Skimsters

Pull on your red trunks for this colourful award-winning amateur film from Harry Birrell. An array of brave 1950s water skiing girls and guys somehow manage to bring a bit of Hollywood glamour to the chilly waters of Loch Earn, near Perth. There are jumps, tricks, thrills and spills, wonderful commentary, and not a wetsuit in sight. The film won the Marshall Quaich award at the 1959 Scottish Amateur Film Festival, and 4 stars in the Amateur Cine World Ten Best competition.

The Scottish Screen Archive has a number of films by multi award-winning amateur film-maker Harry Birrell, which range from rare footage shot inside a military barracks during World War II, to the Kelvingrove Skate Park in Glasgow in 1978, with skateboarders set to the music of Swan Lake. Harry made several sports related films, including footage of Dundee ski club, shot over a two year period. His films also featured a number of fellow amateur film-makers, including Frank Marshall and Iain Dunnachie, both of whom have collections within the Scottish Screen Archive.