Some projects ask you to build a website, others ask you to help preserve something much bigger. FAODAIL | FOUND is firmly the latter.
A living archive of the Outer Hebrides
The FAODAIL | FOUND Outer Hebrides Film Archive is a remarkable project led by UistFilm at Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre in North Uist.
It brings together decades of moving image footage, created by islanders themselves, capturing life across the Outer Hebrides throughout the 20th century, a period of huge cultural change.
The word Faodail translates as a “lucky find” or “found object”. Which feels fitting, because what has been gathered here isn’t just film, it’s memory, people and moments in time that might otherwise have disappeared.
So far, the project has:
- digitised over 25 hours of 8mm home movies through crowdfunding,
- brought together collections spanning communities across the Outer Hebrides,
- created a unique record of island life from the perspective of those who lived it.
And with support from the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding funds from the National Lottery, the FAODAIL | FOUND website has been created to make these stories accessible to local communities, the Hebridean diaspora around the world, researchers, and future generations.
Why FAODAIL | FOUND matters
Until as late as 1979, very little publicly available film created in or about the Outer Hebrides came from anything other than an outsider’s perspective. At best, this created an incomplete picture, at worst, it led to romanticised or patronising representations of island life. FAODAIL | FOUND exists to redress that imbalance.
It brings forward an authentic perspective of island life, preserving footage created by islanders, families, and communities themselves. As Andy Mackinnon, Director of UistFilm and project lead for FAODAIL | FOUND, explains:
“The beauty of the archive film is that it’s rare. Nowadays we’re filming moving image content every single day, but this archive footage is valuable because there is so little of it.”
Among the collections are extraordinary moments, from 1930s footage filmed by Dr Alex MacLeod, including early air ambulance services in the islands, to collections that capture the same family moments repeated across decades.
Why this project mattered to Pooka
This is exactly the kind of project that sits at the heart of what we do. Pooka has worked in partnership with Taigh Chearsabhagh, one of the leaders of the FAODAIL | FOUND project, since 2011, supporting their digital presence as their work and ambitions have evolved.
So when FAODAIL | FOUND came along, it felt like a natural continuation of that relationship.
In recent years, we’ve worked on a number of projects focused on:
- collecting and curating local memories,
- preserving heritage and cultural identity,
- presenting multimedia archives in meaningful ways,
- and building multilingual platforms, including Gaelic and English.
Being a Digital Partner for Good isn’t just about who we work with, it’s about what we help protect, preserve, and share. Through digital we can connect people across time and place.
And for FAODAIL | FOUND, that means someone with roots in the Outer Hebrides – whether they live locally, in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or anywhere else in the world – can access these stories.
As Andy says:
“One of the great things about all the footage being online is that people from around the world can access the films.”
Our approach: let the films lead
From the outset, one thing was clear: the archive was the star.
Our role was to create a digital experience that stepped back and allowed the footage to take centre stage.
As Paul Galinsky, lead designer and developer on the project, explains:
“The key thing in any web development project is understanding what the priorities are. In the case of FAODAIL | FOUND, it was really obvious, it’s all about the film.”
The design approach focused on:
- a clean, minimal interface,
- simple visual elements,
- subtle movement inspired by film,
- and a browsing experience that encouraged discovery.
The aim wasn’t just for users to search, it was for them to explore. To find one clip, follow a related story, discover a new location, and continue that journey through the archive.
Building for discovery, not just display
Behind that simple experience sits a carefully considered technical structure. The challenge was creating something that could hold hundreds of films, thousands of connections, and continue growing over many years.
A film-first structure
Each film has its own place within WordPress, allowing the team to add:
- descriptions,
- collections,
- themes,
- dates,
- locations,
- related content,
- Gaelic and English information.
Every piece of footage becomes more than a video, it becomes a story.
Bringing geography and memory together
Interactive mapping allows visitors to explore films by location, connecting stories directly to the landscapes and communities they came from.
Search that supports discovery
Advanced search tools allow users to browse by themes, collections, places, and time periods.
Whether someone knows exactly what they’re looking for, or simply wants to explore, the website supports that journey.
Multilingual from the beginning
Gaelic and English functionality was built into the foundations of the website, not added afterwards, because language is part of the story.
Making complex technology feel simple
Behind the scenes, the website integrates with Vimeo to manage video streaming, captions, audio tracks, and archive material.
As Paul explains:
“There’s lots of complexity behind the scenes. But the aim is making things really nice for the end users, and creating tools that save time for the FAODAIL | FOUND team.”
A living archive
One of the most exciting parts of FAODAIL | FOUND is that launch is not the end, it’s the beginning. The archive will continue to grow as new collections are discovered, digitised, and added.
The website also allows people to contribute knowledge, helping identify places, people, and stories within the footage.
Andy hopes the archive will continue growing over the next three to five years:
“There are still film reels out there. We want to find them before they’re lost for good.”
Built for the future
Projects like this are bigger than a website launch, they are about legacy.
As Paul reflects:
“The FAODAIL | FOUND project is so important to Scottish cultural heritage. It’s way bigger than Pooka is. It’s going to be here for at least a decade, and it’s curating decades and decades of Scotland’s past. We needed to make sure it was done right.”
That means building something:
- accessible,
- secure,
- sustainable,
- easy to manage,
- and ready to grow.
A shared piece of work
Like all the best projects, FAODAIL | FOUND isn’t something we simply delivered, it’s something built through partnership.
Andy reflects:
“We’ve known Pooka for a long, long time. From the very start of the process I felt confident that Pooka knew what we wanted this website to be and how we were going to get there.”
And that is exactly the kind of work we love. Helping good people doing important work use digital to protect, share, and celebrate something that matters.
Because sometimes a website isn’t just a website, sometimes it’s a home for stories waiting to be found.
Get In Touch
We’d love to hear what you’re up to. Please get in touch using hello@pooka.co or through the form linked below. Don’t be shy!
