CURSE o’the MYRE is a new animated film that brings Scotland’s haunted past vividly to life by Scots, Highland born filmmaker, Robert Aitken. The film is a reimagining of the legacy of Lady Margaret Sinclair, whose grief after the 1513 Battle of Flodden became one of Caithness’ most enduring legends. With its ‘mythstorical’ lens and evocative visual style, CURSE o’the MYRE offers a poignant and timely tale.
The story centres around a Spirit Guard, who has been eternally bound to her crumbling Highland castle and the mist laden myres that surround it she is condemned to relive the tragedy of a clan’s brigade march to the Battle of Flodden and the loss of her beloved William. Her grief transcends time, seeping into the peatlands of Caithness, as her haunting presence becomes both a warning and a lament for the harm humanity inflicts upon each other and upon the earth itself.
As Aitken further explains; “In 1513 three hundred Caithness men marched south under the banner of William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness. I was haunted not only by their fate, but by what might have lingered behind, the grief of those left waiting in the far North. This is especially gut-wrenching given only one soldier boy returned out of the whole Caithness brigade.”
Blending poetic narration, immersive computer animation and rich historical research, CURSE o’the MYRE continues Aitken’s acclaimed exploration of Scotland’s ecological and cultural psyche with this new tale of documented history fused with centuries old folklore.
A Vision Rooted in Myth and Memory
Written, directed and produced by Aitken, CURSE o’the MYRE began life as a long-form prose poem. “I wanted to give voice to the forgotten spaces between fact and myth,” Aitken explains. “Out of those silences, Margaret Sinclair emerged as a ghost of conscience, a Spirit Guard of memory and of the land itself.”
Aitken’s direction combines historical detail with expressive animation inspired by Japanese Sumi-e ink art and 16th-century cartography. “Each frame was conceived as a living manuscript,” he says, “as though drawn from the peat itself stained, half-erased and breathing with lore.
Other influences range from Arthur Rackham’s ethereal folklore illustrations to the intricate cosmologies of early mapmakers, a time where science, art and superstition coexisted on the same page.
A Collaboration of Art, Technology, and Spirit
The film’s haunting visuals were created in collaboration with Michael G. Clark, an Aberdeen based film and television effects wizard whose 30-year career spans cinematography, CGI, special effects and production design.
Clark’s innovative use of computer imaging and composite animation gives CURSE o’the MYRE its distinctive living texture. “Maintaining accuracy and consistency of period detail was a fascinating challenge,” he says. “Robert’s meticulous research made it possible and I hope audiences will see that care in every frame.”
Voice of the Spirit Guard
The ethereal voice of Lady Margaret Sinclair is brought to life by Wick based poet and performer Mandy Beattie, whose lyrical sensitivity and emotional range lend the Spirit Guard an unforgettable depth.
“Rehearsing the script was an emotional and spiritual experience,” Beattie recalls. “I truly felt the presence of Lady Margaret Sinclair very near.” Despite the occasional intrusion of nearby Wick Airport during recording sessions, Beattie and Aitken found humour and inspiration in the process. “Those unplanned moments only added to the joy and the final soundtrack is something we’re all incredibly proud of,” she says.
About the Director
Robert Aitken is a Highland based writer, director and producer celebrated for his fusion of poetics and visual storytelling. Founder of Poetic Film School, Aitken works closely with rural Highland communities to explore Scotland’s ‘people in a landscape’ culture through art-based film.
His acclaimed body of work includes The Dreaming Bog (2021–2023), Strath-Steven Cove (2021), Threads from the Deep (2020) and Last Footsteps of Home (2014–15). Through his films, Aitken connects myth, history and ecology, challenging audiences to see the environment not merely as backdrop but as living memory.
Director’s Statement
The film’s emotional current lies in a grief that refuses to fade; a wife’s mourning becomes a mirror of Scotland’s own trauma echoing through the centuries. Yet Margaret’s haunting is not solely personal, it is also ecological and moral. Her lament for the fallen extends to the peatlands themselves, wounded by the same human impulse to destroy. In this way CURSE o’the MYRE seeks to connect the personal and the planetary in the now.
CURSE o’the MYRE is ultimately a meditation on remembrance, how the land itself keeps its own history and how human sorrow seeps into the soil and story alike. The film stands as both an elegy and a warning; that grief, if unhealed, will always return to us, reshaped in the mists of time and in the restless whispers of the myre itself.
How to see the film
The producers are in the final stages of completion. Live screenings will be arranged in the coming months, as well as online events. For more news, screening information and to watch the film’s trailer visit – https://www.aitken.online/curseothemyre
