I have recently discovered the wonderful work of Margaret Tait, the Scottish experimental filmmaker and poet. I had heard of the Margaret Tait Award but never given it much thought until a friend of mine mentioned her work and that I might enjoy it. Soon after, I looked her up and was amazed at what she made in her lifetime. Such poetic, moving films that play with collages of moving image and sound. I completely understand her way of approaching the world, in fragments and through memory.
One of my favourite films is “A Portrait of Ga”, a film about Tait’s mother. It doesn’t tell the viewer much about Ga, and yet it manages to say everything. The way the footage is shot and edited together, combined with the voiceover and the sensibility of movements where you can almost taste, touch or smell what’s on the screen. You can feel the wind blowing, the smell of the land between rain and sunshine underneath a rainbow, the delicious stickiness of a sweetie kept too long in a warm pocket. Truly inspiring.
THIS MORTAL REEL 