Cookies on FilmShelves
We use essential cookies to keep the site working. With your permission we also use analytics cookies (so we can fix what's broken) and advertising cookies (so the ads you see are more relevant). Read our privacy policy.
You'll still see ads on the free tier — rejecting just means they won't be personalised.

This haunting and magical film moves between Edinburgh and Orkney as it tells of a woman’s attempts to come to terms with her mother’s death through her childhood memories. Margaret Tait’s only feature-length film was the first Scottish feature film directed by a woman This haunting and magical film moves between Edinburgh and Orkney as it tells of a woman’s attempts to come to terms with her mother’s death through her childhood memories. Filled with flashbacks and dream sequences, it’s also a film about islanders’ relationship with the ever-present sea. Margaret Tait’s only feature-length film, from her own screenplay, was produced by the BFI in 1992 and was the first Scottish feature film directed by a woman. Now newly remastered in 2K and available on DVD and Blu-ray for the very first time.

Blue Black Permanent (1992)
86 min
In 1990s Edinburgh, Barbara Thorburn reflects on memories of her poet mother, Greta, and her tragic death.

Blue Black Permanent (1992)
86 min
In 1990s Edinburgh, Barbara Thorburn reflects on memories of her poet mother, Greta, and her tragic death.