We love the outdoors—you might have noticed. Our spiritual home is Glen Lyon—where we started roasting coffee 13 years ago—and we are now located in the beautiful Highland town of Aberfeldy. Whenever we’re not roasting and brewing the best speciality coffee we can find, you can usually find us out on the hills and rivers of Perthshire and beyond. Love of and appreciation for the wilderness is part of Glen Lyon Coffee’s DNA.
We also love movies, and combining movies with the outdoors? Now that’s what we’re talking about. That’s why we were so excited to be a part of a new film festival hosted by our friends at The Birks Cinema just up the road from our roastery cafe in Aberfeldy. The Wilderness Film Festival will feature local shorts, Gaelic-language dramas, an Oscar-winning documentary—and a barmy B movie featuring a bear on cocaine.
Taking place over three days from Friday April 12 to Sunday April 14, 2024, we’re joined in sponsoring the festival by other local businesses Ballintaggart, Cow & Parrot Coffee Store, Ruaraidh Dewar Landscaping, Spirit of Wood, Splash Rafting Limited, Taymouth Marina, and Wee Adventures. It’s great to see so many of our friends and partners joining together to bring this unique experience to the big screen.
The festival will open with a night of Scottish short films celebrating the outdoors, with select filmmakers in attendance for post-screening Q&As. Saturday afternoon will feature the Gaelic-language Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (2007) while the evening film will be the modern cult classic Cocaine Bear (2023). Irish underdog sports movie Tarrac (2022) will play on Sunday afternoon, and the festival will close with the hit documentary Free Solo (2018).
Inspiration for the festival comes from the rugged beauty of Aberfeldy’s location and The Birks Cinema’s goal to bring the community together for shared cultural events. Combining these ideas, and bringing on board local sponsors who share the same principles, the hope is that the Wilderness Film Festival sparks conversation and encourages exploration of our beautiful part of the Scottish Highlands. The festival will also be fundraising in support of Tayside Mountain Rescue, a vital community resource close to our hearts.
“The Birks' setting in the heart of Aberfeldy, surrounded by such incredible countryside, makes it the perfect place to host a film festival focused on outdoors and the wilderness,” according to Patty Havey, Cinema Manager and Film Programmer at The Birks Cinema. “Together with our sponsors we've designed a wonderful program that combines local interest, Gaelic-language dramas, adrenaline-filled adventure—and a very aggressive bear. We can't wait to bring this diverse film lineup to our community and to celebrate the outdoors together.”
And to make things even more synergistic, festival attendees can enjoy a cup of speciality coffee at the Birks before the films—a distinctively delicious Brazilian coffee literally roasted just down the road by us. We’re already looking forward to the weekend, and hope to see you there.
Book your tickets via The Birks Cinema.
