Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait

Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait is a poetic film that weaves together unseen material, unpublished correspondence, diaries, notebooks, offcuts, rushes, and 16mm film-poems by filmmaker Margaret Tait. Fowler fuses his own lingering portraits and sensibilities with her footage and formal approaches. With careful consideration of what makes up a place, both filmmakers pay close attention to the small details and elements that are often overlooked or go unnoticed in the everyday landscape: a warm glance, a flower, a long drive down a foggy road, or a light flare.

This film features editing offcuts, original sound recordings, and rushes from multiple films by Tait, from One is One (1951) to Land Makar (1981). In addition, it features discarded rushes from Margaret Tait: Film Maker (1983) by Margaret Williams. Various materials discovered in the garden shed at a house where Tait had lived are also included in the film. Rejected by the National Library Scotland’s Moving Image Archive, this "fugitive archive" was preserved with care by Tait scholar and the film’s coproducer, Sarah Neely. (60 mins., DCP)

This month's Cinéseries was programmed by cofounder Natasha Woods. Join us after the screening for light refreshments and informal discussion facilitated by Cinéseries.  

Join the Wex's archivist Kristen Muenz Thursday, October 5, from 1 to 2 PM for a workshop on keeping your own archive in the Ohio State Fine Arts Library. This event is free with RSVP; email woods.986@osu.edu.

IMAGE CAPTION 
Being in a Place, courtesy of Luke Fowler, the Estate of Margaret Tait, and the Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow.