Young movie makers usingbig screen to defend the Fort

Published on Monday 24 November 2008 09:12

IT is the stuff of dreams for budding film stars – the chance to walk down the red carpet to a premiere of your own masterpiece.

And this week hundreds of enthusiasts will do just that when they step out at Ocean Terminal's Vue cinema for a rare experience of life in the limelight.

Residents of all ages are preparing to celebrate the launch of a one-off community creation, Hold The Fort, which they helped to make – a unique insight into life, past and present, in the Fort area of Leith involving interviews, photographs and artwork.

Project co-ordinator Martin Ayres said: "The most exciting aspect of this entire thing is the range of people from the community who have contributed. There are children as young as four, right through to octogenarians.

"Everyone involved has done some really beautiful stuff."

The idea to create an archive of material paying tribute to the Fort community – and more importantly its people – for generations to come, was the brainchild of Fort Primary headteacher Moira Heatly.

Moving to the school three years ago, she immediately grew to love the area, but was frustrated by the often negative image it has with people from across the rest of the city.

Just one year into her role at the school, she embarked on the project which will now be screened twice – to accommodate the more than 200 people involved in it – at Ocean Terminal on Friday morning.

She said: "I love the community at the Fort and I wanted to do something to bring it together."

Children at the school were involved in the project which received funding of more than 10,000 from Edinburgh City Council and other organisations, including Leith Neighbourhood Partnership, Youth Link Scotland, the Lottery and Growing Confidence.

But they were joined by residents from all over the area, many of whom had never operated digital equipment before, but learned how to do so through the help of media experts, including Mr Ayres who runs the artistic production company Cagedbeastie.com.

Hold the Fort will be released on DVD in 2009. Organisers intend for it to be made available in libraries, rather than go on general sale.

They hope that it will act as an official record of the spirit and resilience of the what they believe to be one of the Capital's most vibrant communities.

Ms Heatly said: "We are all really excited about the premiere. Everyone will know so many others in the film – it is the people that make a community."