Scottish Premiere.

In the deep forests of France’s Vosges mountains, wildlife photographer and filmmaker Vincent Munier returns to the landscape that first taught him how to look. Accompanied by his father, a naturalist, and his 12-year-old son, Munier moves quietly through woodland, riverbank and mountain paths, waiting for fleeting encounters with lynx, deer, owls and the elusive capercaillie.

Whispers in the Woods is less a conventional nature documentary than a cinema of patience and attention. The drama lies in stillness: mist through the trees, animal calls in the dark, candlelit stories, and the careful passing of knowledge from one generation to the next. Munier’s camera finds grandeur in the smallest signs of life, while the film’s soundscape invites us to listen as much as look.

With Short Film: The Herring Queen

In a Scottish fishing village shaped by the sea, an annual festival keeps an old tradition alive: crowning a teenage Herring Queen. This intimate portrait of ceremony, community and change reflects on heritage, belonging and the climate pressures reshaping coastal life.

Guest

Eilidh Munro

Director, The Herring Queen

Eilidh Munro is a Scottish, BAFTA-winning self-shooting documentary director specialising in observational films about how people and nature interact. Her work has screened at festivals and broadcast internationally, and has been used to influence policy and decision-making in the UK and beyond. Based in Scotland, she works freelance as a director, camera operator and editor, with a particular interest in environmental and social justice stories - alongside broadcast, brand and charity clients. She holds a distinction from Edinburgh College of Art's MA in documentary directing.