Sol – an inspiring film about a little boy’s journey through grief – premieres in the UK and Republic of Ireland on the darkest night of the year, the Winter Solstice – Monday 21 December.
The animated, 28-minute film, which will be shown on BBC ALBA in Scotland, aims to bring light and comfort to families with young children as the darkest year in modern times draws to a close.
Featuring a boy called Sol whose world is plunged into darkness when his beloved grandmother dies, the film explores the different aspects of grief (shock, yearning, disorientation and resolution) through the eyes of a child.
The film has been created as a vital and relevant resource to help children and families cope with grief and is especially poignant after such a difficult year nationwide.
It is hoped the storyline and characters will help spark conversations amongst teachers, parents and young children about how to manage your feelings after the death of a loved one.
Recognising the need nationwide for such a topical film, multiple TV broadcasters have come together to premiere Sol across seven platforms on the same day.
Originally commissioned by regional broadcasters as a Celtic-language film in Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, Sol will also be broadcast with English subtitles to a national audience.
Gaelic singer and actress Anna Murray voices Sol’s grandmother (while Emmy award-winning Irish actor, Fionnula Flanagan voices the English language version) and Gaelic singer Ellen MacDonald voices Sol’s mother.
Sol was created and produced by Belfast-based children’s TV production company Paper Owl Films, with the Gaelic version for BBC ALBA created by Obh! Obh! Studios in Stornoway.
Bill MacLeod, Commissioning Editor at MG ALBA, which operates BBC ALBA in partnership with the BBC, said: “Sol is very much a film for our times – but it also taps into an older strand in Celtic tradition in which the changes in the seasons and the turning of the year have a deep significance. I’m sure that this beautiful and wise programme will bring a little light into all our lives.”
Paper Owl Creative Director, Grainne McGuinness said: “Now, more than ever, children need strong visual stories to help them deal with unfamiliar emotions and to inspire a way forward full of optimism.”
Sol was commissioned by Celtic broadcasters TG4, S4C and BBC ALBA and distributed by Aardman. It received funding from the British Film Institute’s Young Audiences Content Fund, and from Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Screen Fund. The Albert calculator and sustainable production certification was used to measure and reduce the production’s carbon footprint.
The BFI’s Head of Young Audiences Fund, Jackie Edwards said: “Sol’ is about remembering, with love, those we’ve lost, knowing we’re not alone and encouraging families to talk about their loss. Far too many children and young people are experiencing grief this year, and so we wanted to create a moment to pause and reflect, and for public service broadcasters to come together and co-transmit this special film to as many of this country’s young people as possible to support them to find light in the darkness.”
Film Synopsis:
Sol is a young boy plunged into darkness after the loss of his grandmother whom he adored. He is the reluctant hero of his own story – sent on a quest to bring back the light to a darkening world.
His quest takes him through a vast landscape made from Nonee’s memories – the collected photos and scraps of her photo albums. He has help in this world, guided as he is by Nonee as a little girl in the beginning and finding her at different stages of her life along the way.
At the end of their journey, Sol reaches the Ancient Temple of Light in the East, where his grandmother is waiting for him…he realises he can accept his feelings of grief as his love for her is far greater than the pain from his loss. He accepts that the world was a better place because his grandmother was part of it and that her memory will always be a part of him. Love never goes away.
Monday 21 December – Sol’s broadcast schedule:
18:30 LIVE: S4C (in Welsh), TG4 (in Irish), BBC ALBA (in Scottish Gaelic)
19:30 LIVE: CiTV (with English subtitles)
19:30 On DEMAND: iTV Hub, All 4, My5 (with English subtitles)
The usually live annual event was this year broadcast in a vibrant programme put together and aired exclusively on BBC ALBA. Hosted by Alistair Heather and Mary Ann Kennedy, award winners were announced along with specially-recorded music performances from some of traditional music’s top luminaries, including The Iona Fyfe Trio, Project Smok, Deirdre Graham, Jarlath Henderson and Karen Matheson as well as Phil Cunningham and many more.
This year’s event had been set to take place in Dundee’s Caird Hall but with live music and event restrictions in place for the foreseeable future, Hands Up for Trad worked to support artists and provide an alternative platform, culminating in two special programmes of Na Trads on BBC ALBA.
Joy Dunlop presented the inductees to the Hall of Fame on Friday evening, followed by the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards themselves on Saturday. The awards will be shown again on BBC ALBA at 9pm on Saturday 18th December 2020 and will be available on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days.
Ealasaid MacDonald, Director of Strategy & External Affairs at title sponsors MG ALBA, which operates BBC ALBA in partnership with the BBC, said: “Once again, the Trads has showcased the best of creativity and talent across Scotland. MG ALBA would like to congratulate all those who have taken part, those nominated and the winners, as they have been part of a very different year where music has been an essential part of all our lives. We are delighted that Hands Up for Trad has brought us all together for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate the best of traditional music.”
Hands Up for Trad’s founder and Creative Director Simon Thoumire thanked all involved:
“The arrival of Covid-19 has required a massive change for us all, impacted in so many different ways, and I want to thank MG ALBA and our sponsors, the artists and musicians and crew and everyone who voted.
“Everyone has worked together tirelessly to maintain, pivot and bring our music programme online right through this year, culminating in last night’s fantastic BBC ALBA broadcast of the Na Trads 2020 programme of our annual MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards, the pinnacle of our year.”
Within the awards programme, three pillars of the Scots Trad Music community were recognised through special awards; the Janet Paisley Services to Scots Language Award sponsored by Creative Scotland awarded to James Robertson, the Services to Gaelic Award sponsored by Bòrd na Gàidhlig awarded to John Smith, and the 2020 Hamish Henderson Award for Services to Traditional Music went to Lisa Whytock.
Tweaked for 2020 to reflect everything the entire industry has created due to Covid-19, MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Award winners are:
1. Album of The Year, sponsored by Birnam CD
The Woods by Hamish Napier
2. Original Work of the Year, sponsored by PRS for Music
Everyday Heroes by Skerryvore
3. Community Music Project of the Year, sponsored by Greentrax Recordings
Tunes in the Hoose
4. Event of the Year Award sponsored by VisitScotland
BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 20th Anniversary Concert (Celtic Connections)
5. Gaelic Singer of the Year, sponsored by The Highland Society of London
Fionnag NicChoinnich (Fiona MacKenzie)
6. Musician of the Year, sponsored by the University of the Highlands and Islands
Tim Edey
7. Online Performance of 2020, sponsored by Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust
Duncan Chisholm’s Covid Ceilidh
8. Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year, sponsored by Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA), for artists singing in Scots language
Siobhan Miller
9. Trad Video of the Year, sponsored by Threads of Sound
Calum Dan’s Transit Van by Peat & Diesel
10. Trad Music in the Media, sponsored by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Anna Massie – Black Isle Correspondent
11. Up & Coming artist of the Year, sponsored by Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Rebecca Hill
12. Music Tutor of the Year, sponsored by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative
Josie Duncan
To celebrate the best of Scottish traditional music, BBC ALBA will broadcast the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards across Friday and Saturday evening.
Na Trads 2020 will feature phenomenal performances from leading trad musicians and the highly regarded annual awards give recognition to excellence; encompassing all aspects of the trad scene including Gaelic & Scots singing, instrumentation and a host of others in between.
This year the event was set to take place in Dundee’s Caird Hall, but the vibrant celebration continues on BBC ALBA with specially recorded music performances from some of traditional music’s top luminaries, including, The Iona Fyfe Trio, Project Smok, Deirdre Graham, Jarlath Henderson, Phil Cunningham, Karen Matheson and many more.
Presented by Mary Ann Kennedy and Alistair Heather, the awards on the evening of Saturday 12th December will be presented in a new tri-lingual format in Gaelic, Scots and English to celebrate the wealth of trad culture in Scotland.
Acclaimed Gaelic singer Mary Ann Kennedy, who herself won the Gaelic Singer of the Year award in 2019, is a stalwart of Na Trads having presented the show since the first broadcast on BBC ALBA in 2008.
New co-presenter, writer and broadcaster Alistair Heather, is a strong advocate for the Scots language and also hosts the annual Scots Language Awards.
On Friday night, a special new programme for the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Hall of Fame will be broadcast on BBC ALBA, hosted by Gaelic singer and broadcaster Joy Dunlop.
Featuring performances from Old Blind Dogs and acclaimed Gaelic singer Margaret Stewart, Joy will introduce the inductees to the 2020 Hall of Fame.
Margaret Cameron, Commissioning Editor and Head of Creative Collaborations for BBC ALBA said, “Na Trads is must-watch viewing for anyone with an interest in Scottish traditional culture and we’re delighted to be bringing this to our viewers yet again. There’s a real buzz around the awards which will be exclusively announced on the show.”
Ealasaid MacDonald, Director of Strategy & External Affairs at MG ALBA, said: “MG ALBA are extremely proud to sponsor these awards, and we can’t wait to watch the programmes on BBC ALBA. It’s been a very difficult year for the music industry in Scotland and that’s what makes this recognition for all the impressive innovation and collaboration all the more important.”
Watch Na Trads 2020 on BBC ALBA or on the BBC iPlayer:
9pm Friday 11 December Na Trads 2020: MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Hall of Fame
9pm Saturday 12 December Na Trads 2020: MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards
Music Tutor of the Year, sponsored by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative
• Rua MacMillan
• Rachel Hair
• Josie Duncan
• Lauren MacColl
• Corrina Hewat
• Laura-Beth Salter
• Louise (Mackenzie) Douglas
Gaelic Singer of the Year, sponsored by The Highland Society of London
• Fionnag NicChoinnich (Fiona MacKenzie)
• Joy Dunlop
• Rachel Walker
• Raymond Bremner
Album of The Year, sponsored by Birnam CD
• All Is Not Forgotten by Siobhan Miller
• Banjaxed by Ciaran Ryan
• Bayview by Project Smok
• Eye of the Storm by Tide Lines
• Light My Byre by Peat & Diesel
• Shhh I’m on the phone by Innes Watson
• Steall by Ewen Henderson
• The Ledger by Gillian Frame, Findlay Napier and Mike Vass
• The Roke by Ross Miller
• The Woods by Hamish Napier
Up & Coming artist of the Year, sponsored by Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Benedict Morris
• Rebecca Hill
• Malin Makes Music
• Avocet
Community Music Project of the Year, sponsored by Greentrax Recordings
• Campbell’s Ceilidh
• Tunes in the Hoose
• MacGregor’s Live at Five
• Hands Up for Trad Strathspey and Reel Society
• Covid Choir Workshops
• Carry On Streamin
• Comhairle Cèilidhs (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar)
Event of the Year Award sponsored by VisitScotland
• 365 stories + Music (Aidan O’Rourke and James Robertson)
• Virtual Edinburgh International Harp Festival
• Fèis Rois Adult Feis Weekend Online
• Tional Gaelic Online Music Festival
• BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 20th Anniversary Concert (Celtic Connections)
• Coastal Connections (Celtic Connections)
Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year, sponsored by Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA)
• Siobhan Miller
• Claire Hastings
• Adam Holmes
• Allan & Rosemary McMillan
Trad Video of the Year, sponsored by Threads of Sound
• Erica’s by Balter
• Calum Dan’s Transit Van by Peat & Diesel
• Deep Dark Beast by Twelfth Day
• Moorlough Shore by ELIR
• Ceòl Mòr Style by Calum MacCrimmon
• Taste the Rain by Tide Lines Choir
Online Performance of 2020, sponsored by Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust
• Sandy on Sunday Show (Sandy Brechin)
• Live from The Lounge with Paul Anderson and Shona Donaldson
• Pete Clark From The Shed
• Tide Lines Virtual World Tour
• Skerryvore Live Across The World
• Duncan Chisholm’s #CovidCeilidh
• Lomond Ceilidh Band’s The Daily Ceilidh
Original Work of the Year, sponsored by PRS for Music
• The Woods by Hamish Napier
• Everyday Heroes by Skerryvore
• Graham Rorie – The Orcadians of Hudson Bay
• Rachel Newton – To the Awe
• Camhanaich (Dawn) by Mhairi Hall
Trad Music in the Media, sponsored by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
• Marie Martin – Box and Fiddle Magazine
• Ewan Galloway and Derek Hamilton – RadioGH
• Fiona McNeill – Celtic & Folk Fusions Radio Show
• Sruth na Maoile (BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta)
• Anna Massie – Black Isle Correspondent
Musician of the Year, sponsored by the University of the Highlands and Islands
• Tim Edey
• Peter Wood
• Anna Massie
• Jenn Butterworth
• Ailie Robertson
• John Carmichael
