FILMS/ FILM SCORES
The Ballad of a great disordered heart
A collaborative film by Aidan O’Rourke, Becky Manson and Mark Cousins
An evocative film about Edinburgh’s Old Town and the communities who have called it home. During lockdown, Aidan befriended his three octogenarian neighbours, all called Margaret. Inspired by their tales, with a renewed curiosity for his own roots, he takes a musical journey into the meaning of home and belonging. This celebratory film about folk music and its power to connect features an original soundtrack by Aidan and live performances by sensational Irish and Scottish folk musicians - Aoife Ni Bhriain, Cormac Begley, Brighde Chaimbeul and Roisin Chambers.
Soundtrack features Kit Downes and Graeme Stephen.
Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival on 15 August 2022.
Iorram (Boat Song)
The first ever Gaelic-language feature-length cinematic documentary. A portrait of changing fishing communities in the Outer Hebrides directed by Alastair Cole, mixing archive voices and songs with images of island life today. Original music written by Aidan O’Rourke and performed by Aidan with Brighde Chaimbeul, Lizabett Russo, Adam Kinner, Lucy Railton, Graeme Stephen and Thomas Gibbs.
Premiered at Glasgow Film Festival on 28 February 2021.
Wolf
A short film by Dalziel and Scullion about co-existence and loss. Based around the story of the last wolf in Scotland, said to have been killed by the hunter Polson in or around 1700 near Helmsdale in Sutherland. Commissioned by Timespan Museum & Art Centre in Helmsdale. Words by Robin Lloyd-Jones. Music written and performed by Aidan O'Rourke.
They made the sun stand still
The catalyst for this film was a New York Times headline: ‘They Are Not Alone: U.F.O. Reports Surged in the Pandemic’. Many of us looked to the sky in new ways during lockdown — we were all after answers, after all… There’s something older here, too — a supernatural race called Tuatha De Dannan supposedly came to Ireland in ‘flying ships’ surrounded by ‘dark clouds’. Their ‘great god’, Dagda, had an ability to manipulate time by shifting the movement of the sun — to ‘make the sun stand still’.
A film by Becky Manson, Aidan O’Rourke, and Barry Lynn
Directed, filmed & edited by Becky Manson
Produced by Dumbworld for Our Place in Space
Original music by Aidan O’Rourke
Music produced by Barry Lynn and Aidan O’Rourke. Music mixed by Barry Lynn
Sound mix by Jenny Ek
Water to the wall
A portrait of an island community through time, where the sea has always defined life. As the elements continue to shape Orkney, Water To The Wall uses tidal rhythms to explore how islanders live alongside the ebb and flow.
Director: Becky Manson
Producer: Marissa Keating
Music: Aidan O’Rourke