I went to watch ‘To see ourselves‘, a near 2 hour film of the 2014 independence campaign, beautifully filmed and directed by Jane McAllister and with a central role for her father and East Lothian SNP councillor, Fraser, in Stirling last night.
I was overwhelmed by it’s startling combination of warmth, humour and power to persuade, often with the facts suppressed in the media but, most important, saturated with compassion for those angry and afraid No supporters.
This, far more than the numbers, tables and graphs I churn out daily here, could turn folk around. That’s why the film is being shamefully suppressed by Art elites in Scotland. They sense danger and they are right to do so.
You can and must watch the trailer here: https://toseeourselves.film/
When I have details of upcoming showings, I’ll post that on X and FB.
Hearing from Jane and Fraser of their struggle to get support and film festival acceptance, I was reminded of this, from Newsnet in 2015:
The ‘cringe’ remains alive and well in the Scottish arts and creative sector public life
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
the uk and union is a disgrace the government red and blue causing austerity INDEPENDENCE only for Scotland 🏴
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Thanks for this John, I’d forgotten about the film (despite contributing to the crowd funder) and must make the effort to go see it. So disappointing to hear about the negativity and cringe from the arts organisations. As a musician myself I know from conversations with other that the vast majority of folk actually working as artists are very much pro Indy. It goes naturally with the mindset.
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I’ve seen and it is very good….if rather sad…
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At least 10 years ago, I attended a conference on the arts. It was relatively small beer – it had to be or someone like me would not have been invited. The attendees were from Scotland and the North of England. At a coffee break I was seated with a group from Tyneside and one spoke quite heatedly about a ‘Scottish mafia’ which was appointing Scots to posts in the arts in Scotland – which is somewhat at odds with Hugh Kerr’s view. (I tend towards Hugh Kerr’s view largely because he knows more about the Arts hierarchy than I do). What my coffee companion was claimimg was that a friend of his from the North East of England had been working, apparently quite competently, on a project in Scotland, but when he applied for a senior post the post went to someone from Scotland. He claimed this ‘always happened’ and that because of the lack of outsiders Scottish ‘culture’ would ‘continue to be a backwater. I disagreed and said so.
Perhaps people in the North of England, too, see, ‘culturally colonised’ and neglected and see Scotland, and Edinburgh, in particular, as more favoured than the North.
If so, then we have an example of ‘divide-and-rule’ having some effect.
Alasdair Macdonald
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Hmm, that incredibly ignorant person clearly hadn’t looked at who the directors, CEOs and other high up folk in the arts in Scotland, hail from. Far too many are not Scottish, same for many working in various types of industry I’m sure, including in oil, and not just in high level jobs.
The Geordie jealousy towards Scotland was all too evident back in 2014, my geordie friends and family were scathing, and very negative about it all, some ridiculed me for being pro independence and an SNP voter. Not much has changed in that respect. No loss to Scotland far as I can see!
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Will look out for the film. Not surprised in the slightest it’s been rejected by the arts establishment.
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