Pìobairean Bhòrnais
A young boy makes a pact with a sinister fairy in this traditional Scottish Gaelic animated tale. The soundtrack is an archive recording of the story and proves that old Gaelic stories are just as enjoyable, provocative and entertaining in the 21st century. Renowned bagpiper, Rory Campbell (of Deaf Shepherd, Old Blind Dogs and Nusa) composed and performed the hypnotic musical score which is a perfect blend of old and new. The film was digitally painted, frame by frame, to look like a moving oil painting. It took Catrìona Black, the film’s director and animator, over 18 months to complete the 7500 images required for this 10 minute story.
Gaelic fairies are rather different from what you might expect - this one is an evil old man with dubious intentions, preying on an eager young boyÂ’s musical ambitions. The story was told in all innocence, but from a modern perspective it raises many difficult social questions.
Pìobairean Bhòrnais is one of thousands of Scottish stories collected on reel-to-reels between the 1950s and the present day, and stored in the School of Scottish Studies Archive in Edinburgh. The late Donald John Stewart, of Stilligarry, South Uist, told the tale in 1975 to Donald Archie Macdonald, and Catrìona Black has recreated the storyteller in the film, along with the small child who can be heard on the original reel-to-reel.