watching arthouse and independent films and enjoy just about anything by David Lynch and Terrence Malick. Persona by Ingmar Bergman and Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai are particular favorites of mine.
Please tell us more about Lilly Island Films.
Lily Island Films is my own production company that I set up to produce short films, music videos, and other drama projects. Our highest profile production was a broadcast drama called Siubhlachan (The Traveller) for BBC ALBA which was a follow-up to my award-winning short film of the same name about a young girl who travels back in time to say Goodbye to her Grandfather who died suddenly.
Name one experience you’ve had in this industry that has significantly shaped your appreciation of filmmaking?
I guess it’s the constant rejection from funding bodies and the lack of support for independent filmmakers in Scotland. Instead of giving up, I look for other ways to get my work made and continue developing as a filmmaker. It really does feel like some sort of miracle to actually get a film made.
As mentioned, your work includes the award-winning Gaelic language short film Siubhlachan (The Traveller), the macabre Jemima Trilogy, and Demonologist For Hire. What is your proudest achievement as a filmmaker to date, and why?
My proudest achievement is without a doubt my latest project Mara: The Seal Wife. It was made, as with many independent films, with a skeleton crew and a tiny budget. The production was a real team effort and everyone involved embraced the project and brought something really special to the film.
As an award-winning artist, do you find it easier to collaborate and garner support for your independent projects?
It definitely helps if you have a body of work that potential collaborators can check out. I think my previous projects definitely helped in getting support via crowdfunding for Mara.
Your latest project is Mara, The Sea Wife screens at the FirstGlance Film Festival. Please tell us more about its origins, what viewers can expect, and how you came to write it?
Mara The Seal Wife was born from a feature script I have written that is based in the same world that explores selkie myths. Selkies are seals that come ashore and shed their skin revealing a human form underneath. I took two characters from the feature, Magnus and Sine, and decided to tell their back story thinking it would be a nice simple short tale – it wasn’t! I think viewers who enjoy a magical realism-style mystery will enjoy Mara. There are so many elements to enjoy such as the scenery of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the music, and the characters.
Please tell us more about the filming schedule and was this impacted by the COVID pandemic restrictions?
We shot our film before the pandemic but it did disrupt our post-production. We managed to have an online cast and crew screening and our world premiere at the Hebrides International Film Festival just as things were getting a little easier here in Scotland.
What projects are you currently working on?
At the moment I’m developing a new short film set in the same world as Mara.
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects?
- https://twitter.com/lilyislandfilms
- https://twitter.com/MaraTheSealWife
- https://www.instagram.com/lilyislandfilms/
- https://www.instagram.com/mara_the_seal_wife/
- https://www.facebook.com/marathesealwife
Photographs by Ronni Menzies-Stirling.
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