Orkney’s history and landscape celebrated in short film released as part of Green Space Dark Skies event

A short film celebrating the unique history and landscape of the Orkney Islands has been released as a UK-wide festival of creativity and connections comes to an end.

The archipelago was the backdrop for the second of three events that took place across Scotland in August as part of Green Space Dark Skies, commissioned by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, which aimed to bring communities together throughout 2022.

Participants, known as Lumenators, carrying specially designed low impact Geolights created patterns in the landscape, captured on film, at some of the archipelago’s most scenic locations.

The artworks were based around two of Orkney mainland’s key landmarks – The Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, and on the beach at North Ronaldsay.

Directed by Rupert Shanks, the short film brings together themes of nature, community, culture, and technology.

At North Ronaldsay, Geolights were placed on the sea edge to represent star constellations in celebration of its first anniversary as a designated Dark Skies Island.

Messages written in the sand, washed away by the water, represented the sustainability ethos behind Green Space Dark Skies – “Leave No Trace”.

Shanks said: “Working on the Orkney Isles film for Green Space Dark Skies has been a dream project for me. It has been such a privilege to spend time on the islands and learn a little from the islanders about their life experience.

“Our film tries to share this and celebrate that strong sense of community that is so prevalent there. The film itself is a great collaboration between a diverse range of groups across the islands and amongst our project team.

“It was incredibly special to get everyone together both on North Ronaldsay and at Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness for our event nights. I hope the film shares a little of that magic we felt on the night.”

The event producers – Walk the Plank – collaborated with local creatives to tell the story of the area’s community and their connections to the landscape, whilst local organisations were brought in to educate participants on how to protect it for future generations.

The Ness of Brodgar Trust gave a talk to participants providing them with a greater appreciation for the area’s archaeological history, and award-winning writer Merryn Glover created a multilingual story exploring narratives from local community groups which was used as dialogue in the film’s soundtrack.

Daytime activities involved Orcadians sharing stories of how the island’s landscapes came to be, their use in the past and present and how to value and look after them. Folklore influences are central to the final output of the film.

Local organisations including the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) hosted topical discussions in Stromness Community Centre, while British tech start-up Miro Shot – a music collective pioneering emerging technologies – immersed participants in a bespoke virtual and mixed-reality experience inspired by Orkney landscapes in Stromness Town Hall.

Green Space Dark Skies is one of ten major creative projects commissioned by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a celebration of creativity taking place across the UK in 2022.