Biography of 'TAIT, Margaret'

Film-maker, poet and author

Born: 1918, Kirkwall
Died: 1999, Kirkwall

Margaret Tait trained in medicine, graduating from Edinburgh University in 1941. She was called up into the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1943, serving overseas until 1946. By the late 1940s her interest in film began to dominate. She enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Photographia in Rome, studying there from 1950 to 1952.

Returning to Scotland, she established Ancona Films in Edinburgh’s Rose Street, completing her first film of the street in 1956 and a number of other works on aspects of the city. She wrote poetry and produced several books. Tait moved to Orkney in the 1960s, making a series of films over the following decades inspired by the Orcadian landscape and culture.

All but three of her thirty two films, which she produced between 1952 and 1998 were self-financed. There was no funding forthcoming for her type of films, which she would describe as film-poems. In the mid 1980s she returned to a screenplay that had its inception in the 1940s. The feature length Blue Black Permanent began shooting in 1992 with Margaret directing. Her final film Garden Pieces was completed in 1998.

For additional biographical and contextual information go to LUX at https://lux.org.uk/artist/margaret-tait

Researcher: Janet McBain

Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'

49 hits

Asc Desc
	8SOME [4444A] Add to my films Margaret Tait described this title as 'An eightsome reel played by Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society, recorded in about 1955 - 1956, later transferred to 35mm optical stock with clear picture and gradually painted over the years. Eights of different things - figures, antlers, or sometimes just blobs in tartan colours - dance their way through the figure of the reel. See also ref. 4444. [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1970 sound bw
	AERIAL [3699] Add to my films Margaret Tait described this film as follows: "Touches on elemental images ; air, water, (and snow), earth and fire (and smoke) all come in to it. The track consists of a drawn-out musical sound, single piano notes and some natural sounds."	1974 sound bwcol
	ALL THESE NEW RELATIONS [8824] Add to my films Affectionate observational shots of toddlers, school age girl and very new baby.	1955 silent bw
	BA', the [6225] Add to my films Part 4 in Margaret Tait's series 'Aspects of Kirkwall'. The streets of Kirkwall, Orkney come to a standstill as the "Down the Gates" and the "Up the Gates" battle it out in this traditional Norse ball game. Margaret Tait records the sights and sounds of this game 1954 - 1975, the commentary featuring interview with Ba' winners, music and poetry.	1975 sound bwcol
	CALYPSO [6226] Add to my films Hand painted directly onto film stock by Margaret Tait, this film features animated dancing figures, accompanied by authentic calypso music.	1955 sound col
	CAORA MOR BIG SHEEP, the [3701] Add to my films A picture of East Sutherland in 1966.	1966 sound bw
	COLOUR POEMS [3697] Add to my films Seven linked film 'poems', described by Margaret Tait herself as follows: A poem started in words, and referring to distant memories to do with people going or not going to the Spanish Civil war, goes on in the picture (in "Numen of the Boughs") ; memory gets somewhat lost in the present observation, although it never disappears, and there are reverberations back, even in the brief life of the poppies in " Terra Firma". Out of one's own memory and thought one then finds (or arranges ) the external scenes which can be filmed and made into something else again. [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1974 sound bwcol
	DRIFT BACK, the [6222] Add to my films The first in a series of films for the Rural Cinema Scheme in the Orkneys, it records the return to the island of Wyre of Neil Flaws, a farmer, and his family at a time when the drift from the northern isles of the Orkneys was of concern to some Orcadians.	1957 sound bw
	ECLIPSE [6213] Add to my films Short film of an eclipse.	1973 silent col
	EDINBURGH [8556] Add to my films General views of Edinburgh Royal Mile and Princes Street.	1958 silent col
	EDINBURGH GENERAL [8554] Add to my films General shots of Edinburgh City Centre taken by film-maker Margaret Tait, focussing on the Royal Mile, Holyrood House and Princes Street Gardens.	1955 silent col
	FURTHER GROVE [6215] Add to my films Slates of the last poem entitled 'Grove' in the set of three which makes up the film "Garden Pieces". [See ref. 6214 for full film]	1998 mute col
	GARDEN PIECES [6214] Add to my films A set of three 'film poems' composed around the theme of the garden - the central one featuring hand scratched animated drawings. Margaret Tait described them as follows: 'Round the Garden' - right round and round again, 'Garden Fliers' - flighty cartoon and a stunner of a piano piece and 'Grove' - grave and sonorous.	1998 sound col
	GROWING UP: Chinese Geese in Orkney [6216] Add to my films The 'Growing Up' in the title refers to the Chinese Geese in Orkney recorded in this film.	1970 sound col
	HAPPY BEES [6228] Add to my films This film poem evokes childhood happiness on the island of Orkney. Footage includes wildflower meadows, toddlers playing in garden, friends fishing together and images of the sea.	1954 sound col
	HUGH MACDIARMID: A Portrait [6220] Add to my films An offbeat, affectionate portrait of the Scottish poet, Hugh MacDiarmid. There is straightforward material of him in his own home, and in addition to speaking his own poems, the poet gracefully enacts the film-maker's interpretation of them.	1964 sound bw
	HYDRO POLES BY HELICOPTER [6231] Add to my films Poles, presumably to be used to carry electricity wires, are seen being carried over a wintry landscape by helicopter in Sandwick, Orkney.	1978 silent bw
	JIGGAN MARCH AND REEL, the [4445A] Add to my films Black and white animated figures dance to the traditional tune 'John MacFadyen', as played by the Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society in this hand painted piece by Margaret Tait. See also ref. 4445. [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1970 sound bw
	JOHN MACFADYEN [4445] Add to my films Brightly coloured animated figures dance to the traditional tune 'John MacFadyen', as played by the Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society in this hand painted piece by Margaret Tait. See also ref. 4445A. [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1970 sound col
	LAND MAKAR [3700] Add to my films The 'Land Makar' of the title is 'a poet of the land'. Margaret Tait described this film as 'A landscape study of an Orkney croft, with the figure of the crofter, Mary Graham Sinclair, very much in the picture, and enriched throughout by her vivid comments.'	1981 sound bwcol
	LEADEN ECHO AND THE GOLDEN ECHO, the [6217] Add to my films A film interpretation of the poem 'The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo' by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Margaret Tait reads the poem throughout the film.	1955 sound col
	LION THE GRIFFIN AND THE KANGAROO, the [6218] Add to my films Perugia and its Italian University for foreign students.	1951 sound bw
	LOCAL NEWS: BU of CAIRSTON BROCH [6219] Add to my films Excavation of a broch site at Bu of Navershaw near Stromness, Orkney, by John Hedges in 1978.	1978 sound col
	LOOK OF THE PLACE, the [3704] Add to my films Part 5 in Margaret Tait's 'Aspects of Kirkwall' series. A tour around Kirkwall, covering the years 1969 - 1976. Places featured include St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall harbour, Victoria St, Broad St, Kirkwall Grammar School (at School Place), dumping in the Peedie Sea.	1981 sound bw
	MILANO [8555] Add to my films Young women in Milan, rooftops and children. [One of the women is possibly Margaret Tait]	1949 silent bw
	MY ROOM. VIA ANCONA 21 [8551] Add to my films Interiors of Margaret Tait's room when she stayed at 21 Via Ancona, Rome, Italy. Brief shots of her belongings (shoes, films, teacup) and then views of the street as seen from a balcony window.	1951 silent bw
	NUMEN OF THE BOUGHS [6227] Add to my films Inspired by the poem 'Numen of the Boughs' by Sorley MacLean, this film is the first section of the longer film COLOUR POEMS [see ref. 3697], however featuring extra 'experimental' footage. Margaret Tait described it thus: "A poem started in words, and referring to distant memories to do with people going or not going to the Spanish Civil war, goes on in the picture (in "Numen of the Boughs"). [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1974 silent bw
	OCCASIONS [6238] Add to my films Part 3 of Margaret Tait's series 'Aspects of Kirkwall', covering special events in the town. These include the Orkney Agricultural Society County Show, boat race, Remembrance Parade at St. Magnus Cathedral.	1977 sound col
	ON THE MOUNTAIN [3702] Add to my films The film compares Rose St. in Edinburgh in 1973 with another film (also by Margaret Tait), of the same subject, shot in 1956. In the words of the film-maker, it is a film about the 'life of the street'. See also ref 6224.	1974 sound bwcol
	ONE IS ONE [6229] Add to my films "Carlo and Rafaella are going to Rome for the first time. They have specially planned a journey they must make so that they can have a whole day together alone".. . so starts this film following the (mis)fortunes of these two young lovers.	1951 mute bw
	ORQUIL BURN, the [6221] Add to my films Starting from its source, this film tells the story of the Orquil Burn, Orkney. Narrated by Margaret Tait.	1955 sound col
	PAINTED EIGHTSOME [4444] Add to my films Margaret Tait described this title as 'An eightsome reel played by Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society, recorded in about 1955 - 1956, later transferred to 35mm optical stock with clear picture and gradually painted over the years. Eights of different things - figures, antlers, or sometimes just blobs in tartan colours - dance their way through the figure of the reel. See also ref. 4444A. [Title currently undergoing preservation work]	1970 sound col
	PALINDROME [8548] Add to my films A palindrome created on film by Margaret Tait. Features interaction between a couple with the recurring line 'Madam I'm Adam'.	1964 sound bw
	PLACE OF WORK [6230] Add to my films Margaret Tait documents her house, studio and garden in Buttquoy, Orkney as the seasons pass. She had lived there from the age of seven and often returned. At the time of filming, the house was about to be taken back by the council - this film is an effective 'goodbye'. Margaret Tait said it 'was meant to define a place, or the feeling of being in one place, with the sense this gives one, not of restriction but of the infinite variations available.'	1976 sound col
	PLEASANT PLACE, a [8546] Add to my films Film seems to tackle frustrations in communication in the relationship between two men and a woman, seemingly resolved at end. Shot in Kirkwall and surrounding area.	1969 sound bw
	PORTRAIT OF GA, a [3698] Add to my films The 'Ga' of the title refers to the film maker's mother. The film gathers together this elderly lady's everyday actions to offer an abstract insight into her life.	1952 sound col
	PRINCES STREET EDINBURGH [8552] Add to my films A short piece of film recording general views of Edinburgh's Princes Street in the 1950s.	1955 silent col
	ROSE STREET [6224] Add to my films The minutiae of daily life on Edinburgh's Rose Street in the fifties is presented in this impressionistic documentary piece.	1956 sound bw
	ROYAL MILE, the [8553] Add to my films A short piece of film recording general views of Edinburgh's Royal Mile in the 1950s.	1955 silent col
	SHAPE OF A TOWN [6212] Add to my films Second in a series of films about the changing face of Kirkwall over the years. Filmed in 1974, it features the primary school, various shops, St. Magnus Cathedral under scaffolding and general views of the area including land fill in the 'Peedie Sea'.	1974 sound col
	SHOP! [6236] Add to my films A series of interiors exploring the work of various businesses - presumably in Kirkwall. Margaret Tait has filmed them at different speeds and added humorous intertitles to hint at their content. 'Workshop Whizz Kids' features auto mechanics, 'Hangar Languor' a farm supplies business, 'Backlings Store' the work of a storeman, 'Hesitation Waltz' the car garage, and 'Centre of Power' general office work. [Incomplete]	1978 silent bw
	SOME CHANGES [3705] Add to my films Part 6 in Margaret Tait's series 'Aspects of Kirkwall'. Views in and around Kirkwall concentrating on things that have changed. These include a new grammar school building, model yachting on the Peedie Sea, demolition of a building, the 'No Uranium' campaign in Orkney. Commentary by Margaret Tait is provided to accompany some scenes.	1981 sound col
	SPLASHING [8557] Add to my films An experimental piece of film-making by Margaret Tait, featuring three children at play in a burn and garden, splashing and having fun playing with water.	1966 sound bw
	START OF A RACE, END OF A SHOW, ETC. [6237] Add to my films Footage of a yacht race and a (Highland?) Show in Kirkwall, as filmed by Margaret Tait. [this is possibly incomplete footage from her 'Aspects of Kirkwall' series?]	1976 mute bw
	SURVIVOR [6232] Add to my films Unedited slates from a film called 'Survivor' filmed by Margaret Tait. Footage includes outdoor landscape and garden scenes, a fire burning in field and a man drinking tea in his study. [There appears to be no coherence to the footage]	1976 silent col
	TAILPIECE [6233] Add to my films Lingering shots of house and garden accompanied by music, song and poetry provide an appropriate goodbye to Margaret Tait's empty house and studio in Buttquoy, Orkney.	1976 sound bw
	THESE WALLS [6234] Add to my films Margaret Tait's impression of the interior of her studio premises in Rose Street, Edinburgh. The film consists of slow pans around her studio focussing on the walls and artwork there - presumably as she is about to leave. There is also some footage of construction work on flats on Rose Street.	1974 silent bwcol
	THREE PORTRAIT SKETCHES [6235] Add to my films The three portrait sketches of the title are called 'Claudia', 'Fernando Birri' and 'Saulat Rahman'. [Presumably made when Margaret Tait was a student at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematographia, Rome]	1951 silent bw
	WHERE I AM IS HERE [3703] Add to my films A film poem in seven parts: 1. Complex, 2. Here and Now, 3. Interlude, 4. Crocodile, 5. Come and See This, 6. Out of this World, 7. The Bravest Boat. In Margaret Tait's own words "Starting with a six-line script which just noted down a kind of event to occur, and recur, my aim was to construct a film with its own logic, its own correspondences within itself, its own echoes and rhymes and comparisons, all through close exploration of the everyday, the commonplace, in the city, Edinburgh, where I stayed at the time...".	1964 sound bw