Full programme announced for Sea Change Festival 2026
Scotland’s only annual festival dedicated to championing women in film takes place on the beautiful Hebridean island of Tiree from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th September 2026
The festival will open with a special preview of major new Scottish period drama The Education of Jane Cumming and close with BIFA-winning documentarian Jeanie Finlay’s introducing her new feature All Rivers Spill Their Stories into the Sea, shot partly in Tiree’s sea kelp forests
Sea Change 2026 will shine the spotlight on contemporary and historical female animators, with international animation from Austria’s Tricky Women Festival, a showcase of work from BAFTA-winning animator Paloma Baeza and a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Lotte Reineger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed with live music and sound effects from The Cabinet of Living Cinema
Unique festival events include a Gaelic Singing to the Seals lesson on Vaul Beach with Tiree singer Ishbel Campbell, an underwater snorkel and sketching session with animator Viola Madau, guided wild sea swims and beach pilates and a chance to experience the island’s new Hygge Nordic Sauna
Other highlights across the packed three days include an exclusive preview screening of new Scottish documentary Bel ahead of its UK cinema releases, renowned Catalan filmmaker Judith Colell introducing screenings of her new refugee drama Frontera in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Tiree and cocktails and Cuban dancing at a special screening of Scottish director Eirene Houston’s Life is Dance
The full programme has been announced for the 8th annual Sea Change Festival - Scotland’s only annual film festival celebrating female filmmaking talent. Screening films made by female and non-binary directors, the festival will take place from the 18th to 20th September on the beautiful and remote Hebridean island of Tiree (over 80 miles away from the nearest permanent cinema).
Sea Change 2026 will open on Friday 18th September with a special preview screening of the major new Scottish period drama The Education of Jane Cumming, ahead of its 2027 cinema release. Starring Fiona Shaw, Clare Dunne and Flora Nicholson and shot on location in Edinburgh, the film follows two teachers whose lives are thrown into turmoil after one of their pupils accuses them of having a love affair. Inspired by true events in the early 1800s, the film is a powerful and timely drama about prejudice, resilience and the courage to stand up for the truth.
The festival will then close on Sunday 20th September with award-winning documentarian Jeanie Finlay introducing her new feature All Rivers Spill Their Stories into the Sea, a wry David and Goliath story about navigating grief and finding power in a Teeside fishing community. Stan Rennie is the last of a long line of fishermen who have worked the same stretch of coastline for centuries. When a vast tide of poisoned crabs and lobsters washes ashore like a biblical plague, Stan’s world is turned upside-down overnight, and he finds himself thrown into a battle for the future. Tiree holds a special place in Finlay’s heart, with a key scene in the film being shot there.
“It’s wonderful to bring All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea to Tiree, after being at the festival in 2023 with my previous film Your Fat Friend.” she says. “I had the good fortune to shoot a key scene in the film on the island. I needed to show a thriving kelp forest - something that was impossible to shoot on Teesside with the pollution and ecocide experienced there, that I unfurl in my film. One of the other attendees - Morvern Cunningham - introduced me to the clear blue waters and vibrant kelp forests of the island. I’m looking forward to making a return to Sea Change and Tiree, it really is a magical and creatively inspiring place.”
Sea Change 2026 will celebrate female animators - from the 1920s to the 2020s - with a host of Scottish and international films. The 100th anniversary of pioneering animator Lotte Reineger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed - the oldest surviving animated feature film in the world - will be celebrated with a special event from The Cabinet of Living Cinema. Enchanted Creatures & How to Become One celebrates Reineger’s exquisite hand-crafted silhouette animation, with flying horses, dancing insects and enchanted islands brought to life through live music and sound effect making. Using hands, voices and instruments — including Indian gopichand, homemade thumb piano, Tibetan chime, ocarina, bird whistle and tongue drum, alongside a 5-string electric viola — the audience will help create a live, collaborative soundtrack, as cinema becomes something you can hear, feel and play.
Contemporary female animation talent includes Spanish filmmaker Isabel Herguera’s Sultana’s Dream, inspired by a feminist sci-fi short story written in Bengal in 1905; a showcase of animated shorts by female and genderqueer artists from Austria’s Tricky Women animation festival; a double-bill of animation (including the BAFTA-winning Poles Apart) from Mexican-British filmmaker Paloma Baeza, who will be in attendance at the festival and Camilla Deakin, producer from the Emmy Award-winning Lupus Films, visiting Tiree for a family-friendly screening of the beloved We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.
Other big screen highlights across the packed three days include a special preview screening of Lou Lockwood’s documentary Bel, a sensitive portrait of Kenyan-Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, Beldina Odenyo; Eleanor Mortimore’s deep sea doc How Deep Is Your Love, following a group of deep-sea scientists as they set out to study and collect specimens from one of the least explored parts of the planet and Sarah Friedland’s Venice Award-winning debut Familiar Touch, a coming-of-old-age drama following an older woman’s transition into assisted living. Sea Change will team up with Scotland’s Catalan Film Festival to welcome renowned Catalan director Judith Colell - currently President of the Catalan Film Society- to introduce special screenings of her acclaimed new feature Frontera/ Frontier in Glasgow 17th September, Tiree 19th September and Edinburgh 21st September. Set in 1943, Frontera tells the little-known story of a group of Pyrenees villagers who defied the rules of Franco’s regime to save hundreds of refugees arriving from France.
In an international island collaboration between Tiree and Cuba, Scottish filmmaker and festival director of Havana Glasgow Film Festival Eirene Houston will visit to screen her new feature documentary Life Is Dance. Following six ordinary Cubans with one thing in common – their love of dance - this is a story full of colour and music, disappointment and joy.
Away from the big screen, Sea Change festival invites its audience to fully embrace its unique island home with a treasure-trove of memorable experiences, including Tiree singer Ishbel Campbell teaching how to serenade the seals with a traditional Gaelic ballad on Vaul beach and an underwater sketching and snorkelling session with animator Viola Madau, using specially designed waterproof sketchpads. Wild Bathing Oban will host daily guided swim sessions in Tiree’s clear warm waters, Skye Swift and Bella Bremner will run yoga and pilates on the beach, Tiree’s legendary Ranger Hayley will lead an exploration of local rockpools and there’s a chance to experience the island’s new Hygge Nordic sauna and refresh with Tiree Tea and Hebridean Roast coffee in the community-run cafe.
Alongside the public festival, the Sea Change Development Lab - for women and non-binary people at any stage in their film and screen industries career - will return from 15th to 18th September, with a focus on “connection, collaboration, community, and change”.
Screen Argyll’s Jen Skinner said:
“"We are thrilled to launch the eighth annual Sea Change Festival this September 18th to 20th, celebrating female and non-binary filmmaking talent on our island of Tiree. This year’s programme is our most vibrant yet. Highlights include a major celebration of female animators—featuring a live-scored centenary screening of Lotte Reiniger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed, works by Paloma Baeza and Isabel Herguera, and a spotlight on Austria’s Tricky Women Festival and Tiree will be Going on a Bear Hunt!—all marking the launch of our BFI-funded Animated Women residency.
The sea remains our inspiration. Alongside a rich selection of sea-inspired shorts, including titles from the London Surf Film Festival, we close with All Rivers Spill Their Stories into the Sea, with returning filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, which features footage shot right here on Tiree.
We are proud to present previews of Scottish feature films Bel, The Education of Jane Cumming and Life is Dance, and we are delighted to have Catalonian filmmaker Judith Colell joining us and to be working in partnership with the Catalan Film Festival, to bring her new feature to audiences across Scotland.
Beyond the cinema screen, Sea Change is about bringing communities together through film, nature, and island culture. From Gaelic seal-singing on Vaul Beach and underwater sketch-snorkelling with filmmaker Viola Madau, to beach pilates, wild swims, and industry masterclasses with producer Anna Higgs—who will also be taking to the decks as DJ Hot Flush for our closing night party—Tiree will truly come alive. We can't wait to welcome audiences this September!"
Katharine Simpson from Screen Scotland said:
“Jen and the team have programmed what promises to be a brilliant series of screenings and events which continue the important mission of the festival, showcasing the work of women in film within the unique and inspiring environment of Tiree. It’s fantastic to be able to support Screen Argyll and its work which so closely reflects our ambitions to raise the profile of underrepresented filmmakers and to broaden and deepen access to film culture across all parts of Scotland.”