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First Documentary Film on National Tartan Day to have its Premiere on Ellis Island Academy Award-Winning Actor Cliff Robertson Narrates, “The Crafter’s Song” “The Crafter’s Song,” the first documentary film produced in America about National Tartan Day, will have its world premiere at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum on Friday, April 2, 2004. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor and noted Scottish-American Cliff Robertson, the film explores Tartan Day through the eyes of four of Scotland’s premiere crafters. The crafters were filmed on Ellis Island in 2003 where they displayed and demonstrated their unique talents in the field of bagpipe and violin making, Shetland knitting and kilt making as part of the Clan Currie Society’s annual Tartan Day observance. The film’s premiere will be part of the 2004 celebration of National Tartan Day on Ellis Island which will also include the opening of a new exhibit entitled, “Loyalty and Exile: The Jacobites and America.” The exhibit has been produced by the Drambuie Collection of Edinburgh. The initial screening will follow immediately after the exhibit’s opening ceremonies scheduled for 11:00 AM. Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society and producer of both the documentary film and the annual Ellis Island celebrations said the interactive aspect of the exhibit, from the touch and feel of the crafters' work to the aural intricacies of the four different Scottish accents, made the event perfect for adaptation into a documentary film. The four crafters appearing in the film are: Hamish Moore, from the village of Dunkeld in Perthshire, central Scotland, is a celebrated bagpipe maker, teacher and international performer. Moore shares his skills in manufacturing and playing Highland and Lowland Pipes, each with their own distinctive sound and important instruments in Scottish traditional and contemporary music. Moore performs several musical selections in the film, including, “MacGregor’s Search” and “Kenmuir’s Up and Awa’.” Wilma Couper, a knitter with the Shetland Working Textile Museum. Born and raised in the Shetland Isles, Couper crafts shawls, sweaters, and mittens, among others, in both traditional Fair Isle patterns and Shetland lace. She displays a range of items and several works in progress. Couper explains the knitting process, the range of natural wools and knitters pattern books. Robert McBain, master tailor and kilt maker from Keith in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A former member of the Gordon Highlanders, McBain established the Keith Kilt School in 1994 and now leads the school, training new pupils every year in the craft of hand building kilts to order. He shares his expertise and wide knowledge of kilt making and tartans. Colin Adamson, from Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh, hand crafts violins, violas and cellos for world class musicians who perform both traditional and classical concerts. Adamson explains the processes involved in producing these instruments. He is a founding member of the Contemporary Violin Makers of Scotland. Each craft represents part of Scotland’s “portable culture” that was brought with Scottish immigrants to North America from Colonial times to the present.
In addition, the crafters are joined by New York violinist, Lisa Gutkin. A performer with the contemporary Celtic band, Whirligig, Gutkin performs two original compositions in the film written in tribute to her ancestors who came to America through Ellis Island. In addition, Gutkin and Moore perform a fiddle duet with “The Stool of Repentance,” a traditional Scots tune. According to Currie, "The film captures the highly interactive nature of the event in an intimate way. To see school children take hold of and play one of Colin’s exquisite violins, to hear the students clapping to Hamish’s pipe music, or stand beside Wilma or Robert and observe how they delicately stitch a christening shawl or a kilt pleat; you simply cannot experience that in a passive exhibit," he said. “These aspects have translated remarkably well in the film.” The 2003 Tartan Day Weekend on Ellis Island marked the second year in a row that the Clan Currie Society has joined forces with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the National Museums of Scotland. In 2002, the partnership presented “Home and Away – Highland Departures and Returns”, a traveling exhibit that remained on display at Ellis Island for almost four months. Noted Scottish journalist and author Roddy Martine reported that of all the Tartan Day events held in the United States, the Ellis Island event, “stood out as a beacon of what USA Tartan Day is all about: the emigrant ancestors of ordinary Americans who over three centuries crossed the Atlantic Ocean to create the world’s greatest democracy.” Although many Scots arrived during the colonial period of our history – helping to build the new nation - an additional half-million Scots came through Ellis Island between 1899 and 1931. The 2003 program, from which the film is based, was made possible through additional support and cooperation from the National Parks Service, the National Museums of Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council, VisitScotland and the Grand Summit Hotel. Over 12,000 guests from around the world visited Ellis Island over the Tartan Day weekend.
About Cliff Robertson A serious and talented actor, Cliff Robertson has been a successful leading man throughout his career. Although perhaps best known as Tobey Maguire’s Uncle Ben Parker in the blockbuster hit, “Spiderman,” Robertson has enjoyed a long and distinguished career on the stage, television, and motion pictures. Appearing in more than 70 films, he made his film debut in “Picnic” in 1956. His career followed with such films as “Autumn Leaves,” “The Naked and the Dead,” and “Gidget.” The actor’s career was firmly launched when he was picked by President John F. Kennedy to play the young Kennedy in the 1963 film, “PT 109.” Robertson gave perhaps his best performance as a mentally retarded man in “Charly,” for which he won the Academy Award for best actor in 1968. Robertson has also appeared in such films as “The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid,” “Obsession,” and “Three Days of the Condor.” He has also acted in, directed and co-produced “J.W. Coop” and “The Pilot.” More recent film assignments have included “Star 80,” “Brainstorm,” and “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken.” For Public Television, Robertson narrated the film, “Voices of Scotland.” Robertson also serves as Honorary Chairman on several charities including The United Way, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and the American Red Cross. Immensely proud of his Scottish ancestry, Robertson has been the recipient of numerous awards for his commitment to promoting Scots culture, including the William Wallace Award and the Odom (GA) Genealogical Library’s Heritage Award. About the Clan Currie Society The Clan Currie Society, a NJ-based, international, non-profit cultural and educational organization, is active in preserving and promoting highland heritage at Scottish Games, ethnic festivals, as well as community groups and classrooms. The Society has over 2,000 members worldwide. The organization started as a family name society in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959 to further the knowledge and appreciation of the MacMhuirich bardic dynasty. The MacMhuirichs served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. The Red Book of Clanranald, one of Gaelic Scotland’s literary treasures, was penned by successive generations of the MacMhuirich family. Today, the organization is a leading American-based foundation that focuses on celebrating the Scots-Gaelic origins of the Currie name as well as producing outstanding programs and events to honor Scotland’s rich culture and ancestry. About National Tartan Day National Tartan Day is an American celebration that recognizes the contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. In 1998 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing April 6 as National Tartan Day in recognition of "the outstanding contribution of millions of Scots-Americans to our great nation." The date commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, which was an influence on the American Declaration of Independence. Almost half of the signatories on the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent, while three-quarters of U.S. presidents have been of Scottish ancestry. For additional information about the film’s premiere and the upcoming National Tartan Day exhibit on Ellis Island, contact the Clan Currie Society at (908) 273-3509, via e-mail at clancurrie@mail.com or by visiting their Web site at www.clancurrie.com.
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