Margaret Tait; Goldsmiths' College, London; 14/5/86

Filmmaker Margaret Tait talks about her training and career. Studying in the 1950s at Centro Sperimentale di Photographia in Rome, Surrealism and Italian Neo-Realism were formative influences upon her as a young artist. During the 70s and 80S Tait made a series of documentaries; 'Aspects of Kirkwall' about her hometown, a small village in Orkney, Scotland. The films explored global concerns such as the 'No Uranium' campaign, to more provincial issues such as the building of a new grammar school. She reveals that she works in a naturalistic manner, seldom throwing away film footage and following her instincts. Perhaps best known for her portraits of localities, she confesses it was never her intention to draw attention to the local exclusively, but allowed for a point of difference with other filmmakers, that helped to distinguish her work.