The Outrun Berlinale viewing
For one Móti member the release of the film adaption of Amy Liptrot’s ‘The Outrun’ is a very exciting one as the artwork of Wendy Barker is featured in the film. In her blog, Wendy tells us all about the experience of attending the Film premier in Berlin.
The Outrun Berlinale viewing
In September 22 the Outrun production designer invited me to set up my degree show of video projections in a Fisherman’s shed on Papa Westray. A total of 7 UHI students and staff were engaged to provide artwork or performance pieces for filming. As for me what took two weeks to install a video installation at college took the props guys half a day in a shed and ended with with a brief meeting with director Nora Fingscheidt and an entourage of her production team. I was pleased with how it looked in rather rustic surroundings and they seemed satisfied.
I left the island and they went on to shoot film the next day. It was anyone’s guess whether it would make it to screen. We were all left on tenter hooks as the post production process of editing was grinding on for well over a year, culminating in a Final Cut screening in January in London before the world premier at Sundance USA and European premier at the Berlinale.
The production designer let me know my piece had made it in and there would be an opportunity to see it later in the year. Imagine my excitement and I needed to know how they have filmed it and in what context. I was far too impatient to wait and began to make plans to go to a screening in Berlin with the help of my German niece Lydia and Ryanair! Getting tickets was another hurdle only released three days in advance but despite being sold out in the seconds after release we managed to get a couple that suddenly came up on one of the three screenings following the premier.
The cinema was an art house type on the outskirts of Berlin so not the full glamour of the premier but there was a red carpet! I soon got lost in the addiction storyline interlaced with familiar Orkney landscape scenes and characters that seemed strangely obtuse in the depths of Berlin suburbia and wondered if I would see my work at all as the film drew to a close, even then not ready to take it all in as it was over very quick!
So this is what I remember : In an expression of Rona becoming content engaging with nature and community they showed people arriving off the ferry for the Gyro Nights, Papay and then walking into the darkened shed with Rona and families enjoying the magical light projections of sea reflections.
There is then a switch to the dynamic performance piece by Anna Gardiner ‘Hair-mask bird wing and wind’ with drums building up the sound and light crescendo around the bonfire.
The audience responded with spontaneous applause and Nora appeared for a question and answer session at the end in German.
I was able to speak to Nora in the foyer afterwards and thanked her for including my work and she was a little apologetic at only ending up with two out of seven artists. She volunteered that there would be an Orkney premier when I asked when exactly she replied when the film goes on release. I’m looking forward to seeing it again to see the moments that passed so quickly at the end not least the credits!
Some of Wendy's video and installation work on display at The Pier Arts Centre during their 2024 Graduates Show 'Perspectives'.
