"What do you do, whether you are an individual human being or a band, when, out of the blue, the heart is ripped out of you? Carry on. Here is a beautiful and honest film full of colour and light and fascinating characters. About two different – and shifting – musical cultures. And how, beyond the bred-in-the-bone-and- heart traditions that are the absolute backbone of each, they can transcend language and together make a fusion new and magical" – Liz Lochhead
"A brilliant film that doesn't duck the grief and disorientation of Shooglenifty after Angus Grant's death, but revels in the joy of new musical connections with Rajasthan and Galicia, and the addition of the fab Eilidh Shaw" – Lesley Riddoch
'This is a remarkable film, a truly emotional journey' – Alan Morrison
'Fond tribute to a charismatic fiddler' – The Guardian
Official Selection – Edinburgh International Film Festival 2022
Winner 'Trad Music in the Media' – Scots Trad Music Awards 2022
SCREENINGS
One more, coming soon ...
PAST SCREENINGS
15 June 23 | The Byre, St Andrews
20 May 23 | Film Forres, Forres Tolbooth
19 May 23 | 7:30pm | Lyth Arts Centre, Wick
30 April 23 | 1:30pm | Edinburgh Tradfest, Traverse Theatre
21 April 23 | 7:30pm | Eastgate Theatre, Peebles
18 April 23 | 7pm | An Tobar, Tobermory
7 April 23 | 7:30pm | Strathearn Arts, Crieff
29-30 March 23 | Various times | Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall
24-26 March 23 | Various times | Phoenix Cinema, Oban
8 March 23 | 8pm | Hippodrome, Bo'Ness
3-4 March 23 | 7:30pm | Hippodrome, Bo'Ness
1 March 23 | 6pm | DCA, Dundee with Q&A
28 February 23 | 8pm | Eden Court, Inverness
26 February 23 | 1:30pm | Eden Court, Inverness
25 February 23 | 7pm | Cromarty Cinema with Q&A
25 February 23 | 7pm | UistFilm, Carinish Hall, North Uist
24 February 23 | 6pm | Eden Court, Inverness
24 February 23 | 7:30pm | Ceilidh Place, Ullapool with Q&A
23 February 23 | 8pm | An Lanntair, Stornoway with Q&A
19/21/22 February 23 | Various times | Highland Cinema, Fort William
18 February 23 | 7:30pm | Mareel, Lerwick
17 February 23 | 5:30pm | Screen Machine, Castlebay
14 February 23 | Isle of Eigg
11 February 23 | 7:30pm | Universal Hall, Forres
10 February 23 | 8:30pm | Screen Machine, Liniclate
30 January 23 | 2:45pm | Glasgow Film Theatre
TRAILER
IMAGES
ABOUT HEADING WEST
Premiered as part of the official selection at Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 22
What happens when the front man of a band that have been together for more than 25 years dies ... can the band carry on without him?
Heading West is a story about a Scottish band called Shooglenifty. Together for more than quarter of a century and loved all over the world, they are devastated when Angus, their fiddle-playing frontman gets ill and dies in just a few months.
Starting with celebratory concerts in Glasgow and Galicia, the Shoogles (as they are known to their fans) work on their loss, look back on their long career, reflect on the music that Angus has left them, and with a little help from fiddle-playing friends get through a year of grief and introspection. As part of the process they record a heart-moving tribute to their late frontman in the Mehrangarh Fort, Rajasthan. Returning home to Scotland, they find that the music does, indeed, live on ...
To screen the film please contact Jane-Ann Purdy via geordiemacmac@gmail.com
PRESS
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: DON COUTTS
Don Coutts lives and works in Scotland. He has been directing TV/Film most of his rather long life. He is probably most well-known for directing Channel 4’s extraordinary live chat Show After Dark and winning a clutch of BAFTAs. He also won a Peabody Award for the BBC children’s series Katie Morag. Don has been a Shooglenifty groupie of since the early nineties.
See Don talking about the film below ...
ABOUT THE BAND: SHOOGLENIFTY
“30 years together and still one of the most exciting bands on the scene” – Billy Rough, Folk Radio UK
“Shooglenifty, self-styled as “Acid Croft”, have the musical wanderlust as well as the rocking electric bottom end to summon their audience to a world ceilidh. ****” – Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman
Shooglenifty was formed in 1990 by musicians from the Scottish Highlands, Orkney and Edinburgh. Its bright spark was the idea of fusing traditional and traditional-sounding melodies with the beats and basslines of a mixed bag of more contemporary influences. As happy playing a small highland village hall as they are on an outdoor festival stage playing to tens of thousands, the Shoogles (as they’re known to their fans) have promoted Scottish music all over the world for three decades.
In a career spanning many firsts – the first band to incite a stage invasion at the Sydney Opera House, the first UK band to play in Cuba, and the first Scots to perform in the Borneo Rainforest – Shooglenifty blazed a trail that many other top Scottish traditional bands have followed. But they are still the original and best. They will get you on your feet with their electric new tunes and a full-on set of old favourites.
Shooglenifty reached the ripe old age of 30 in 2020. Hopes that they would finally settle down to the quiet life were dashed when they accepted an invitation to start the year in style by performing at midnight for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. The band played gigs in the north of Scotland in February 2020 before all dates for the rest of the year were cancelled, postponed or put on hold due to the Coronvirus pandemic.
On sparkling form and armed with a brand new album of fresh tunes, released during lockdown, the Shoogles will entertain as only they can.
To book the band please contact Jen Anderson via jen@apexmusic.uk
POSTER
ONLINE POSTER
SELECT FILM CREDITS
Director: Don Coutts
Producer: Jane-Ann Purdy
Editor: Michelle Lord
Music: Shooglenifty, Dhun Dhora & Tanxugueiras
Produced in association with Creative Scotland, Scotch Ltd & Cosima Von Saros
Distribution support by Screen Scotland
CONTACTS
To find out more, to screen the film or to request an interview with the band or the director please contact Jane-Ann Purdy (producer) via geordiemacmac@gmail.com or +44 7846 090357
To book the band please contact Jen Anderson via jen@apexmusic.uk
© Shooglenifty Ltd, 2022
Credits:
Douglas Robertson