Moffat Millennium film to mark milestone
A SPECIAL screening to mark the 25th anniversary of Moffat’s millennium film will take place next week, and some of its stars have been looking back on the experience.
Made to mark the new millennium, ‘Moffat: A Scottish Country Town’ showcased every facet of life in the town - from living conditions and education to employment and recreation.
The team behind the camera have been planning for the anniversary since the film was complete, and are looking forward to welcoming residents old and new to the screening.
Group member Terence Leigh said: “The community enthusiastically embraced the idea when the video was made.
“It was suggested, at that time, that there should be a celebratory community free showing of the video 25 years later. So on October 10, the free showing of the video is to be staged in Upper Annandale Parish Church.
“People who attend the event will be able to see themselves, their children, their parents as they were a quarter of a century ago. Sadly too, see folk who are no longer with us but remembered fondly.”
[caption id="attachment_63352" align="aligncenter" width="535"]
Baldwin, Neil McIntosh, Jim Buchanan, Terence Leigh and Myrtle Little[/caption]
Among those featured in the original film were Duncan Hutchison, who was eight at the time when the crew began filming at his family farm showing its day to day running.
Recalling the experience, he said: “It was a while ago now, but I remember it being filmed. Angus and Terence were out at the farm a few times filming us feeding the pet lambs and a few other things.”
Now aged 37, Duncan has taken on a much larger role in the running of the family farm and said: “I’m pretty much in the same boat as dad was back then, I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else.
“I’m certainly planning to attend the anniversary but it all really depends on how things are going here.
“I haven’t seen it for a long, long time now.”
[caption id="attachment_63354" align="aligncenter" width="492"]
Also featured was Graeme Paterson alongside his young family, with eldest daughter Imogen making her big screen debut at just two weeks old. Graeme described seeing himself on-screen back in the day as ‘surreal’, adding: “I remember thinking it was a bit strange back then, seeing and hearing yourself the way world does and it being different that what I’d thought.
“A lot of things have changed since the film.”
Since 2000 Graeme has become a town stalwart, continuing his work as a blacksmith but also taking on roles as a volunteer firefighter and clock winder at the former St Andrew’s Church until it was automated in 2022.
But he still considers himself a newcomer to the town, adding: “I’m a relative new incomer to Moffat, I’ve only been here 40 years. I wasn’t born in Moffat but my kids could probably be considered Moffatonians.
“It’s still a busy tourist town, maybe not as busy as it was but who’s to say. The shops and cafes are mostly the same but have changed hands since 2000.”
Related News
