The uptick in engagement with the FilmG Gaelic competition is the result of workshops held by Astar Media across Scotland and beyond since the 2023 award ceremony at Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket. Voters can support as many entries as they like in under-18 and 18-plus categories on the event’s website, filmg.co.uk.

Workshops have also extended across the Atlantic since last year, yielding several fascinating shorts from Nova Scotia. Bringing another added layer of diversity to the Gaelic filmmaking landscape, Diùid MacDòmhnaill celebrates young LGBTQ people and Gaels of colour, while Coileat NicDhòmhnaill looks back at Scotland’s colonial history, uncovering the story of Afro-Gaels in Na Gàidheil Dubha (pictured top). 

Of the home-grown entries, film-poetry features with Victoria NicÌomhair’s Pàiste Gàidhealach which explores the joys of raising a bilingual family. Evie Waddell also presents two film-poems created in conjunction with the Scottish Poetry Library, incorporating BSL performances. 

There’s animation too, with the likes of Choirstaidh NicArtair’s Mair and Sophie Nic a’ Ghobhainn (a fifth-year pupil at Millburn Academy in Inverness) with An Glaoine nan Draoidh (pictured above), a retelling of the Brahan Seer legend featuring 450 hand-drawn frames inspired by Celtic manuscripts. Nic a’ Ghobhainn’s entry in the under-18 category demonstrates how FilmG’s continued presence within the Gaelic school curriculum can lead to further study and a burgeoning career in the media. 

FilmG awards take place at SEC, Glasgow, Friday 23 February; highlights from the ceremony are on BBC Alba, Sunday 25 February.