It’s been a heartwarming experience to see how well the MaxWest Movies’ Film Nights have
been progressing – judging by the numbers of people who ask us about the next screening it’s
become a much-anticipated social experience. The general feeling is that around ten films,
spread monthly over the period September to early May is about enough – as the lighter nights
begin to demand more of our time.
We got off to a good start in January with ‘Restless Natives’, a classic 1980s Scottish almost
‘cult’ movie featuring two crazy young men from Edinburgh who, fancy-dressed as a clown and a
bear, stravaig the back roads of Highland Perthshire on a moped and holding up tourist coaches
Dick Turpin-style, relieving mostly American visitors of their money and sundry baubles. With

Edinburgh streets closed off for some frenetic police car chases, and to the cheers of an
admiring public, the duo finally manage a getaway to far-off South America! In February, our
audience was enthralled by the true, dramatized story of ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’.
Set in rural, drought-stricken Malawi, it follows a young schoolboy from a farming family, who
after studying how energy can be produced using a simple dynamo, then helps his village by
building a wind turbine from recycled parts. The electricity produced is sufficient to drive a water
pump that will help irrigate the fields and the valuable crops. An inspiring, and very well-made
film.
Sadly, our remaining screenings have now been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic,
and the remaining three film nights profiled in the Spring pdf version of MaxWest Contact are
now ‘on hold’ until the situation becomes safe once again to have social gatherings.
Meanwhile, if you do have any titles that you would like to put forward for us to put into the future
mix – do let us know! Mike Marshall