0:00:02 > 0:00:06For over 100 years, the people of Scotland have been filming
0:00:06 > 0:00:08themselves.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10This is pure entertainment.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14Oh, fantastic. Let loose in a toy department.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Across generations, home movies have recorded the ordinary,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24as well as the great moments of life,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27from our first steps, to our furthest travels.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Today we take for granted the ability
0:00:32 > 0:00:36to record our lives on tiny digital cameras and mobile phones,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40but in this series we look back to the golden age of home movies,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43shot on cine film by our parents,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46grandparents and great-grandparents.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52And some of them took home movie-making to a whole new level.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55These unsung heroes of Scottish cinema
0:00:55 > 0:00:58pushed the boundaries of what was achievable with little more
0:00:58 > 0:01:01than a camera, a roll of film, and a vivid imagination.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07They're astounding performances for people who are not trained actors.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12In this episode, we discover another kind of home movie-making,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14an inventive and creative culture
0:01:14 > 0:01:16that produced some astonishing results.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37In 1980, the BBC's Omnibus series
0:01:37 > 0:01:40made a programme about people who made films as a hobby.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It featured Edinburgh-based Ian Rintoul,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49a movie buff who had converted his attic into a cinema
0:01:49 > 0:01:51and his garage into a mini film studio.
0:01:54 > 0:02:00At the time, Ian was working on his most ambitious project to date,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04an epic reconstruction of the Battle of Pearl Harbor.
0:02:09 > 0:02:1229 Seconds To Zero, was shot almost entirely
0:02:12 > 0:02:16in Edinburgh using miniature models and ingenious special effects.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Now in his 80s, Ian still has his attic cinema
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and his lifelong passion for the movies.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40I had started in the cinema
0:02:40 > 0:02:43when I was a boy as an apprentice projectionist.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Film has this magical quality
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and I think the film thing got into me.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Ian's day job was as a buyer for the Jenner's department store,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57but his film-making hobby grew more and more consuming.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Reconstructing the Battle of Pearl Harbor would be a challenge
0:03:08 > 0:03:12for any major film studio with a cast and crew of hundreds of people.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Back in the '70s,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Ian was filming in his average sized back garden.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Of course, one of the difficulties
0:03:19 > 0:03:24is trying to make a film in Scotland about the South Pacific.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25And, I think, first of all,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28although the garden looks very bleak at the moment,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30you have to really shoot this in the summer time
0:03:30 > 0:03:32and hopefully you'll get some sun.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36I collected all the potted plants from friends and people I knew,
0:03:36 > 0:03:37farms and so forth.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41I thought this would help to create some effect of the South Seas.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45We also, of course, used the garden quite a lot for outside work
0:03:45 > 0:03:49in regard to flying planes against the sky.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54We also flew some wires from the top of the roof
0:03:54 > 0:03:56down to the foot of the garden
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and we'd fly the planes down on these lines.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Hidden within Ian's attic are further movie magic secrets.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Film was so expensive.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I didn't spend a lot of time shooting stuff
0:04:12 > 0:04:14showing how the scenes were done,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17but I have got one or two clips I'll put on for you.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This is a small model plane, used in 29 Seconds To Zero,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25being held up for filming.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And these are model planes we put on a plate of glass to be shot through
0:04:34 > 0:04:38to real sky and the other plane is brought in in front,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and, you know, I tried, as hard as possible
0:04:41 > 0:04:44to replicate the proper cockpit.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48And I was going through all the car scrapyards,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51you know, to get bits and pieces.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55And everybody likes to see this shot, as he finishes the take.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Editing's the key to success.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Sometimes, if you keep a model shot on
0:05:03 > 0:05:04just that little bit too long,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07people spot, even a second or two over,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09people think that doesn't look real,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12but if they only see it for two seconds,
0:05:12 > 0:05:13they don't... They kind of think,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16well, that's a plane, or that's a propeller, and you know,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20it's keeping the shots short that make the successful film.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Another of Ian's films was this dramatic tale
0:05:30 > 0:05:31of the Loch Ness Monster
0:05:31 > 0:05:34escaping from capture and rampaging through Edinburgh.
0:05:39 > 0:05:46These are some outtakes from the Loch Ness Monster movie
0:05:46 > 0:05:48and it looks like an enormous truck
0:05:48 > 0:05:51but it's actually, quite small in a sense.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Working with Ian on these zero budget epics
0:06:00 > 0:06:02was his young assistant Steven Begg.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05From humble beginnings in Ian's garage,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Steven went on to have a Bafta-winning career
0:06:07 > 0:06:10as a special effects supervisor.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13This is Steven with one of his models
0:06:13 > 0:06:15from the James Bond film Skyfall.
0:06:16 > 0:06:1840 years ago and without a blockbuster
0:06:18 > 0:06:20multi-million pound budget,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Ian's painstaking model work took months to complete.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29The average person has no idea how difficult it is to make a film
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and I have to say that having young Steven Begg with me
0:06:33 > 0:06:37was a great sort of... He was coming up with ideas for
0:06:37 > 0:06:39things that I probably wouldn't have thought of.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I mean, I do envy, you know, people that are making films now
0:06:43 > 0:06:45because it's just so easy.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50And don't forget, I was doing a full time job as well
0:06:50 > 0:06:51and bringing up a family
0:06:51 > 0:06:53trying to struggle to make these epics, you know?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56So, altogether, it was a busy life, you know?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Ian's achievements are extraordinary
0:07:03 > 0:07:07given the many constraints of making films as a hobby.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09But he wasn't the first person to have such a busy life
0:07:09 > 0:07:11moonlighting as a movie director.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16People have been producing home-made cinematic wonders,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20since domestic film cameras first became available.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25This is some of the early work of Frank Marshall,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28a pioneer of the Scottish amateur film making scene.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Very quickly Frank's home movies developed into short,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37highly accomplished films.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Peter and Roy are two of Frank's grandchildren.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Their mother Muriel and Uncle Nairn appear in many of the early films.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56A Frank Marshall movie was very much a family affair.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01My grandfather, he came up with the stories
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and then persuaded the family to take part in it,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and I think that's quite exciting, you know, to be involved
0:08:08 > 0:08:13in a film, cos that was the age of the film I guess, age of the cinema.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19In some of Frank's later films, Peter and Roy became the stars.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- This is your one. - Surprise In Store, yes, yes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27Surprise In Store is a comic tale of what happens, when four young
0:08:27 > 0:08:31children sneak into an empty toy shop after closing time.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35That's us looking at the stuff. Oh, look at the stuff, it's fantastic.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Then I remember us being told by my grandpa to go underneath it.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42I remember that very clearly.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Oh, fantastic.
0:08:48 > 0:08:54Let loose in a toy department, with no-one about. Just brilliant.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Absolutely brilliant.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03We filmed this over three weekends, in the autumn.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05No-one really believed it,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09because it was completely incomprehensible that we'd
0:09:09 > 0:09:13spend our Sundays in a department store playing with all the toys.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24The best bit in this one is where Frank and I are playing
0:09:24 > 0:09:27with the Scalextric because there's no acting required.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Looked like we were engrossed because we were.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Look at that, total focus.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Magic. Such good fun.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Seeing as we were involved in it all
0:09:44 > 0:09:46we didn't really think it was unusual.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49It was just that grandpa was making another film,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52thought up another story and we were going to be in it. Ha!
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Early Birds. This will be you, Peter.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Don't fence me in.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06Early Birds stars Peter as himself escaping from his cot,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08as his parents and elder brother sleep on.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- Ohhhh! Clunk! - HE LAUGHS
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Peter negotiates the steep stairs to perform an early morning
0:10:16 > 0:10:18raid on the biscuit tin.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20This business of getting ready to go down
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and then changing your mind, come back up.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24They were steep.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Oh, my goodness!
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Oh, heck!
0:10:31 > 0:10:33This looks seriously dangerous.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- Goodness gracious! - LAUGHTER
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Brilliant.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Oh, brilliant, biscuits.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47This is fantastic.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49What's going on here.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57During his lifetime, Frank Marshall produced over 120 films.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Many featuring his trademark mischievous sense of fun.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I'm busy having my biscuits.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06No, you're not having....
0:11:06 > 0:11:07Leave me alone!
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Dragged away. - Up the stairs, that's it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Help me.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Give you a shove.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Ohhh!
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Clear up. Pretend nothing happened.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Now he's going to have a biscuit to celebrate.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Oh no, caught in the act.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41I think we're incredibly lucky,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44to have this as part of our family history.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47It's quite extraordinary.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04As Hollywood was enjoying its golden age through the 1940s and '50s,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08the possibilities for do-it-yourself movie-making were also opening up.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Maverick and passionate film-makers began to
0:12:13 > 0:12:16emerge from some of the most unlikely places.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22This is the small industrial town of Wishaw in the late 1940s.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And this is a film made by one of Scotland's most unusual
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and remarkable filmmakers.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Enrico Cocozza.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39As a boy, Tom Hinshelwood met Enrico through the film club
0:12:39 > 0:12:41he ran for local school kids.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47The Wishaw of Tom's childhood is now forever preserved in Enrico's films.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52This is the introduction to a film, Chick's Day, it shows
0:12:52 > 0:12:54the exterior of the Belhaven Cafe,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56and the railings outside it were...
0:12:56 > 0:13:01became a meeting place for young, young people going out at night.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Unemployed men or retired men hung about there as well.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07There was a bookies across the road,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and they spent their day there, betting horses.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15That was really, quite normal life all over Wishaw, at that time.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20They were just beginning to get into solving the housing
0:13:20 > 0:13:24problem which Wishaw had had since, for 100 years you could say.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30'Chick they called me though I was born Charlie.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32'And I never knew my faither.'
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Chick's Day is the stark and sometimes violent
0:13:37 > 0:13:40story of a young man, who commits a robbery to pay off a gambling debt.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44'When she opened that door, we didnae know what to dae,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48'but wan thing was sure,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50'we had to do it quick.'
0:13:51 > 0:13:54It's generally accepted that Chick's Day was many,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56many years ahead of its time.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59What was commonly called "a kitchen sink drama".
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Enrico made the film almost a decade before the term "kitchen sink"
0:14:06 > 0:14:08came into use.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But it wasn't all gritty social realism.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Enrico's obsession was cinema, in all its forms.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19From surreal horror.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24To comedy.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26And melodrama.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28'Why are you smiling?
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Smiling? Because I'm happy, so completely happy.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35'We have the gift of love.'
0:14:39 > 0:14:44# Nessun dorma, nessun... #
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Enrico's Italian family ran the Belhaven Cafe in the centre
0:14:48 > 0:14:50of Wishaw.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Using local people as his cast and crew, Enrico funded his addiction
0:14:55 > 0:15:01to film-making through his job as a lecturer at Strathclyde University.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Roberta Doyle was one of his students.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09He was a teacher of thousands and thousands and thousands of us,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13in Scotland who have benefited from him as a tutor,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and it was quite obvious from the first second you were in class
0:15:16 > 0:15:21that he was an extraordinary teacher, and role model and
0:15:21 > 0:15:23humorist, and intellectual.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27I would defy anybody who was taught by Rico not to think, that he
0:15:27 > 0:15:31was a really profound influence on them and that the first
0:15:31 > 0:15:34impression they had of him, as being an extraordinary man was
0:15:34 > 0:15:38the impression that they would carry on having, for their whole lives.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Another of Enrico's films was Corky!
0:15:44 > 0:15:46The comic tale of a young boy's adventures in Wishaw,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49in the mid-1950s.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52'And here I am, folks, the star of the film.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56'I'll away o'er and see if Joan, that's my pin-up, is oot yet.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02'Oh, that's her brother's bike. I'll have a wee shot while naebody is looking.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08'Brrp brrrp, brrp brrrp. Brrp brrrp.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11'Oh, jings, here she comes.'
0:16:17 > 0:16:19'I'll put on my shy act.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26'Whit are you daeing here? Eh....
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'Eh... I... Um...'
0:16:29 > 0:16:31LAUGHTER
0:16:33 > 0:16:37I think this one in particular of the performances,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42that Coco managed to elicit from non-professional actors,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47neighbours of his and friends of his and the children of friends of his.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52I mean they're, they're astounding performances for people
0:16:52 > 0:16:54who are not trained actors.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58He adored Wishaw.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01He was unbelievably proud of being from Wishaw and, and I think
0:17:01 > 0:17:06a lot of his films are testament to the pride that he took because he's
0:17:06 > 0:17:11filmed Wishaw absolutely beautifully and, makes it look, as interesting
0:17:11 > 0:17:15a community as it was, full of as interesting characters as it is.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20'Oh, no, Bingo, Bango and Bongo, the bullies, they hate my guts.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'Ever since I won that game of cairds from them. Oh!
0:17:23 > 0:17:24'Uh...'
0:17:29 > 0:17:31HE WHISTLES
0:17:31 > 0:17:34'Come on, gang. Let's do them.'
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Watching these films really brings back
0:17:39 > 0:17:42memories to you of the architecture of the place.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46The attitude of kids and the children.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49They were more out in the open air enjoying themselves rather
0:17:49 > 0:17:52than sitting inside at their computers or whatever.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57'Are you still winching, Cork? Sure, I'm going steady.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00'Are you still taking these horrors out? Ha, ha, ha.'
0:18:00 > 0:18:04There's a wee girl who seems to be a bit shy, she's not out
0:18:04 > 0:18:08playing with the other kids and you see her standing up at her window.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Corky gives her a wave I think and she comes down.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15'Here she comes and isn't she the most?
0:18:15 > 0:18:23'My pals call her Tartanbags, but her real name is Beverly.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28'Oh, Beverly, you look so heavenly!'
0:18:31 > 0:18:34The voice-over, that comes in in part of the film,
0:18:34 > 0:18:39and it's very familiar if you knew the times and the area.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43The words he uses like "winching," it's really realistic of the period.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49'There's my gal again, but what's this?
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'They two bullies waiting to attack her or something?
0:18:53 > 0:18:57'Aw, naw, fellas, no' the day! Please! Let her alane.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'Oh, they've got her. What'll they dae to her?
0:19:00 > 0:19:05'They'll pull her hair oot. She'll be bald, she'll have to marry Yul Brynner. Oh!'
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Enrico was a really inspirational tutor or teacher,
0:19:09 > 0:19:14and, it really encouraged a lot of people that I ran about with,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16to have a lifelong love of films.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26As camera equipment developed through the '50s and '60s,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29more and more people fell in love with moviemaking.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37In towns and cities all over Scotland, Cine Clubs were
0:19:37 > 0:19:40formed, with hundreds of members eager to tell their stories.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44In Aberdeen, Alan Stott was one of the founding members
0:19:44 > 0:19:47of the District Cine Club
0:19:47 > 0:19:51and remembers well what making films during the '60s was all about.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56This is pure entertainment.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01FANFARE
0:20:02 > 0:20:06'We all take motion pictures for granted and seldom realise the care
0:20:06 > 0:20:10'and patience required for even a short film. Tonight...'
0:20:10 > 0:20:15I didn't realise that was my voice. That's me doing the commentary.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20'Much of the quality of the projected image depends on the
0:20:20 > 0:20:24'drying of the film, which must be done in a dust-free atmosphere.'
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It was just a whole, a total spoof, the whole thing was a spoof.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35'..ruin an entire day's work. One of the most skilled jobs in a film
0:20:35 > 0:20:38'studio is that of the film cutter
0:20:38 > 0:20:42'whose job it is to assemble the film into a coherent whole.'
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It may be a spoof, but this film shows how physical
0:20:47 > 0:20:52and laborious making movies on cine film used to be.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57So, Alan joined his friend Ron Miller
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and a small group of other enthusiasts, and together
0:21:01 > 0:21:07they took non-professional film-making to a whole new level.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08EXPLOSION
0:21:10 > 0:21:12'Alan!'
0:21:12 > 0:21:14DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Their ambitious feature-length action films featured epic
0:21:20 > 0:21:26stunts, explosions, and a creative approach to health and safety.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- ALAN:- We had a requirement to film in a submarine,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35and to submerge a submarine, with two or three boys on deck.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40So, we phoned up the Navy, and said, "Can we do this?"
0:21:40 > 0:21:43They said, "Yes, when do you want to do it?"
0:21:43 > 0:21:44And that was it.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- ALAN:- Absolutely no problem, the Navy were delighted.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59First rate public relations, put it down to.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Could you do it now? Not on your Nellie.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04You wouldn't be allowed to do that now.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Health and safety would be all over them.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09But it was things like that we got involved in and,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11and, they were great fun.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17But it wasn't just dramas
0:22:17 > 0:22:19and comedies being made by the cine clubs of Scotland.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Home-made documentaries covering an endlessly diverse
0:22:22 > 0:22:28range of topics, have captured Scottish life for over 100 years.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31From shipping in Aberdeen harbour,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34to the early days of Glasgow's public transport.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40From waterskiing on Loch Earn, to skateboarding in Kelvingrove Park.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Free to choose his or her subject matter,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48the non-professional film-maker made films about things
0:22:48 > 0:22:51they loved doing, or were passionately involved in.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01In 1981, Alison Coleman,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04a pharmacist from Lanarkshire, made a documentary about the
0:23:04 > 0:23:08arrival of a group of Vietnamese refugees into her small village.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12- ALISON:- It is hard to believe these children,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14happily playing together,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18were once considered to be a threat to a communist regime.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Their only crime, being born to a Vietnamese mother
0:23:22 > 0:23:23and a Chinese father.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27They were given a simple choice, to leave Vietnam or spend the rest of
0:23:27 > 0:23:30their lives in a concentration camp.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37At the time, the influx of over 10,000 so-called boat people
0:23:37 > 0:23:40into Britain was major headline news.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44But through her community work, Alison had the inside story,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46and with her husband operating the camera,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50she spent a year recording a more intimate portrayal.
0:23:51 > 0:23:58# I'm only a poor little sparrow No colourful feathers had I
0:23:58 > 0:24:00# But I can't even sing When nesting in spring
0:24:00 > 0:24:05# And the turnips don't grow very high... #
0:24:06 > 0:24:11Oh, I forgot it. I forgotten, stop!
0:24:13 > 0:24:17We spoke to one of the Vietnamese men featured in Alison's film.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20He didn't want to be filmed for personal reasons,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23but recorded this letter in his own voice.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30'I was one of the people that came to Scotland almost 35 years ago.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36'My story began when a group of 40 people,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38'of which there was a dozen children,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42'got on a small wooden fishing boat and set out to sea.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49'We did not know where we were going, and we were all very sad.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55'After sailing for four days, the boat got into trouble,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58'and water started creeping in.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05'We were very fortunate, who knows what might have happened,
0:25:05 > 0:25:11'if a British oil tanker hadn't been passing and stopped to rescue us.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13'We were sent to a refugee camp in Singapore,
0:25:13 > 0:25:19'and then some of us were lucky to be granted resettlement in Scotland.'
0:25:26 > 0:25:30- ALISON:- For those coming to Scotland, the long journey to
0:25:30 > 0:25:34freedom nears an end as the plane touches down at Edinburgh airport.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40'The minibus took us out the airport and through many long
0:25:40 > 0:25:44'and winding roads, leading to Carnwath College in Lanarkshire.'
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Hello, welcome to Scotland.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50'We were fed and watered, we were taught English.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54'We were entertained, when we felt sad and homesick.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:59Happy New Year, everybody. Lang may your lum reek.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05MUSIC: Rivers Of Babylon by Boney M
0:26:05 > 0:26:08# ..there we sat down
0:26:08 > 0:26:16# Yeah we wept, when we remembered Zion... #
0:26:18 > 0:26:23'We were given accommodation, and all the help to rebuild our lives.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28'They did all they could to make us feel at home,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'and importantly, they helped us to stand on our feet again.'
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Although the music and look of Alison's film
0:26:40 > 0:26:44is dated in the '80s, the story is just as topical today.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49- ALISON:- On the surface, this whole operation would appear to have been
0:26:49 > 0:26:52pretty clear sailing. But in actual fact, many problems arose
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and only someone like Rufus Reade,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57the project leader at Carnwath, can tell us about these problems.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Well, the Vietnamese have come at a time of high unemployment,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06recession, general cutbacks in local authorities' expenditure
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and so there is little chance of work for them.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15The shortage of houses in many areas gives rise to understandable resentment.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Alison felt compelled to tell the story.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23She filmed for several months alongside a busy day job and
0:27:23 > 0:27:28with no agenda other than to record what was happening in her community.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Sadly, Alison passed away during the making of our programme,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37but her film lives on.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'I have watched Alison's film many times,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48'and the more I watch, the more I think how marvellous
0:27:48 > 0:27:53'the Scottish people were, given the social and economic challenges of the time.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58'With their kindness and enormous generosity, I have my life again.'
0:28:02 > 0:28:04The films of people like Alison and her husband capture
0:28:04 > 0:28:09moments in our collective history, that might otherwise be forgotten.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Bye!
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Many of these films can be watched at the Scottish Screen Archive.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25But many more lay undiscovered in attics and cupboards,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28just waiting to be brought back to life.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34MUSIC: Joy by Apollo 100