A map contains within itself both a sense of the past, and of the future. For, as a complex embodiment of human experience, every map is a record of some previous act of reconnaissance – a gathering-together of information to later be shared with others – whilst simultaneously looking forward in time; pointing beyond itself to moments when others may revisit and surpass its findings.
At the heart of how we think about folk culture in Scotland, I feel, is the ideal of participation: a sense that anyone can take part, and of activities that are inclusive and open to all. In this sense, folk culture in Scotland seems largely driven by what the Welsh political writer and author Raymond Williams called the ‘collective idea’: a way of seeing our lives and relations to others that is fundamentally different to the way that capitalism teaches us to look at ourselves as individuals, separated off from each other, each out for ourselves. Williams wrote that this focus on the individual “can be sharply contrasted with the idea that we properly associate with the working class: an idea which … regards society neither as neutral or protective, but as the positive means for all kind of development, including individual development.” For Williams, it was this sense of the many connections of communal living, which he saw as a strong characteristic of working class life, that provided a compelling alternative to the isolation and self-interest he saw within neoliberalism.
As the winter finally starts to recede, it’s time once again to set aside some space in your diaries for the Folk Film Gathering, the world’s first folk film festival, which returns tomorrow to the Filmhouse, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and Summerhall as part of Edinburgh TradFest. After a record year in 2017 where the majority of our screenings at Filmhouse sold out, we are excited to present another programme of folk cinema that places Scotland within an expansive, comradely global context.
THERE’S nowt as pervasive as folk. In Scotland, the revival of interest in folk culture began early in the 20th century. It gathered after the Second World War through the 1950s and 1960s, and today, it’s celebrated in major annual festivals including Celtic Connections, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the Folk Film Gathering, currently ongoing ongoing at Edinburgh Filmhouse and TradFest.
THE world’s first folk film festival, the Folk Film Gathering, returns to Edinburgh Filmhouse and the Scottish Storytelling Centre later this month with a programme full of rare Scottish and world cinema. As the festival’s head of programming I’m excited to welcome audiences back to the Gathering for another feast of folk culture, both on and off the screen.
THE APPEARANCE of Sengalese superstar Youssou N'Dour at the Usher Hall during this year's Edinburgh International Festival is much more than a highlight of a new direction in EIF programming, it is a major cultural event.
