Events

Film premiere celebrates lightkeepers lives

A special film which captures the experiences of the keepers and their families who manned lighthouses over the years will be touring Shetland in June and will be premiering at Shetland Museum and Archives next week.

Date: Thursday 22nd June
Time: 19:00 - 21:00 (please arrive at least 15 minutes before this)
Venue: Shetland Museum & Archives Auditorium
Ticket Price: £5 - book your ticket

‘Lighthouse Lives’ is a short film commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust to capture the lived experiences of the people who worked through times of transition, from manned to automated lighthouses. Resonant voices and visual imagery give an authentic glimpse of lives lived against a backdrop of unusual circumstance, working in the service of the Northern Lighthouse Board. 

The first viewing is being hosted by Shetland Amenity Trust and will take place on Thursday 22 June from 7.00 – 9.00pm at the Shetland Museum. The evening will also include a short film about the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) today and the Trust will be premiering its own short award-winning film about former Sumburgh Head Lightkeeper Ian Smith. Donald Murray, author of ‘For the Safety of All: A Story of Scotland’s Lighthouses’ will deliver a reading, and there will be a question-and-answer session with the current retained Lightkeeper in Shetland, Brian Johnson.

Sandy Middleton of Shetland Amenity Trust said: “Lighthouses evoke strong emotions and in particular the human stories behind them.  We often have people visiting us at Sumburgh Head Lighthouse who are descendants of the keepers and their families who lived there.  We have gathered incredible stories of their lives and experiences there and so many of these are reflected in this film.  We are also excited to have our own short film showing, sharing the stories of Ian Smith and his experience of becoming a lightkeeper at Sumburgh Head, and to be welcoming current retained Lightkeeper Brian Johnson, to share his experiences in person.”

Tickets for the event at Shetland Museum and Archives can reserved via the Shetland Museum Box Office for £5.