A NEW film delving into Scotland’s historic connections with Europe by Billy Kay is set to be released this week.
The author told The National he is hoping to inspire Yessers in the wake of the UK Supreme Court decision on an independence referendum with the "feel good" film which will remind Scots “how outgoing we once were” and how ingrained in Europe the country once was.
Entitled At the Heart of Europe: A Celebration of Scotland’s Historical Ties to Europe, the film will be shown at a virtual event hosted by campaign group Europe for Scotland on Thursday.
Kay has said it is largely based on European chapters in his book The Scottish World but, in working with members of Europe for Scotland, he has been able to shed light on even more “fascinating” links with countries such as France and Russia.
The author and Scots campaigner said he hopes it will bring about renewed enthusiasm among Yessers after the UK Supreme Court said the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to hold a referendum without Westminster’s consent.
In the wake of the verdict, Europe for Scotland - a group that supports an independent Scotland in the European Union – released a video that included messages of solidarity from Europeans who said a light would always be left on for Scotland in the EU.
Kay told the National: “Although we knew the Supreme Court decision was going to happen, it’s now happened, and there are all the arguments about what to do next, but this [the film] is a feel-good story and something very positive because it reminds us of who we were and how outgoing we were at one time and how part of Europe we were.
“Hopefully people will find it fascinating and it’ll encourage them to go and explore the subject in more detail.
“I find most people aren’t educated in this [Scotland’s connections to Europe], and people are generally pleasantly astonished by the strong connections that are there and they love discovering part of themselves and their history.
“The contemporary echoes are also very powerful – a historic European nation which goes back 1000 years has been dragged out of Europe screaming and kicking when 62% of the population voted to stay in Europe, and the implications for the future are very profound.”
Kay insisted the only thing positive which could come out of Brexit was self-determination for Scotland.
He added: “I don’t say it in the film but I will say it in an interview afterwards, and that’s that I think the only positive thing that will come out of Brexit is Scottish independence.
“I know a number of people who were No voters in 2014 who would now vote Yes because of the desire to get back in the EU.”
The film – which will involve narration and pieces to camera from Kay as well as historical images – will touch upon the stories of intellectual and cultural figures with Scottish ancestry who spoke proudly of their heritage including Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, Polish philosopher Immanuel Kant, and French novelist and poet Jules Verne.
Kay – who worked with Europe for Scotland co-founder Nina Jetter and writer Alistair Heather on the project - will also explore stories like how the tune for the Burns poem Scots Wha Hae was played in 1429 by the Franco-Scots army at the Siege of Orleans in front of Joan of Arc. The song, called “Marche des soldats de Robert Bruce” in France, commemorates the long-lasting alliance between France and Scotland.
Kay said: “I have come across unusual connections with some of the great intellectual and cultural figures in European history who have got Scottish ancestry and who proudly proclaim their ancestry.
“People like the poet Mikhail Lermontov in Russia who's descended from a soldier in Fife who went to the Baltic and then went to Russia, or Jules Verne the author in France, or Immanuel Kant the philosopher in Germany - these are all people who are of the Scottish diaspora and they all proclaim proudly they are from that diaspora.
“That’s tied in with the fact for about 150 years from Ossian to Burns to Walter Scott, that Scotland was very much part of the European imagination. You had travellers coming from France and Germany and Poland coming to Scotland to visit the sites of Ossian and Walter Scott’s novels and Burns’ poetry. That was the beginning of Scottish tourism.
“Then you had phenomena like some of these people arriving because of the romance and realising there were landowners from Poland in the middle of the agricultural revolution in Scotland. There’s loads of fascinating material.
“Originally the idea was based very much on my book the Scottish World and the European chapters in that. Nina came up with other examples of composers who used Scottish themes during the Romantic movement and other people in different parts of Europe I hadn’t got to make it a richer tapestry.”
Jetter added: “Our aim was to create a joyful film that will give Scots not only a deeper understanding of Scotland’s European history but also lift their spirits and boost their confidence after the Supreme Court verdict.
“At the same time, our film is also very much directed at our European audience, and we’re highlighting the reciprocity of the beneficial connections between Scotland and Europe throughout.”
The Europe for Scotland event will take place at 7pm on Thursday. You can sign up here.
