We are Northern Lights-Southsiders, get involved!

We Are Northern Lights: Scotland’s First Ever Mass Participation Documentary Film

The public are being invited to collaborate on a unique feature-length documentary film about Scotland. Northern Lights is a first in a lifetime mass participation film project funded by the Year Of Creative Scotland 2012, which aims to create a view of Scotland that goes beyond media stereotypes to reflect the lives, hopes and dreams of the people who live - or once lived - on these isles.

The project opened for submissions on 20th March and people of all backgrounds and ages, across all areas of Scotland and the diaspora are invited to respond, with filmed contributions, to three questions:

• What can you see?

• What do you wish you had seen?

• What would you like to see?

The producers intend for many first-timers, as well as more experienced film-makers, to engage with the project, and the website offers resources to help new participants plan and shoot their footage. There will also be numerous workshops taking place across Scotland to specifically support groups considered to be less likely or unable to engage in media or arts projects of this nature.

Videos can be submitted from 20th March until 21st June on the Northern Lights website (www.wearenorthernlights.com). Videos will be featured on the Northern Lights website and YouTube channel, and will automatically be eligible to win one of the Northern Lights Awards. Awards totalling £10,000 are on offer to the most compelling contributions in a range of categories, including the People’s Choice Award for the most popular contribution to the project.

The film will be directed by award-winning documentary film-maker Nick Higgins, who hopes to be surprised by the range of responses to the three questions. He says:

“The idea of inviting people from across Scotland to pick up a camera, film their Scotland and share their lives is hugely exciting to me and we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get involved. Our aim is to create a truly original representation of Scotland, 
taking in everything from the extraordinary to the everyday.”

"For Northern Lights to be achieve this, we need people from all walks of life to get involved. Each submission, no matter how modest, will help to build this epic self-portrait of Scotland in 2012 and we want everyone to be part of it. This is a film about Scotland, so who better to create its content than the people of Scotland themselves?”

Visit the website www.wearenorthernlights.com to submit your video and watch the contributions, and help support the project by following on Twitter and Facebook.