Film Classic

presented by Cinetopia.

Experience a beautifully restored version of Jean Epstein’s 1929 silent classic Finis Terrae, with a newly composed original score performed live by Edinburgh-based multi-instrumentalist Dan Abrahams and French drummer Philippe Boudot.

On the treeless, windswept islet of Bannec off the Breton coast, four seaweed harvesters set up camp for the season, smoke rising from their pyres of burning algae. Trouble begins when a quarrel between Ambroise and Jean-Marie over a broken wine bottle leaves the young Ambroise injured, and simmering tensions give way to fear and mistrust.

Shot in a documentary style using local non-actors, Jean Epstein’s film reveals a harsh, isolated world where human lives are shaped by labour, weather and the sea. Through bold, poetic images of landscape, sky and water, Finis Terrae becomes both a drama of survival and a landmark of silent cinema: elemental, atmospheric and alive with menace and beauty.

Musicians

Daniel Abrahams

Composer, Guitarist and Double Bassist

Dan Abrahams is is a composer, guitarist and double-bassist embedded in Edinburgh's folk, jazz and contemporary classical scenes. With Scottish folk duo Dowally, he's scored two Scottish archive films and an award-winning Belgian short. In 2024 the Scottish Chamber Orchestra commissioned his piece Hope in the Dark, featuring a percussion instrument made from bicycle wheels — praised by The Scotsman for its captivating blend of blues, jazz and Scottish folk. He's currently part of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra's Film Composer Lab, composing for ensembles including Calton Consort and Butter Quartet.

Philippe Boudot

Drummer and Percussionist

Born in Normandy and drumming since 15, Philippe Boudot trained in London and at conservatories in Saint-Brieuc and Paris. His playing draws on Afro-Cuban, jazz, rock, funk and Brazilian influences alongside repetitive electroacoustic music, blending acoustic tradition with sampling-driven texture. He's toured with singer Clara Ysé, performed jazz with Brame de Zéphyr, and played with Samba de la Muerte internationally. His UK connection continues through Dowally, with whom he recently performed at Glasgow's Celtic Connections.