Filmmakers Guy Perrotta and Jane Ferguson will screen their new documentary, Voices Over the Water, at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, on Friday, January 31 at 7 p.m.  The documentary looks at the struggles and triumphs of Scottish immigrants to the U.S.
 
The screening will air in the Chambers Theater, located on the second floor of the Harris Student Union at 445 Leslie Campbell Ave., in Buies Creek.  Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.
 
Karen Allen, best known for her roles in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Starman, and other feature films, narrates the documentary. Also featured are 2023 EMMY® Award-nominated actor Brian Cox and music by the GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet-musician Rhiannon Giddens, and EMMY® Award winner Charles David Denler.
 
Producer Jane Ferguson says, "A goal of ours as filmmakers was to shed light on some of the unusual and tragic reasons why so many people left Scotland for places such as North Carolina." 
 
Campbell University alumnus, Ernest Gilchrist, is a participant in Voices Over the Water, giving a rich perspective of descendants of Scottish Highlanders that enlightens and surprises.  He is the author of Fusion of Cultures: The Spirit of ArgyllAmerica Revealed, which explores his personal connection to the area and the influence of the Scottish settlers to the development of North Carolina.
 
Gilchrist graduated from Campbell University with a B.B.A. in Business Administration, and he devotes a chapter to the University in his book.  A second edition will be released in Summer 2025. He is also a former men's basketball player for the Fighting Camels. Campbell University sits in the heart of country that many Scottish Highlanders chose to settle in both before and after the Revolutionary War.
 
The documentary includes images from the North Carolina State Archives, as well as footage from the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, and an exploration of Scottish Highland history at Mill Prong, a plantation in Robeson County, NC that was founded by Scottish Highlanders.  Interviews include those with Highland descendants as well as renowned Gaelic scholar, Michael Newton, formerly of UNC Chapel Hill. A one-hour preview of the documentary airs on PBS stations across the country, distributed by American Public Television.
 
During the course of the making of the film, the filmmakers discovered how a desire to discover one's ancestors is a rapidly-growing interest in America, and not only among organizations such as St. Andrews Society and at Highland Games.
  
Guy Perrotta says that "Participation from scholars and members of the worldwide Scottish diaspora such as Ernest Gilchrist have really added to the texture of the documentary." Voices Perrotta and Ferguson are both members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the New York Directors Guild Theater was the recent setting for a special screening for participants. Film reviewer Stephanie Zacharek moderated a Q&A session afterwards to a near-capacity audience, and has said that it was "… delightful, fun, well-paced. I learned a lot."
  
Those interested in seeing a trailer and learning more about Voices Over the Water may visit the documentary website at www.voicesoverthewater.com. 
 
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