FRANK BROWN: A RETROSPECTIVE
Frank Brown | A Retrospective
Friday 9 June – Sunday 18 June 2017
Borders-based documentary filmmaker Frank Brown, has been making films for almost 30 years. Utilising ever-changing camera technology, he has captured countless significant local events, international travels, Borders culture and remarkable wildlife footage, all with great style and humility. Here we present a selection of Brown’s most accomplished and charismatic works, from a document of the move of Hawick’s Horse, Ken the Horse (2003), to his beautifully lyrical wildlife short, The Whinchat (1997).
“My introduction to films was as a small boy at a local sheep dog trial, ‘that was a long time ago’ [as they say] and seeing a couple going about with a box and pointing at what was going on around them. The first film I made was called Shetland Holiday. This film had every mistake that could be made in a film so a steep learning curve ensued to try and make a decent film, oh and I am still learning. The main thing is that I have enjoyed the taking and making of film which might be of use to people in years to come to peruse.”
Frank Brown
Works presented:
The Whinchat | video| 5m | 1997 | UK
Thar She Blows | video | 5m | 1997 |Spain, UK
Ken The Horse | digital | 23m | 2003 | UK
Something Unique | digital | 12m | 2006 | UK
Hand Ba | digital |12m | 2015 | UK
FRANK BROWN
Frank Brown was born in Edinburgh and raised in the Westruther area of the Scottish Borders, he finally settled in Selkirk over 50 years ago. He worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service for nearly 40 years and since taking up filmmaking, has made over 200 documentary works. Largely self-taught, his first camera was a shoulder mounted Sony, 8mm camcorder, which he used to experiment with in The Haining grounds in Selkirk. Brown was a member of the Hawick Film and Video Group for 6 years, where his passion for filmmaking was cemented by the support of the group. In 1997, praise for his film Morus Bassanus allowed him to be awarded Licentiate (L.A.C.I) status by the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers (I.A.C). He has attended UNICA (the Union Internationale du Cinéma) three times, including a 2006 visit to South Korea. Brown’s travels with his camera have also taken him to Belgium, Tunisia, Portugal, Grand Canaria and Australia, where he was particularly inspired by the wildlife at Lamington National Park. He is also a member of the Scottish Association of Movie Makers (S.A.M), and the Borders-based Moving Image Makers Collective. His work has shown at Yes Festival 2015, Creative Coathanger festival 2016 and Alchemy Film & Moving Image Festival 2016 and 2017.
Selected Filmography:
A Shetland Holiday, 1989
Young Bird Show, 1989
Fields of Hope, 1990
Tractors in Torrents, 1990
Lauder Common Riding, 1993
Donde Esta, 1993
Soller Special, 1994
Chater Road, 1994, Hong Kong
Monkey Forest, 1994
Jurong Bird Park, 1994, Singapore
Border Model Boat Club, 1996
Thursday Nights at Midlem 1, 1996
Thursday Nights at Midlem 2, 1996
There She Blows, 1997
The Whin Chat, 1997
Morus Bassanus, 1997
The Guid Auld Days, 2002
Ken The Horse, 2003
50 Mile Fergi Run, 2004
Something Unique, 2006
A Guid Day Oot, 2006
Dystonia, 20th Sept 2008
Where Yarrow Meets Ettrick, 2009
British Birds, 2010
All Weather Pitch, 2010
A Selkirk Story, 2011
Living Nativity, 2011
Langholm Common Riding, 2011
Haggis Hunting, 2012
Selkirk Remembers, 2013
South Marches Ride Out, 2013
Borders Return Banner, 2013
Hawick Remembers, 2014
Jedburgh Flower Show, 2015
Hand Ba, 2015
Carterhaugh Hand Ba, 2015
Keep the Home Fires Burning, 2016
Life and Love, 2016
Out Off, 2016
The River is Flowing, 2017
