WATCH: Student's heartwarming film puts Inverness Gaelic Primary School choir and teacher in spotlight
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The story of a successful Inverness school choir started from scratch by a new teacher has been highlighted in a short film made by a student.
Rachel Urquhart – otherwise Raonaid Urchardan – is now sharing the Inverness Gaelic Primary School Choir’s story in a film competition.
Entitled Còisir – Mgr M!, it has been shortlisted in the Community Award category in FilmG, an annual short-film competition which finds, nurtures, and develops new talent for Gaelic media.
Raonaid herself has been nominated for the Technical Excellence award in the over-18s section.
But she is also hoping the public will be inspired to vote and make it their winner.
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The film tells the story of P7 teacher Iain-Murdo MacMillan who started the choir after joining the school five years ago.
Raonaid (21) created the five-minute film for her Media and Gàidhlig Diploma at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the higher education college on Skye.
"The documentary showcases the undeniable talent of the choir while also shining the deserving recognition on Iain-Murdo," Raonaid said.
"In this piece, the students speak on Iain-Murdo’s kindness and his hilarious sense of humour in a way that would make any heart melt.
"It rounds up with Iain-Murdo sharing his passion and enthusiasm for Gàidhlig and why he hopes the choir will pass that passion down onto the children."
Raonaid explained that when Mr MacMillan started teaching at Inverness Gelic Primary School in 2019 there was no choir at all.
But when he heard the pupils singing in assembly, he changed that with the help of Fèis na h-Òige’s Kirsteen Russell who speaks in the film.
"From the choir starting with under 20 students, now over 40 P4s-P7s show up every Monday to sing and have fun," Raonaid said.
"Even some secondary school students return because they enjoy Iain-Murdo’s choir so much.
"The choir has proved very successful."
In the film, his wife, Anna, speaks of how diligently Mr MacMillan – known as Maighstir (Mr) M – works as a teacher and choir instructor.
One award in the FilmG competition is for the Most Voted film and Raonaid hopes that the talent highlighted in the video will be witnessed by many people who will vote for it online by the deadline of February 2.
Raonaid, a former pupil of Millburn Academy in Inverness, spoke little Gaelic when she left school but studied it online during the coronavirus pandemic.
"I didn't have Gaelic and I didn't go to the Gaelic school – I'd just studied Gaelic a wee bit as a learner ," she said.
"I finished school in March 2020 and at that point I didn't have Gaelic apart from a few tiny bits I had learned.
"I decided to take a year out when I finished school but all my plans fell apart and I tried to find something else to do during that year."
She decided to try to become fluent in Gaelic and did a nine-month online course once a week via the University of the Highlands and Islands.
When she finished, her teacher suggested she study at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.
Raonaid, who is interested in film and media as a career, is currently on a placement with a Gaelic TV company in Glasgow.
The FilmG Awards will take place on February 23 at Glasgow's SEC. They will be live-streamed to YouTube, with a highlights programme to be broadcast on BBC ALBA on Sunday February 25.
