Margaret Tait to be honoured in Orkney

Pioneering filmmaker will be remembered by a plaque

by Amber Wilkinson

Plans have been announced to commemorate Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait with a plaque on Orkney, where she was born.

Margaret Tait
Margaret Tait

Tait, whose centenary has been celebrated this year by a number of initiatives across the country, was the first Scottish woman to make a feature film - Blue Black Permanent, which has recently been restored by the BFI. In 2012 her work was memorialised in documentary Margaret Tait, Film Poet.

Her nephew, photographer and writer Charles Tait, told BBC Radio Orkney permission has been granted for a plaque in the island's St Magnus Cathedral. They aim for it to be installed within the next year. She would be the first woman to receive the honour in the part of the cathedral often referred to as "Poet's Corner".

He said: "We've got all these very worthy men with plaques in the cathedral. And I thought Margaret should be up there. I don't know what Margaret would have thought of it.

"But I think, from the point of view of equality and all the things that she's done, she should be there."

Share this with others on...
News

The changing light Yoon Dan-bi on music, sound, Moving On and The World Before

Flipping the script Ghasideh Golmakani on using absurdist comedy to tackle misogyny in Head To Head

Spotlight on forgotten history Miwa Nishikawa on telling the story of post-war street orphans in Children Untold

A compulsion for cinema Thomas Bond on the secret of being a producer, the value of flaws, and Imposters

Streaming spotlight: off with their heads! Hold onto your noggin as we reflect on characters who have lost theirs entirely

More news and features

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Toronto International Film Festival.



We're looking forward to Fantastic Fest, San Sebastian and Beyond Fest.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Venice Film Festival, Frightfest, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Locarno Film Festival, the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Muslim International Film Festival and Docs Ireland.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Dinard Full programme announced


Venice announces winners


LFF Full programme announced


Venice Giornate degli Autori awards announce


Festival Scope Venice Sala Web offers chance to stream shorts for free