THERE was a capacity audience of 200 last night for the launch of the first film in the Nation series: Faroes – The Connected Nation.
The event took place at the Methodist Church in Edinburgh and was hosted by SNP MP Joanna Cherry.
Cherry later tweeted: "The Faroes film contains beautiful cinematography and a positive message about what can be done with true autonomy, vision and confidence."
The video, which went online today, can be watched at the project's Just Giving page, where donations can also be made. The money will be used to produce four or five more films.
The half-hour film was shot, edited and directed by Al from Phantom Power films and researched and presented by Lesley Riddoch.
Al said: "It's a shame the Scottish broadcast media has so little curiosity about our small, successful neighbours – even when they form the bedrock of the recent Sustainable Growth Commission.
"So Lesley and I have decided to fill that gap and provide a resource and hopefully a new perspective about small nations to stimulate debate on on both sides of the indy divide."
Riddoch added: "The debate about our constitutional future invariably portrays Scotland as a small, remote nation, stubbornly demanding its own perspectives on just about every issue, instead of accepting the UK norm.
"Actually, from a Northern point of view, Scotland is a relatively big country, facing nothing like the remoteness of northern Norway, Finland or Iceland.
"Yet countries like these consistently out-perform Scotland. Even the tiny Faroes – population 50,000– has the world's fastest mobile broadband, the best quality salmon and the world's most powerfully devolved parliament, because they have the right to sign international trade treaties.
"But since no media seeks out these northern neighbours, Scots are none the wiser about what is normal for small nations all around us. This film series is trying to put that right."
The pair are already booked to go to Iceland for the next film and will be staying in hostels and with friends to keep costs low.
There are plans to approach broadcasters, though this has its stumbling blocks.
"If we had waited to go through the BBC or STV commissioning process, we would have spent these crucial summer months on paperwork and waiting – probably in vain," said Riddoch.
"So we decided to take a few risks and just get on with it, at a fraction of the cost.
"We really need everyone in the Yes movement to help us by watching the Faroes film, posting links on local Facebook sites, sending the film to friends who may have been No voters last time around and asking your branches or groups to make a contribution to our crowd-funder so we can produce more films."
That link again: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nation
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