Across the Waters

Documentary, 28 minutes, 2004

Four months pregnant, in 1955, a young woman left her village in Pakistan with her new husband and travelled to the remote and beautiful Scottish Outer Hebrides.

Fifty years later, her granddaughter, one of a few third generation Asians in her community, is getting ready to sail from the shores of the island. Three generations of women and an old Gaelic islander tell us a story of migration, exile and belonging in a poetic, reflective journey across two cultures.

Broadcast on BBC Scotland in 2005. Funded by BBC Scotland and Bridging the Gap (Scottish Screen, Docspace, Angus Digital Media Centre and Scottish Enterprise Tayside).

Nominated for the Satyajit Ray Award 2005.

Screened at International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film 2004, Germany; Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2004, UK; Britspotting 2005, Berlin, Leipzig, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland; Commonwealth Film Festival 2005, Manchester, UK; Ludwigsburg International European Short Film Biennale 2005, Germany; International Human Rights Festival 2005, Glasgow, Scotland; Tampere Film Festival 2006, Finland; Le Festival Côté Court, Bobigny, France.

Credits
Director, Producer
Sana Bilgrami

Producer
Joel Venet

Music
Written and performed by Phamie Gow

Translations
Sana Bilgrami

Camera
John Mackinnon

Additional Camera
Sana Bilgrami

Sound and Sound Design
Marcelo de Oliviera

Editor
Sitar Rose

Online Editor
Graham Fitzpatrick

Dubbing Mixer
Bronke Korda

Executive Producers
(For Bridging the Gap)
Keith Alexander
Amy Hardie
Noe Mendelle
(For BBC Scotland)
Mary Margaret Murray

Production Company
VIDEO IN PILTON