Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait
Directed by Luke Fowler, co-produced by Luke Fowler and Sarah Neely. 16mm transferred to digital, 60 mins, 2022.
Drawing on a wealth of unseen archival material, the film weaves together a complex and personal portrait of one of Scotland’s most enigmatic independent filmmakers, from the perspective of a fellow artist sensitive to the potential Margaret envisaged for film as a poetic medium.
Awards: Prix International de la Scam/ International Film Award, Cinéma du Réel, 2023, Best Mid-length Documentary, Hot Docs, 2023
Distributed by LUX/The Modern Institute
Scottish Tour of the film supported by Screen Scotland.
Other websites: https://www.luke-fowler.com/; https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/film/being-in-a-place
Upcoming Screenings
29 June FilmUist
Past Screenings
2023
17 Feb Berlinale Film Festival, Premiere
24 Feb Doc Fortnight, MoMA, NYC
5 Mar Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival
25/30 Mar Cinéma du Réel, Paris
30 Mar Courtisane festival, Ghent
19/23 Apr EMAF, Osnabrück
27 Apr/ 7 May IndieLisboa
27 Apr/ 7 May Hot Docs Toronto
1/3 Jun FICUNAM, Mexico City
28 Jun Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
29 Jun Folk Film Gathering, Edinburgh
24 Aug Festival International du Film Insulaire de Groix (Brittany)
29 Aug Screenplay Festival, Shetland
12 Sept Open City, London
4 Oct Wexner Center, Ohio
12 Oct Mirage Film Festival, Oslo
19/31 Oct Viennale
3 Nov Inverness Film Festival, Eden Court
5 Nov Timespan, Helmsdale
6 Nov The New Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall
11 Nov Dunoon Film Festival
11 Nov Dundee Contemporary Arts
16 Nov Cromarty Cinema
24 Nov Filmmaker Festival, Milano
20 Dec MacRobert Arts Centre, Stirling
12 Dec Glasgow Film Theatre
15 Dec Cample Line, Dumfriesshire
2024
24 Mar Cromarty Hall, St Margaret’s Hope
26 Mar Pier Arts Centre, Stromness
27 Mar Malta Biennale
30 Mar Gable End Theatre, Hoy
13 April Harvard Film Archive
15 April Anthology Film, New York City
18 April Lightbox Film Center, Philadelphia
20 April National Gallery of Art, D.C.
Being in a Place, 2022, courtesy of Luke Fowler, The Estate of Margaret Tait and The Modern Institute/ Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow.
Biography
Luke Fowler (b. 1978, Glasgow) is an artist, filmmaker and musician based in Glasgow. His films have been described as “para-documentary” and often interweave archival footage with his own camerawork and sounds. Fowler’s film portraits often hinge on controversial figures or movements which have often been marginalised, erased or misrepresented by contemporary culture. Fowler studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee. He was awarded the inaugural Derek Jarman Award in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2012 for his first feature film All Divided Selves. In 2019 he won Best Short film at both Glasgow Short Film Festival and Punto De Visto international documentary festival, Pamplona, for his film Mum’s Cards.