This is a short documentary film about the traditional street game of Hand Ba. Hand Ba takes place every year in the Scottish Borders town of Jedburgh, and is one of the last surviving examples of ball games which once took place all over the country.
The whole town of Jethart becomes a game pitch for the day, with the Uppies playing the Doonies for a small leather ball tied with ribbon. It’s an unusual spectacle, with shops windows boarded up for the day, and visitors to the town often wonder what’s going on.
“There are no rules apart from self-preservation.” Jedburgh historian Billy Gillies
Making this film, I wanted to try to capture a sense of what it’s like to be inside the game, partly because women can’t join in. I gave a GoPro to the players., and we also played around perilously with throwing the camera up in the square to get the ba angle. Members of the Moving Image Makers’ Collective also helped to film. This was my first film and my computer broke down before I could finish it.
The music is by the brilliant Shona Mooney and thanks go also to the excellent people of Jedburgh who turn out and create this extraordinary event each year with no apparent organisation. Please stay till the end.