THE third and final part of The Nation documentary series written by and featuring National columnist Lesley Riddoch has been launched and Yes groups across the country are clamouring to show it.
Made in association with independence activist filmmaker Alan McMaster of Phantom Power, the third film is about Norway and follows the first two parts of the trilogy which were about the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
READ MORE: Scotland could learn a thing or two from its Nordic neighbours
All three films show how our Nordic neighbours have prospered as small nations and how they deal with Europe.
This latest film is personal to Riddoch who is a great admirer of Norway and writing her PhD comparing Scotland and Norway.
As well as her studies, Riddoch has been running the policy group Nordic Horizons for eight years, and has had a book on Scotland and Norway published by Edinburgh University Press alongside other books and articles.
She said: “There was all this specialist and maybe academic material out there, but the medium of communication nowadays is video. That was what was missing to enable these matters to get a wider audience.
“It was just an extraordinary coincidence that Alan and I had the same idea at the same time.”
Alan McMaster of Phantom Power said: “The Nation project has been tremendous to work on and I’ve learned a lot working with Lesley.
“It was a big project for just two people to carry but, in many ways, the ambition and work we put in reflects the aspiration we have for Scotland.
“The response has been incredible and shows that Scottish audiences have a huge interest in our Nordic neighbours. We hope the series encourages more people to think beyond London and be inspired by how these other nations operate.
“Nation was crowdfunded and also seed-funded by The Scottish Independence Foundation. We are incredibly grateful for this support and hope we delivered something special that makes people think more deeply about Scotland’s huge potential.”
At the end of the project, Riddoch is confident that Scotland could emulate our Nordic neighbours: “Each of those countries know where their best interests lie, and they have conversations and a remarkable agreement about the way forward.
“That’s the challenge for Scotland, for example is it in our interest to be in the European Union or the halfway house that is EFTA?
“These are the conversations we could have if we spent more time with the grown-ups in the Nordic countries rather than the squabbling brats in Westminster.”
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