Montrose LandxSea Film Festival returns to The Montrose Playhouse this 12-14 September 2025 for a weekend full of inspiring films and thought-provoking conversations designed to spark a deeper connection with our planet. Over three packed days, we are proud to present an inspiring selection of 22 new films including World Premieres and award winners, plus exciting guest speakers, lively discussions, and special family-friendly events which explore our relationship with land and sea.

Theme: Creative Ground—Artists Respond to the Climate

This year's theme shines a spotlight on the role of artists as truth-tellers and change-makers. Inspired by Sea Change, Montrose’s two-year embedded artist project, the programme showcases visual artists, musicians, poets, and performers confronting environmental breakdown and imagining different futures.

Big Nights   Feature Films   Short Films   Kids & Families   Other Events   Schedule   Guests

Looking for ticketing info or how to get to the venue? Visit our Box Office & Venue page →

Please sign-up for our newsletter for all the latest news and updates and follow us at @LandxSeaFest on social media. We can't wait to welcome you to LandxSea 2025 for this unique celebration of our living planet. Get ready to connect, explore, and be inspired!

Download the 2025 Festival Programme Guide [PDF]

Accessible Programme Guide

A clear, easy-to-read version of the Montrose LandxSea Festival 2025 programme, designed for screen readers, low-vision users, and anyone who prefers simplified formatting, with large text, clear headings, and plain language. Available in HTML, PDF, Word, RTF, TXT, ODT, and EPUB formats.

Accessible Programme Guide →

For further details on Access—including venue facilities, captioned screenings, live captioning during Q&As, community & youth tickets, and more—visit our

Access & Inclusion page →

BIG NIGHTS

Opening Night: Lost for Words

Scottish Premiere: A soaring journey across Britain’s landscapes and seasons, inspired by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris’s beloved book The Lost Words, reclaiming the vanished names of the wild—and with them, our bond to nature. Q&A with director Hannah Papacek Harper, producer Gabriela Sawaya, and visual artist/writer Amanda Thomson. More →

Closing Night: Yanuni

Scottish Premiere. From a remote village to the political frontlines of the climate crisis, Brazilian Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia fights to protect the Amazon and the future of her unborn child. Q&A with director Richard Ladkani and producer Anita Ladkani. More →

FESTIVAL FEATURE FILMS

Itu Ninu

Indigenous sci-fi, green-produced in Leith. In a highly controlled smart city in the year 2084, two Mixtec-speaking climate migrants defy surveillance through the radical act of handwritten letters. Q&A with director Itandehui Jansen and producer/actor Armando Bautista García. More →

Lowland Kids

Scottish Premiere. On Louisiana’s sinking Isle de Jean Charles, two Indigenous teens and their uncle become America’s first climate refugees, forced to choose between home and higher ground. Q&A with director Sandra Winther (online). More →

North Sea, Nature Untamed

Scottish Premiere. Plunge beneath the waves through the eyes of diver and underwater cameraman Peter van Rodijnen in this thrilling cinematic adventure that showcases the North Sea in all its glory. Q&A with underwater cameraman Peter van Rodijnen. More →

The Pickers

Behind every supermarket orange or strawberry lies a hidden cost. Across Europe’s fields, migrant workers pick the food we eat, exposing exploitation and igniting a movement for a FAIR PICK. Q&A with Meet The Pickers campaign producer Ben Kempas. More →

Tracing Light

Scottish Premiere. From Hebridean shores to German photon labs, Tracing Light pairs artists and physicists in a luminous exploration of light’s power to shape nature and fuel discovery. Q&A with producer Sonja Henrici and executive producer Leslie Hills. More →

When Fish Begin to Crawl

A single-screen triptych with cinematic visions of cosmic dawns, Devonian shores, and the carbon-rich peat bogs of Scotland’s Flow Country, with an original soundtrack performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Q&A with co-director Morag Mckinnon, and co-director/composer and Jim Sutherland. More →

FESTIVAL SHORT FILMS

Shorts Programme: From Havana with Hope—Climate Shorts from Cuba

A vibrant collection of Cuban climate shorts that follow grassroots innovators, from agroecological farmers to recycled-paper artisans, demonstrating how local ingenuity can inspire global change. Q&A with Havana-Glasgow Film Festival's Eirene Houston and Julia Harriman, and filmmaker Daniesky Acosta. More →

Animal Eye

Scottish Premiere. Scientists and philosophers encounter the limits of their own vision through the eyes of animals. More →

Chasing Whales

Scottish Premiere. Chasing Whales follows the trail of cetaceans across Northern Europe’s seas, tracing humanity’s shifting perspective from ancient reverence to modern commercial pursuit. Q&A with director La Fille Renne. More →

Headland

On a pebbled beach reclaimed from the ocean, tension rises as the age-old tradition of sea rescues interweaves with recent Channel crossings. Q&A with director Mariana Duarte. More →

In the Flame We Reveal Ourselves

World Premiere with live musical performances! A wordless hymn to our burning, beautiful world. Q&A with director Virginia Heath and producer Grant Keir. Live music with Afterlands' Rick Anthony. More →

The Pine Hunters

In remote Highland glens, ecologists search for Scotland’s last wild Scots pines, tracing loss, memory, and hope among these ancient sentinels of a vanished forest. More →

The World We Make is Shaped by the Stories We Tell

The voyage of energy through time, from sun to water via peat, coal, nuclear and wind. Q&A with director Mark Jenkins. More →

FOR KIDS & FAMILIES

The Enchanted Cinema (Age 4+)

What if you became the soundtrack to your favourite films? In these joyful, hands-on shows, children and families create live sound effects and music for animated favourites Where the Wild Things Are and My Neighbour Totoro. Perfect for ages 4+, this is family cinema as you’ve never seen, or heard, it before. Free for adults/kids £3.     More Wild Things →      More Totoro →

Schools Programmes (Age 9-18)

Bring your class to LandxSea!

Free sessions for Primary & Secondary on 12 Sep, 10:00 AM. More →

Future Council (Age 9+)

Scottish Premiere. Eight school kids go on a biofuelled bus trip like no other, to challenge powerful corporate leaders across Europe about climate change solutions. Q&A with film's star and youth activist Clemence "CC" Currie (in person) and director Damon Gameau (online).

Lowland Kids (Age 15+)

(see description above).

MORE THAN MOVIES

Discover our diverse lineup of events beyond the big screen

In Conversation: David Macpherson–Stories from The Rig

An insider’s look at class, climate, and screenwriting in Scotland’s oil industry, through the lens of TV hit The Rig and beyond. A conversation with screenwriter David Macpherson and the Edinburgh TV Festival's Gemma Bradshaw. More →

In Conversation: Amanda Thomson—Belonging, Language & the Living World

Free Event. Join artist and nature writer Amanda Thomson (Belonging, A Scots Dictionary of Nature) for a reflective conversation on language, place, and environmental change. More →

Sea Change Workshop: Climate, Community & Creativity

Free Event. Join Montrose's Sea Change embedded artist Eve Mosher and Culture for Climate Scotland for a hands-on creative workshop where art, place, and community meet in response to coastal erosion and climate change. More →

Montrose Beach Dook

Free Event. Take the plunge! Brave the North Sea and celebrate our coastal community with a joyful, all-ages dip at LandxSea’s signature Montrose Beach Dook! More →

North Light Award

Scotland's environmental film prize celebrates the best in independent filmmaking and carries a £500 cash prize. The winner will be selected by a jury of film and environmental leaders and announced at the festival Closing Night. Finalists and Jury →

Take Action

Connect with partners, make pledges, explore film archives. Lights! Camera! Take Action! More →

More guests speakers and activities are still being added - sign-up for our newsletter for all the latest news and updates and follow us at @LandxSeaFest on social media.

Thank You Montrose LandxSea Film Fest 2025 Funders, Sponsors & Partners!

Montrose LandxSea Film Festival is pleased to have exceptional two-year support from Screen Scotland, part of Creative Scotland, delivering services and support with funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery; and Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.

PRESENTING

LEAD

 

NORTH LIGHT AWARD

generously sponsored by:

Lisa Kentgen

CONTRIBUTING

IN-KIND

        

 

@BGS_Photography_Scotland     ·     Graham Black Photography

FESTIVAL HOTELS

SPECIAL THANKS

 Angus Council · Cinetopia · Cara Gall · David Paton · Eve Mosher · Jeremy · Joanna Peaker · Kate Munro · Kati Woods, Katypical Ltd. · Kelly Ann Dempsey · Kieron Chissik, The Enchanted Cinema · KonTiki—Roo's Leap · Lewis Coenen-Rowe · Mandy Kean, Mustard Studio · Matthew Rich, M.A.R.S Print Studio · Max Rosenthal McGrath · Montrose Coastal Rowing · Montrose Polar Bears · Montrose Sailing Club · New Docs · Prime Video · ProMo—Montrose Development & Improvement CIC · Ruth Marsh PR · Scottish Documentary Institute · Together Films

and everyone on the Montrose Playhouse team!

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MEMBER OF

 

Find out more about Festival Sponsorship →

 

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Montrose LandxSea Film Festival SCIO is a Registered Charity in Scotland (SC053626)