Montrose LandxSea Film Festival returns to Montrose Playhouse from 11–13 September 2026, for three days of bold films, inspiring guests, conversation, community and action exploring our relationship with land, sea and the living world, and how we can come together to protect what matters.
Download Programme Guide (PDF) ↓ | Accessible Programme Guides →
Box Office & Venue | Access & Inclusion
2026 THEME: HOLD FAST!
From crab-strewn beaches and rewilded farms to the ice-covered Arctic, the lithium-lined landscapes of Bolivia and Scotland’s deep time, this year’s LandxSea asks what we hold fast to, what we let go, and how we keep our footing while looking towards a future built on shifting ground.
BIG NIGHTS
Opening Night: Derek vs Derek
Scottish Premiere. Two neighbouring Devon farmers — both called Derek — find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over food, nature and the future of the British countryside.
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director James Dawson.
Closing Night: Whispers in the Woods
Scottish Premiere. Wildlife photographer Vincent Munier returns to the French Vosges forests of his childhood with his father and young son, tracing a tender inheritance of attention, silence and wonder.
FESTIVAL FEATURE FILMS
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea
Scottish Premiere. When thousands of dead crabs wash ashore along England’s North East coast, fisherman Stan Rennie is drawn into a grassroots fight for truth, accountability and survival.
Expressing the Earth
A poetic journey through Scotland’s wild places, where Kenneth White’s geopoetics, artists, geologists and James Hutton’s deep time help us rediscover how to think with the Earth.
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Glenda Rome.
Finis Terrae (1929) + New Live Score
Film Classic. A beautifully restored version of Jean Epstein’s 1929 silent classic, accompanied by a newly composed original score performed live, presented by Cinetopia.
🎵 Performed live by Dan Abrahams and Philippe Boudot.
Hope Is a Word
Scottish Premiere. In Nigeria’s Niger Delta, poet and activist Nnimmo Bassey gathers a new generation of writers to turn memory, anger and hope into poetry, testimony and resistance.
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Maria Galliani Dyrvik and producer Anita Vedå.
Jo in the Water
Scottish Premiere. A passionate sea swimmer becomes a reluctant activist, taking on one of the UK’s biggest water companies in the fight for clean, safe waters.
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Pip Piper and swimmer & campaigner Jo Bateman.
Materia Prima
UK Premiere. In the Bolivian Andes, the global race for lithium reveals an old story in new language: extraction, resistance and the question of who pays for the green transition.
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with impact producers Marcela Lizcano and Tatiana Vila (South America) and Ben Kempas (Europe).
Watership Down (1978)
Film Classic. A small band of rabbits flee their doomed warren in search of safety, freedom and a place to call home in the landmark 1978 adaptation of Richard Adams’ unforgettable classic, newly restored in 4K.
FESTIVAL SHORT FILMS
Shorts Programme: Hold Fast! Short Films from Land and Sea
Across threatened landscapes and changing communities, six inventive short films explore what we hold fast to, what we risk losing and how we adapt when familiar worlds shift.
Films in the Programme
Arubara
European Premiere. When damaged coral reefs threaten an Indonesian fishing community’s future, the village takes a difficult gamble to protect the sea it depends on.
Asparagus Bear
Scottish Premiere. A sleepy Croatian coastal town is thrown into rumour and suspicion when a bear is reportedly spotted in the middle of wild asparagus season.
Beneath Which Rivers Flow
Scottish Premiere. In the marshlands of southern Iraq, a quiet young man finds solace in his bond with a buffalo as ecological collapse threatens the world they share.
Bone a Cod
A formally inventive documentary dives into Aberdeen’s fishing history, where oral memory, labour and extraction meet.
🎤 Director Marie-Chantal Hamrock will join the programme’s live Q&A.
Children & Animals
Scottish Premiere. A 12-year-old farmer brings his favourite goat to compete at a country fair in Maine, where a conversation about death changes everything.
Community Theatre
In Buckhaven, a local community theatre brings three generations of working-class stories to life on stage.
Short Films Screening with Features
Discover more short films paired with feature screenings throughout the festival weekend.
Ain’t No Fish
Film Classic. A miniature stop-motion classic with a wicked little bite, as hungry Arctic seals croon through vintage cheer while the sea beneath them tells a much darker story.
Screening with: All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with directors Miki Cash and Tom Gasek.
The Herring Queen
As Scotland’s fishing communities face uncertain futures, one coastal village continues a cherished tradition: crowning its teenage Herring Queen.
Screening with: Whispers in the Woods
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Eilidh Munro.
Paradise
Scottish Premiere. A poetic portrait of trans/non-binary artist and gardener Mol Benge, whose relationship with the natural world becomes a compass for growth, identity and becoming.
Screening with: Expressing the Earth
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Iso Attrill.
Sikoqqinngisaannassooq
UK Premiere. In Uummannaq, North-West Greenland, children carve Indigenous words into the sea ice, naming what is being lost and imagining a future without ice.
Screening with: Hope Is a Word
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Adam Sébire.
Will the People Possess the Wind
Scottish Premiere. A lyrical sail through the Thames Estuary asks who owns the wind, and whether renewable energy can become a force for public good, community power and connection.
Screening with: Jo in the Water
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with directors Nell Houguez, James Marriott and Lauriem Mompelat.
You Told Us to Talk About the Weather
On a rewilded farm, a child’s climate anxiety opens into a wider reflection on land, responsibility and the future, voiced by a new generation of farmers and narrated by Michael Sheen.
Screening with: Materia Prima
🎤 Followed by a live Q&A with director Harry Tomlin.
YOUTH & SCHOOLS
Young People Attend LandxSea for Free
Local young people can attend the Festival for free — discovering environmental stories, joining discussions, and meeting filmmakers and special guests.
Complimentary tickets for programmes across the festival weekend are available to everyone aged 18 and under.* Book online or in person at the Montrose Playhouse box office.
*Subject to each film’s age rating and ticket availability.
Selected programme highlights for younger audiences include:
North Sea, Nature Untamed
Free Schools Programme. Plunge beneath the waves through the eyes of diver and underwater cameraman Peter van Rodijnen in this thrilling cinematic adventure revealing the North Sea in all its glory.
Presented in a new English-language version created for schools, the screening will be followed by a live discussion and Q&A.
Friday 11 September at 10:00am
Suitable for ages 7+, including schools, colleges, youth groups and home-educating families.
Free admission — advance registration required.
Watership Down
Film Classic. A small band of rabbits flee their doomed warren in search of safety, freedom and a place to call home in the landmark 1978 adaptation of Richard Adams’ unforgettable classic, newly restored in 4K.
Discover free youth tickets, schools activities and filmmaking workshops on our Youth & Schools page →
MORE THAN MOVIES
Events Beyond the Screen
LandxSea spills beyond the cinema with creative workshops, conversations, community activities and the ever-popular Montrose Beach Dook. Some events require advance booking, while others are free to drop into throughout the festival.
After the Credits: From Story to Action
Free event. What happens after the credits roll? Join the impact team behind Materia Prima for a hands-on session exploring how films can turn awareness into action.
🎤 Session with impact producers Marcela Lizcano and Tatiana Vila (South America) and Ben Kempas (Europe).
Night Afore: Dram of Science
Join us on the Night Afore LandxSea for a Dram of Science, a relaxed evening of science, stories and tastings in the Montrose Playhouse Bar, bringing together researchers from the James Hutton Institute.
Singing Workshop: Songs of the Land and Sea
A welcoming singing workshop with Irene Watt, inviting participants to explore songs of land, sea and community through shared voice and harmony.
Montrose Beach Dook
Free event. Our beloved Beach Dook returns! Join fellow festivalgoers for a bracing dip in the North Sea and a joyful celebration on Montrose Beach — whether you are taking the plunge or cheering from the dunes.
PoP Shop Festival Preview Week
16–22 August 2026 · 54 High Street, Montrose
Get an early taste of LandxSea with a week of creative workshops, talks, family activities and community events inspired by this year’s festival films and themes.
Drop into the PoP Shop to meet the LandxSea team, explore the programme and help create artworks and decorations that will appear at Montrose Playhouse during the festival.
Around the Festival
There is plenty happening between screenings too. Explore exhibitions and community-made artwork throughout Montrose Playhouse, meet local organisations, browse a festival pop-up bookshop, and help celebrate the filmmakers whose work has made this year's programme special.
LandxSea Awards
The North Light Award celebrates excellence in Scottish environmental filmmaking, with the winner announced on Closing Night.
Festival audiences will also help choose the winner of the 2026 Audience Award.
Take Action at LandxSea
Meet environmental and community partners in the Playhouse foyer, discover local projects and campaigns, and find practical and creative ways to take the ideas from the screen into the world.
Ink & Quill Pop-up Bookshop
Browse a specially curated selection of books inspired by this year's films, environmental themes and festival guests, presented by Montrose independent bookseller Ink & Quill.
Art throughout the Playhouse
Look for installations, decorations, and artworks across the venue, including pieces made by local participants during the PoP Shop Festival Preview Week.
More events, guest speakers, activities and participating organisations will be announced as September approaches. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest festival news and follow @LandxSeaFest on social media.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2026 SUPPORTERS
LandxSea is made possible by the generous support of our funders, sponsors, partners, filmmakers, volunteers and audiences.
View all 2026 sponsors & partners →
Montrose LandxSea Film Festival SCIO is a Registered Charity in Scotland (SC053626).