Film Poster.

On the North East Coast of Scotland, an extraordinary family have turned the previously derelict Bayview hotel into a place of respite for international fishermen when they come to land. This film is a glimpse into this unlikely home and the transient guests who pass through it.

“THE BAYVIEW was chosen by the festival’s international jury consisting of director, scriptwriter & producer Borja Cobeaga (Spain), directors Bogdan Mureșanu (Romania) and Joanna Quinn (UK), and programmer & director Beth Sá Freire (Brazil). Their statement:

‘For the humanity of his gaze towards a small place in a corner of Europe.’”
https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/the-bayview/


Film still. Edward and crew.

“It's one where the camera less becomes a fly on the wall than a sleeping dog in front of the fireplace, one where the comfort of the subjects gives us a better insight into them. The Bayview is a place where sailors from around the world can get a home-cooked meal but layered around that is the essence of the place as a home. One that reaches across docksides to vessels as only the smallest of divides.”
https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-bayview-2021-film-review-by-andrew-robertson


Film still. Matthew unloading car, Macduff.

“The Bayview is a quietly arresting portrait of a Northeast Scottish hotel run by American mother Susie and her son Matt, who is of Tongan heritage. Together, they welcome international fishermen hailing from the Philippines to Sri Lanka. Though the Bayview’s residents are temporary, the documentary charts how the friendships forged within its walls have transformed it into a beacon of multicultural solidarity in perpetually unkind times. Ghanaian fishermen tell Susie her cooking reminds them of home; faced by the precarity of their immigration status in the UK (only exacerbated by the pandemic), the Bayview is an invaluable source of comfort on foreign shores.”
https://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/latest/young-critics-reviews-bridging-gap-xuanlin-tham


Film still, Susie at The Bayview.
Mark