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Newsletter Archive
Newsletter February 2009
A chàirdean
Last week we got a glimpse of the future for Gaelic television at the climax of our short film project, FilmG, when the winners of the competition were announced at an awards ceremony in Inverness. FilmG aims to discover and nurture new talent, and we were hugely encouraged by the enthusiasm that young producers, writers and actors have shown as they seized the opportunity to take a step towards a career in an industry that will need their energy and talent in the years ahead. Our congratulations to all the prize winners. You can read more about them later in this newsletter.
Did you manage to catch any of the Gaelic programmes at the Film ’s Craic festival in Glasgow last month? If so, I hope you enjoyed looking back at some of the gems from the Gaelic TV archive. Of course, if you want to see all the latest Gaelic programmes, you need look no further than BBC ALBA. We’re going to be showing live SFL football next week, and there’s plenty more to see on Freesat 110 and Sky 168 during February. Keep an eye on www.bbcalba.co.uk and www.mgalba.com for the BBC ALBA schedule and latest news and events. And if you have any questions or comments about the channel, we’d love to hear from you.
Le dùrachd,
Dòmhnall Caimbeul
MG ALBA Chief Executive
FilmG
And the winner is . . .
We had a fantastic night at Eden Court in Inverness on Friday 6th February, when more than 250 people attended the FilmG award ceremony, including VIP guests Linda Fabiani, minister with responsibility for Gaelic, and comedy actor Greg Hemphill.
We’re especially proud of the schoolchildren who made films for the competition. We hope that FilmG has roused their interest in film and television production and that they’ll go on to make many more films in the future.
Carole Sheridan from Scottish Screen with Ùisdean Murray, whose film Siubhlachan was voted best film in the professional category, and Daibhidh Walker.
Presenter Caxy MacAulay, Seonag Anderson who won best documentary with Beatha a’ Bhàird, Billy Matheson from Theatre Hebrides who won the People’s Choice award for Sìol, and BBC ALBA presenter, Fiona MacKenzie.
The complete list of winners and runners up is online at www.filmg.co.uk. Congratulations to everyone who won a prize, and our thanks to all of you for making such high-quality entries!
Producers’ days
It’s fun making a short film, but it’s hard work to do it for a living. MG ALBA is beholden to the production companies that make programmes for BBC ALBA. The Gaelic production sector has seen big changes since the launch of BBC ALBA and we have to keep producers up to date with our plans and with information about their opportunities to secure commissions.
Consequently we held two producers’ days last week; more than 20 producers attended our Stornoway event on 3rd February and 30 attended the event in Glasgow on 5th February. We reflected on the first few months of the channel and looked forward to the year ahead. We’re grateful to everyone who came to the meetings and we look forward to continuing our relationship with the many producers who make content for BBC ALBA.
Air faire
Pay attention, sports fans! BBC ALBA will be showing live football when Airdrie United meet Clyde on Sunday 22nd February at 15.10.
And if you like music or cookery, there’s plenty coming up that you’ll enjoy:
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There will be more live SFL football in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on www.mgalba.com and www.bbcalba.co.uk for the complete schedule, and remember that you can see BBC ALBA on Sky 168, Freesat 110 and online at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer.
Getting to know … Iain Gillies
Iain Gillies, from Upper Shader on the west side of Lewis, has worked for MG ALBA for 15 years. His background is in finance, but his love of technology has led him into his current role as IT and Web Manager.
Tell us about yourself and your job at MG ALBA.
I joined the organisation as a Finance Clerk after completing an HND in Business Management at Lews Castle College. At first I was responsible for day-to-day book keeping, but I soon found myself becoming more and more involved in IT, so I ended up with the dual role of Finance Assistant/IT Co-ordinator. With the workforce more than doubling in the past few years, the IT side of my job has overtaken the finance side, and now I’m responsible for the whole organisation’s computer system and for the website and I’m working towards a professional IT qualification.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It’s a job that doesn’t let you relax for a minute. You have to be alive to both new technological advances and security threat, and there’s always something new to learn. The job never gets boring because people have an uncanny knack of discovering new ways to stop their PC working!