Scotland’s Farewell to 2020 Is Absolutely Incredible (3-Part Video)
Words - Jackie Kay
Soundtrack - Niteworks
Visual development artist - Gary Wilson
Drone display and film production - Celestial
Additional drone footage - Arms and Legs
Read by - David Tennant, Siobhan Redmond, Lorne MacFadyenEdinburgh’s Hogmanay 2020 - Online Celebration
Fare Well is a new poem by Jackie Kay that bids farewell to 2020 and wishes a better year for 2021
Narrated by David Tennant and others, Fare Well underscores the UK’s largest swarm drone display, recorded in the Scottish Highlands and cut to spectacular views above Edinburgh.Part One of Fare Well looks at the year gone by – the funerals and weddings cancelled, the griefs and despairs which have been collective, with a feeling that the world has become a village.
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Whilst part one of Fare Well looked at the year that’s gone by, the second phase turns to look at us today and to give thanks for the many acts of community and kindness displayed by so many across the country. Jackie Kay’s narrative takes an optimistic tone, reflecting on the good of the human spirit and the sense of togetherness that has emerged from 2020.
Part two of Fare Well includes images of “WE” in the skies above Edinburgh – a message from Scotland of universality and commonality – with “WE” translated into many languages including French, Gaelic, Arabic, Greek, Korean, Mandarin and Thai.
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Whilst part one and two of Fare Well looked at the year gone by, the finale turns from the celebration of Hogmanay, the end of the year, and looks with optimism to the future. Taking inspiration from a poem by Robert Burns (Sketch New Year’s Day), Scots Makar Jackie Kay echoes Burns’ question about the night of Hogmanay and asks what did ‘yesternight deliver’ and like Burns, finds that there is hope, and that it is found in nature. Burns finds hope in looking up at the skies and says that something in us never dies.
(h/t: Alephnaught.)
