A FILMMAKER is hoping to highlight the real voices of the grassroots movement in a new documentary about Scottish independence.
Charlie Stuart, the acclaimed producer behind Lesley Riddoch’s films Denmark: The State of Happiness and Estonia: The Baltic Tiger, has launched a fundraiser for his latest film Still Yes.
The documentary aims to take the conversation around independence away from political parties to tell “personal stories” about the individuals and local groups campaigning for independence.
We sat down with Stuart to understand why he is so interested in exploring the grassroots movement, and to ask most importantly: Where do we go from here?
‘What keeps the movement going?’
Stuart was inspired to make his latest documentary after realising that it had been 10 years since the 2014 referendum.
“I think that surprised a lot of people – so much seems to have happened, and at the same time, nothing seems to have happened,” Stuart said.
He pointed towards the steady support for independence in the polls, despite the recent political turmoil within the SNP.
“So the question is: What is it that keeps that going despite the fortunes of political parties coming and going?”
‘People are driven by the need to do something’
Stuart wants to compile snapshots of people “doing things”, rather than “sitting at home”.
“When you do talk to [people] and get their stories, they're very seldom connected to a mainstream political party. They're just driven by some kind of passion for Scottish independence,” he said.
“There's one Polish woman that I’ve spoken to who voted No, she was a relatively new migrant at the time, and she voted No because of the pressure of her adopted Scottish family.
“She’s regretted it completely ever since and is just so passionate about Scottish independence.”
Stuart said the woman often buys copies of Scotland The Brief – a collection of facts about all aspects of life in an independent Scotland by Business for Scotland – with her own money and “leaves them randomly in places”, even persuading her local library to add it to their catalogue.
“She paints slogans on slates and leaves them around for people to see; she's just completely driven by the whole thing.”
Stuart is also keen to hear from groups such as Artists for Yes and Yes Stones, who use their creativity to spread a positive pro-independence message.
“There's a collection of painted slates which travels around [pictured below], it goes to most of the march locations.
“It's kept in a woman's garage, and her husband transports it by van to these different places.
“It's the thought that people seem to be driven by the need to just do something, and if you're a painter then you paint.”
‘The Yes movement is a bit like the Tartan Army’
Stuart said although the film will depict “a portrait of people’s passion”, he is also interested in showing “how that could be used”.
“Lesley [Riddoch, pictured below] has this expression, the ‘civic muscle’, which is what it is.
“It's a big civic movement, but it's pretty disconnected and doesn't really know where it's going.”
Stuart hopes to interview academics studying the Scottish independence movement – and similar movements around the world – to find out whether this ‘civic muscle’ can be focused into something that makes a difference, without becoming a political party on its own.
“The Yes movement is a bit like the Tartan Army. It’s big, colourful, noisy, entertaining, but ultimately it’s just like a supporters’ club for a team that’s never going to win,” he continued.
“The Tartan Army is great, but it doesn't score goals is what I'm trying to say.”
As a supporter of independence, Stuart hopes his film will address these concerns and look at how the movement can grow going forward.
“I’ll make this as objectively as I can, but at the same time I feel like I have the right to be quite biased in it,” he said.
“Nobody else is going to be biased on our side, but plenty of media are going to be biased the other way.”
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
