Uncle Sam wants “My Cousin Wallace” for Tartan Week

Scottish enthusiasts living in New York City discovered the family history of Irish and Scottish American communities last week when movie My Cousin Wallace joined Tartan Week. The Sheffield produced, Liverpudlian directed documentary explores the early eighteenth Century white trans-Atlantic slave trade which may have started in Scotland.

Tartan Week, held in April, is a celebration of everything great about Scotland and the involvement of Scottish-Americans in US life. However this year’s Scottish adoration was gatecrashed by non Scottish documentary My Cousin Wallace, which was made at Sheffield Hallam University. Earning this unusual place in the festival is because the movie examines the complicated history of Clan names associated with Afro-Caribbean families, and further discovers that the trans-Atlantic slave labour system was originally set up for white Scottish and Irish slaves.

The director, researcher and creator of the 30 minute movie, Derek Murray, is originally from Liverpool and shot the film in 2003 at the Northern Media School during his MA Film and Media Production course at Sheffield Hallam University. My Cousin Wallace was selected to be shown at New York’s Scotland on Film 1942-2006 festival, which runs until 8 April, by Scottish Screen after it wooed viewers on its Scottish travels. Scottish Screen is responsible for developing film, television and new media in Scotland.

Derek, aged 51, said: “My Cousin Wallace happened over three years. This type of organic creative documentary could only have been made in the environment found at the Northern Media School. I was given the time and flexibility, combined with the expert knowledge and support, necessary to bring this movie to fruition. The movie and the school has provided me with a springboard to launch my career and give me the confidence and status I need to go out and contend in a highly competitive market. “

Since graduating in June 2004 with a MA distinction in Screen Arts, Derek is now due to open his own company, Inspiral Media in Liverpool.

The Northern Media School at Sheffield Hallam University is one of the leading centres of production based postgraduate media education in the UK. It runs alongside an extensive undergraduate programme in film and media studies and production.

Steve Sprung, a senior lecturer for the MA Film and Media Production said: “My Cousin Wallace is an example of the ambitious and important projects we have supported and allowed the time to come to fruition, giving the author a chance to find his voice as a filmmaker. This film stands as a testament to what can be achieved if we are prepared to put the time, resources and truly creative effort into learning and teaching. “

My Cousin Wallace is a motorbike road movie where director Derek and the chief executive of the Clan Wallace, travel though the Scottish Highlands in the middle of winter. They revisit the sites of key battles in Scottish history which relate to their clan names. The journey ends at Culloden, which is used as a jumping off point to demonstrate that many Scots were subject to slave conditions working alongside Africans.