(9 minutes 30 seconds / 16mm transferred to digital / 2023)

An affectionate portrait in 16mm of the Burryman – a long-lasting tactile tradition in South Queensferry, Scotland, in which a man dresses in a head-to-toe outfit of sticky burrs and parades the streets for one day each August. Filmed over a week, the film follows Andrew – the current Burryman – in his journey to collect the burrs, make the outfit and parade the South Queensferry streets during a single sun-soaked day in August 2022. We learn why he does it and speculate on where the tradition might have started, where it might be headed, and why it is important to the town. [Michael Pattison, Alchemy Film & Arts, 2023]

Special thank you to Andrew Taylor, Claire Taylor & the Burryman Team for generously enabling me to make this piece of work.

Screenings:
Alchemy Film and Arts Moving Image Festival, Hawick, UK [World Premiere]
Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh, UK
Brazier International Film Festival, Oxford, UK