What does it mean to be a Scottish clan leader in 2026? And more importantly, what does it mean to belong? These are the central themes touched upon in a documentary being shown in a special screening at the Enzian Theater this week.
“Meet the Buchanans” will be shown Thursday to coincide with this weekend’s Central Florida Scottish Highland Games in Winter Springs. Film director Barbara Orton and the clan chief’s son Rory Buchanan will also be in attendance.
The 90-minute documentary begins with the lush greenery and rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands, specifically Cambusmore Estate, where Mike Buchanan lives with his wife and four children. After learning from his late father that he has the rightful right to become chief of the Buchanan clan, Mike and his wife Paula hire a genealogist to prove their family tree.
The Buchanan clan, with an estimated 5 million members worldwide who claim a common ancestry, has been without a chief for more than 300 years, since the last clan died out without a male heir.
Early in the film, Mike admits that while many English and Scottish people aren’t thrilled about delving into their ancestry, “Americans are absolutely into it.” This point is important as he travels with his family to the New Hampshire Highland Games to greet other members of the Buchanan clan who are eager to meet their new chief.
The documentary follows the chieftain in the months leading up to his inauguration, an event that brings together more than 300 people from around the world to represent Scotland’s ancient clans.
Orton said the story questions what it means to be part of something bigger and reveal common bonds and traditions.
“I don’t think calling it a ceremonial role really conveys the emotional connection that people around the world have to their chiefs,” she says. “It opened up my world to the American-Scottish diaspora, a love and connection to their roots.”
Part of the film also focuses on Pedro Buchanan, a Mexican man who learns through an ancestry test that he is more than a third Scottish. His great-grandfather was a Scottish civil engineer who emigrated to help build the country’s railways.
“Knowing where we are and where we came from is a gift, a jewel for the soul. Where do we belong?” he asks in the film. “Even if we are far from the land, it is within us.”
Rather than separating fact from fiction, this documentary focuses on the emotional impact of being part of something bigger and the romantic ideas that connect people to Scotland.
“There’s a Scotland that people associate with tourism, with tartan, with tradition, with clan, and so much of that is made up. But it’s based on what people perceive. There’s a very real part of people’s identity,” Alison Ramsden, a professor of English literature at the University of Aberdeen, says in the film. “People take things that might have some truth or origin in the past. I think the word ‘hoax’ assumes that there is some truth to which you can compare it, which probably doesn’t exist.”
Tartan designer Ewan McDonald appears in the film, helping Paula and Lucy Buchanan, Mike and Paula’s daughter, design patterns. He said his love for Scotland extended far beyond its borders.
“We now have a lot of people buying kilts from us who have never been to Scotland. They love the romance, history and underdogs of Scotland,” he said. “Throughout history, I think everything is made up. People just tell stories they want people to believe.”
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If you go
“Meet the Buchanans” will be shown at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at 1300 S. Orlando Avenue in Maitland. Tickets are $5 each, or $40 for VIP. Before the game, enjoy a whiskey tasting starting at 5pm on January 16th at the Hilton Orlando (350 Northlake Blvd). At Altamonte Springs. Tickets are $40. More information: flascot.com
