the scottish screen industries magazine
june - aug 2009 EIFF special | New Town Killers | Cinema of Dreams in China | Celtic Media Festival | Film City Glasgow
Front cover image: The Red Shoes, screening at EIFF.
news
editorial
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elcome to roughcuts in our new colour quarterly guise. We hope you like the new format especially as it shows off the fantastic array of film at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Artistic Director Hannah McGill whets our appetite for this year’s feast of film, and film writer, Richard Mowe, makes his selection of ones to watch. Keep an eye out for feature debuts from Scottish production companies: Synchronicity Films’ Crying with Laughter, a bold thriller starring Stephen McCole, Wasted, a dark and gritty drama from theatre company, Raindog, and Dabhand Productions’ Running in Traffic, a tense emotional thriller, the making of which you can read about in this issue. Mead Kerr return to the EIFF with their second feature, a Scottish-Irish co-production starring Ardal O’Hanlon and Ewen Bremner, the offbeat comedy, Wide Open Spaces. It’s not all about new films though. This year’s EIFF has a special screening of Bill Douglas’ historical depiction of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Comrades, as well as a 15th anniversary screening of cult classic, Shallow Grave, bizarrely both starring Keith Allen. And the company behind both of these, and also responsible for a beautifully restored screening of Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes, is distributor Park Circus, who, in this issue, discuss the art of digital restoration. Look out also for a special event about Scotland’s documentary heritage, A Kind Of Seeing, from the Scottish Screen Archive.
Scottish Screen will be in the delegate centre as usual, so please come and talk to us there or at one of our daily Hair of the Dog (formerly known as Happy Hour) networking sessions in the café/bar (6.30-7.30pm). We also have a couple of interesting industry events, so please keep an eye out for these, and check out our new Made in Scotland Film brochure, which will be launched at the festival.
also hear from Regional Screen Scotland, the organisation that was created last summer to develop cinema provision across Scotland. And in terms of locations, our featured location is Hospitalfield House in Angus; there’s also an article about Film City Glasgow, which is just about to launch the third phase of its development; and journalist Brian Pendreigh writes about his forays into film tourism.
We have just returned from the Cannes Film Festival, promoting Scottish talent, films, businesses and locations, and this year, in particular there was a strong presence by Scottish producers. We hear back from some of them in this issue. Talking of showcasing Scotland on the international stage, Tamara Van Strijthem tells us about the recent staging of Mark Cousins and Tilda Swinton’s Scottish Cinema of Dreams in China: six decades’ worth of Scottish films in a magical forest in Beijing.
Outside of the EIFF, there are a couple of other new Scottish films to watch out for: New Town Killers, which is released on 12 June; Eddie Harrison talks to Richard Jobson about his new Edinburgh-set action-packed film. And Autonomi’s Marie Olesen writes about a fascinating documentary, whose subject is a former Kurdish freedom fighter, and which recently premiered at Documenta Madrid; Kurdi will receive its UK premiere at the first Refugee Week Scotland Film Festival at the GFT on 16 June.
Closer to home, in March this year, Celtic Media Festival celebrated an commendable 30 years, but as various reports in this issue show, it remains a sprightly creature, attracting both the established and next generation of media industry.
See you in September for the autumn issue of roughcuts.
Back on home turf, the Bo’ness Hippodrome has just re-opened after being closed for 24 years, and in this issue of roughcuts, Scottish Screen Archive’s Ruth Washbrook, tells us about the fascinating film restoration and reminiscence project she has been involved in with the people of the town. We
Published by: SCOTTISH SCREEN | 249 West George Street | Glasgow | G2 4QE | UK e: info@scottishscreen.com | w: www.scottishscreen.com | t: + 44 (0)141 302 1700
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Enjoy the festival!
Linsey Denholm, Editor
cannes
Scottish Screen at Cannes
contents 3
Scottish Screen in Cannes
4-5
Call For Entries
6-7
Investment Awards
8-9
Skillset Bursary Awards
10-11
MEDIA
12-13
Hannah McGill - EIFF
14-15
Richard Mowe - EIFF
16-19
Park Circus - EIFF
20-21
Archive - EIFF
22-23
Dabhand Films - EIFF
24-25
New Town Killers
26-30
Cannes Film Festival
31
Imogène McCarthy
32-33
Cinema of Dreams in China
34-37
Celtic Media Festival
38-39
Kurdi
40-41
Bo'ness Hippodrome
42-43
Regional Screen Scotland
44-45
Film City Glasgow
46-47
Location of the Month
48-49
Brian Pendreigh
50-51
Calendar
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call for entries
CALL for ENTRIES 2009 Austin Film Festival - Call for Entries Deadline: 3 June 2009 and 3 July 2009 The Austin Film Festival is dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and filmmaking by providing unique, year-round cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. Categories include: Narrative feature, Narrative short, Narrative student short, Documentary feature, Documentary short and animated short For further information: E: programming@austinfilmfestival.com W: www.austinfilmfestival.com
Document 7 International Film Festival - Call For Entries Date: October 2009 Location: Glasgow Deadline: 5 June 2009 Document 7 enters its seventh year and is seeking submissions, which do more than scratch the surface. From politically charged frontline reportage to cinematic explorations of what it is to be human, films which challenge, engage and bring new perspectives to the festival and its audience are welcomed. Applications are invited from both established and emerging documentary filmmakers, to take part in the UK's only festival dedicated to international human rights. Document understands human rights in its broadest sense, and will screen a representative selection of documentary films both old and new, from home and abroad addressing issues such as: immigration and asylum, racism, miscarriages of justice, eviction, poverty, social exclusion, war and conflict, workers/unemployed rights, selfdetermination, mental health and social care, young people, women, human trafficking, indigenous cultures, environmental exploitation and disaster, global policies versus local effect. For further information and to download an application please visit: W: www.docfilmfest.org.uk E: docfest@gmail.com.
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Call for Collaborations: Document 7 is also looking to discuss programming opportunities and establish relationships with organisations and individuals interested in collaborating on projects which explore human rights. They are particularly keen to make connections with music venues, promoters and organisations with a view to building a programme of related music events at the time of the festival. If you would like to discuss possible collaborations, or know more about the festival, please contact Neill Patton: T: 07801 441643 E: neill.document@gmail.com
Refugee Week - Call For Entries Date: 21 June 2009 Time: 6-9pm Deadline: 5 June 2009, 6pm Location: GMAC offices, Glasgow Glasgow Media Access Centre is looking for short films made by or about the refugee and asylum-seeking communities, to screen at their film festival One Scotland, Many Voices. Glasgow Media Access Centre hosts an evening of short films and live entertainment for a third year running, to celebrate the creative talent and diverse voices of Scotland. The festival will be among several film events held over Saturday and Sunday of Refugee Week, which runs from 15-21 June. Refugee Week is a UK wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate diversity and the contribution refugees make to the UK. GMAC welcome all types of documentaries, dramas, animation, and experimental film on any subject made by asylum seekers or refugees living in Scotland. Also welcome are all types of film made by anyone dealing with the issues facing refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland. All films must be 15 minutes or under. To enter send a non-returnable DVD along with your contact details to GMAC - Refugee Week Team, 3rd Floor, 34 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1LH. For more information, please contact Sheena or Philippa from the GMAC Refugee Week team at: W: www.g-mac.co.uk E: 2ndunit@g-mac.co.uk T: 0141 553 2620
Fast Track - Call For Entries Date: 26-30 August 2009 Deadline: 12 June 2009 Location: Edinburgh Fast Track - the talent initiative of MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF) is now open for applications and is a FREE event. Following the success of last year's nomination scheme, Fast Track will keep this exciting feature open for a second year, so if you know someone deserving of a place, you can nominate them via the website. Alternatively, if you would like to put yourself forward for a space on the scheme, please apply direct. The final 40 Fast Trackers participate in a series of intimate and insightful masterclasses, followed by the Edinburgh TV Festival sessions and social events over the weekend. The acclaimed scheme has helped to launch hundreds of TV careers, with alumni including Andrew Zein, Managing Director of Tiger Aspect, Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of BAFTA Education and Events Committee and Cameron Roach, Emmy award-winning producer of Life on Mars. Each year delegates are asked to submit a pitch to a broadcaster and four finalists pitch live at the TV Festival. This year, Dave, UKTV's home of witty banter, will offer a successful Fast Track delegate a slot on the channel and a ÂŁ15,000 commission. Fast Trackers are given a FREE delegate pass for MGEITF and FREE accommodation is also provided. For further information please contact Hayley Dodd or Kat Taylor at Taylor Herring Public Relations: E: Hayley.Dodd@taylorherring.com E: Kat.Taylor@taylorherring.com T: 020 8206 5151 W: www.mgeitf.co.uk/FASTTRACK
Virgin Media Shorts Competition - Call for Entries Deadline: 22 June 2009, midnight Now in its second year, Virgin Media Shorts is the only short film competition to give British filmmakers the opportunity to have their work showcased to millions of people across the country through four mediums - cinema, TV, mobile phones and online. Last year, over 1500 filmmakers showed off
their work through Virgin Media shorts. This year Virgin Media also have a mobile shorts award for films shot on mobile phones. Films for this category can be up to 60 seconds including credits. The judges will select the 12 best films from the main competition, which will be screened on 214 cinema screens across the UK. Out of those 12, one film will be selected with a £15,000 prize from Virgin Media and the chance to apply to the UK Film Council for up to £15,000 funding. This is to shoot their next film which will be shown on Virgin Media platforms. The final 12 films selected from the main competition are also eligible to take part in the People's Choice award, voted for by members of the public online. The winners from all three categories will be announced at a ceremony in central London on 22nd September 2009. For further information on how to upload your film, terms and conditions and guidelines, please visit: W: www.virginmediashorts.co.uk.
The 13th UK Jewish Film Festival Call For Entries Date: 7-19 November 2009 Deadline: 29 June 2009 Now in its 13th year, the UKJFF is the premier event for Jewish film across the UK. The UKJFF exhibits films that engage with Jewish experiences, histories, cultures and areas of concern worldwide, and explores their relationship and place within a multicultural society. With over 50 titles from around the world, public discussions, meetings with filmmakers and specialist events, the festival celebrates diversity through film and invites audiences of all affiliations to take part. After its main programme in London the festival embarks on a tour to over 15 cities across the UK with screenings and events. For more details and to download an entry form please visit: W: www.ukjewishfilmfestival.org.uk E: daniela.boban@ukjff.org.uk T: 020 3176 0048
The 2nd International Tourism Film Festival - Call For Entries Date: 24-27 September 2009 Deadline: 30 June 2009 Location: Portugal There are no entry fees for participation in this event. Simply fill in the entry form and send along with your film to, The Organizing Secretary of Art & Tur, Rua de Cedofeita, 285, 4050-180 Porto, Portugal. To download an entry form please visit: W: www.tourfilm-festival.com.
call for entries Accordingly with the regulation of the festival only the following audiovisual productions would be able to participate at Art&Tur Festival: Documentary films from 15-65 minutes. Promotional films from 2-20 minutes, and TV spots and short films up to three minutes length in DVD, corresponding to at least one of following categories: · Destinations-Ecology and Tourism-Mountain Tourism · Hotels-Cultural Tourism-International Tourism · Gastronomy-Nautical/Water ActivitiesAttractions · Golf-Sports and Tourism-Religious Tourism · Human life/ People and Spots-Biodiversity/ Natural World-Health Tourism and Welfare · Oenology and Tourism-Rural Space and Tourism-Adventure, Expeditions and Travelling For further information, please contact: E: brunoliveirasilva@sapo.pt T: +351 93 639 52 02
Films In Progress 16 - Call For Entries Date: 22-23 September 2009 Deadline: 30 June 2009 Location: Donostia-San Sebastián Films In Progress, the bi-annual rendezvous at the San Sebastian and Toulouse festivals, opens its registration period for Films In Progress 16. This initiative by the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Rencontres Ciné mas d' Amérique Latine in Toulouse focuses on contributing to the completion of Latin American feature films at the post-production stage. The Films In Progress awards and the diffusion of these projects exclusively reserved for professionals attending the two yearly meetings at San Sebastian and Toulouse have greatly contributed to the completion and diffusion of some of the most outstanding Latin American feature films to have made their appearance in recent years. Films In Progress 16 is open to feature films produced in the different Latin American countries, the filming of which has been completed but which are having difficulties with the post-production process. Projects should be sent to: San Sebastian Festival, Plazo Okendo, 1 20004 Donostia-San Sebastián. For a registration form and further information: W: www.sansebastianfestival.com E: enconstruccion@sansebastianfestival.com T: +34 943 48 12 12
Cinema In Motion 5 - Call For Entries
Amiens and Fribourg international festivals, will exclusively comprise feature films at the end of their filming or at the postproduction stage. This rendezvous is open to filmmakers from the Maghreb, Portuguesespeaking African countries and developing Arab countries: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Egypt, Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Palestine, Sao Tome y Principe, Syria and Tunisia. The directors and/or producers of the selected films will have the chance to defend their projects before professionals from all sectors accredited at the International Film Festival sales office. Different kinds of aid will be granted within the framework of Cinema In Motion 5. Further information, and a registration form can be found at: W: www.sansebastianfestival.com
Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival 2009 – Call For Entries Deadline: 3 August 2009 Have you made a film which links to mental health? If so the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival is offering filmmakers the chance to have their work exhibited across cinemas in Scotland this October, and the opportunity to be considered for one of the festival's prestigious film awards. Now in its third year as one of Scotland's most significant cultural events, the festival aims to promote positive mental health in the context of equality and social justice, explore the relationship between the mind and creativity and create a dialogue with the public, the media and the arts about what mental health means to us all. Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival 2009 is particularly interested in your understanding of mental health, the meaning you take from this term, and how you have interpreted this in your work. Films needn't be about specific mental health issues, the festival is keen to encourage the idea that just like our physical health, we all have mental health. The festival considers films of any length and genre, and films made at any time, provided they have not been submitted to the festival before. The competition launches on Friday 6 February. For further information on how to enter the competition: E: smhaff@gmail.com. W: www.mhfestival.com
Date: 21 September 2009 Deadline: 30 June 2009 Location: San Sebastian Cinema In Motion 5 will take place at the 57th International Film Festival in San Sebastian. This programme, organised by the International Film Festival with the
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investment awards Between February and May Scottish Screen has made the following investment awards.
INVESTMENT AWARDS Express Film Fund Project - One Night in Emergency Company - Silver River Productions Ltd Amount - £100,000 National Lottery Meeting Date - 23/2/2009 A hard hitting, darkly comic drama charting one man’s journey through the wards of an overrun, inner city hospital in search of his wife. This co-production with BBC Scotland will receive a broadcast slot. Project – Skeletons Company - Edge City Films Ltd Amount - £150,000 National Lottery Meeting Date - 6/10/2008 Written and directed by Nick Whitfield, Skeletons is a surrealist comedy about two travelling salesman in the business of cleaning skeletons out of people’s closets.
Content Development Project – Lena Company - Fiveaside Films Ltd Amount - £2,500 National Lottery Meeting Date - 21/4/2009 A biopic of seventies singing sensation Lena Zavaroni, a story rooted in Scottish culture which, connects to a wide world and appeals to a mainstream audience with its universal themes. Project - Shell Company - Brocken Spectre Ltd Amount - £9,032 Meeting Date - 13/05/2009 Shell is a powerful coming of age story set in a remote Highland fuel stop where a repressed teenage girl finds a way of escaping her father and the bitter isolation he created for them. Shell will be the first feature of Scottish writer and director Scott Graham. It will be produced by Scottish production company, Brocken Spectre.
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Audience Development Project - DANCE:FILM 09 (21-30 May) Company - Dance Base & Filmhouse Amount - £19,910 National Lottery Meeting Date - 23/4/2009 Website – www.dancefilmscotland. com/2009/index.html DANCE:FILM 09 is the ultimate celebration of dance on screen with a diverse programme of feature films including 80s hit Flashdance, the Fred and Ginger classic, Swing Time, and the Scottish premiere of Perhaps Love (Ai Ru Guo) the multi-award winning Chinese musical. The festival explores the relationship between film and dance and the nature of Dance:Film It will also include documentaries, short films, visual art installation, along with dance workshops, that will delight audiences and get their toes tapping. Project - Take One: Action! Company - Word Development Movement Trust Ltd Amount - £20,000 Meeting Date - 28/4/2009 Take One: Action! is the UK’s first major outreach project and festival celebrating the people and films that are changing the world, with an unrivalled focus on empowering Scottish audiences.
Markets & Festivals Project - MIP TV Attendance (30 March-2 April 2009) Company - Visible Ink Television Ltd Amount - £1,500 National Lottery Meeting Date - 23/2/2009 The newly enhanced business and writing team of Visible Ink Television received funding to attend MIP TV 2009 to renew, explore and discuss possible co-production potential and partnerships with broadcasters and distributors worldwide some of whom have already expressed interest.
Opportunities Fund Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Synchronicity Films Ltd Amount - £1,500 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Synchronicity Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Black Camel Pictures Ltd Amount - £1,500 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Black Camel Pictures received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival to take Outpost 2, together with other projects, to market. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Oxygen Films Ltd Amount - £1,365 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Oxygen Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival to take various projects in development to this international market. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company – Hazel Baillie Amount - £555 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 By the Grace of God is a National Film and Television School graduation film, edited by Scotland’s Hazel Baillie. The film has been selected for Cannes International Film Festival 2009. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Crab Apple Films Ltd Amount - £1,265 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Crab Apple Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival in support of theatrical feature film project Clever and other projects on the development slate. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Sigma Films Ltd Amount - £1,500 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009
Sigma Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Brocken Spectre Ltd Amount - £1,039 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Brocken Spectre received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival with Shell, a feature film in development. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Peter Barber-Fleming Amount - £1,432.50 National Lottery Meeting Date- 5/5/2009 Peter Barber-Fleming received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival with The Cone Gatherers, a feature film from the classic novel adapted by Bernard MacLaverty and directed by Michael Caton Jones. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - La Belle Allee Amount - £930 National Lottery Meeting Date- 28/4/2009 La Belle Allee received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival to expand their networking and approach new filmmaking partnerships.
investment awards
Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Flying Scotsman Films Ltd Amount - £1,252 National Lottery Meeting Date - 13/05/2009 Flying Scotsman Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival with three major feature projects, seeking production and development finance. Project - Documenta Madrid Attendance (1-10 May 2009) Company - Autonomi Ltd Amount - £1,324 National Lottery Meeting Date - 28/4/2009 Representatives from Autonomi Ltd will attend Documenta Madrid to discuss their recent film Kurdi. This film tells the story of a man in search of himself, his people, his gun and a country that doesn’t exist. Project - Hot Docs Attendance (30 April-10 May 2009) Company - Connect Film Ltd Amount - £1,472 National Lottery Meeting Date - 21/4/2009 Connect Films received funding to attend Hot Docs 2009 to promote feature length documentary project The First Movie by Mark Cousins, as well as to promote Connect Film’s other documentary projects to commissioning editors, funders and co-producers.
Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Mead Kerr Ltd Amount - £997 National Lottery Meeting Date - 13/05/2009 Mead Kerr received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival. Project - Cannes Film Festival Attendance (13-24 May 2009) Company - Wilder Films Ltd Amount - £1,500 National Lottery Meeting Date - 13/05/2009 Wilder Films received funding to attend Cannes Film Festival with Laid Off and to attend the UK Film Council Producers’ Lunch.
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skillset news
Training Bursaries
Skillset Scotland made a total number of 204 (£156,807.15) training bursaries from December 2006 to January 2009. This includes the following awards made between12 Nov 2007 to 31 Jan 2009. Previous training bursary awards made were published in the June/July 2007 and Dec/Jan 2008 issues of roughcuts. For further information on Skillset and funding opportunities available please visit: www.skillset.org.
Shehzad Afzal
Colan Mehaffey
Jaimini Jethwa
Neil Geddes-Ward
The Animation Finishing School - Creating and defining memorable characters
ICO - Developing your Film Festival
Larry Jordan Associates - Power up with Final Cut Studio
NTI- After Effects Introduction
£75.20
£477.60
£916.40
Ray Burnett
Simon Meek
Borja Alcalde
ICO - Developing your Film Festival
Symbiosis - Premier Pro CS3
£654.22
£550.34
Ravensbourne - Surround Sound Technology Ahead Training - Final Cut Pro
Robert James Goodwin
Heather Anne Day
Screen Academy Scotland – Digi-DIY
TAPS Ltd - Script Editing
£512.00
£411.20
£216.80
Richard Cross
Laura Donnelly
Simon Woodward
Screen Academy Scotland - Digi-DIY
Academy Class - Creative Suite Training
Alchemea College of Audio Engineering Pro Tools 110 Course
£400.00
£749.74
Alan Matthew Thompson
James Charkow
Screen Academy Scotland - Digi-DIY
Symbiosis - Premier Pro CS3
£400.00
£582.32
Tom Gregory Janson
Chris Willshaw
Screen Academy Scotland - Digi-DIY
Symbiosis - Premier Pro CS3
£400.00
£591.21
Michelle Watt
Andrew Laing
Brocken Spectre - TV Production Co-ordinator
Symbiosis - Premier Pro CS3
£480.00
£555.52
Anne-Claire Pilley
Sarmed Ayub Mirza
DFG - The grammar of Documentary Editing; Writing for Documentary
LTS - Alexander Mackendrick on filmmaking - An introduction to the Craft of the Director
£390.79
£187.12
£1,008.00
Kelly Neal
Simon Anthony Gordon
Sergio Alvarez-Uribe
Berlinale Talent Campus
Mead Kerr Ltd - The Art and Business of Adaptation
£580.00
£129.92
LFA - Producing Foundation; Shooting and Lighting for Film & DV
Elaine McLenachan
Borja Alcalde
Jason Clarke
Academy Class - Creative Suite Design Masterclass 1 and 2
BBC - Sound Recording on Location 1
NFTS - Directing Actors Course
£749.75
£1,556.48
Marcus Peter Owens
Lesley Robinson
University College of Western Denmark - The Animation Workshop
£212.00 Lindsay Jane Goodall RSAMD - TV Production Co-ordinators Course £480.00 Lucy Clare Kaya The Animation Finishing School Creating and defining memorable characters
£752.00 Kenneth Stewart BBC - Directing Multi Camera £2,500.00 Charlotte Cornic Big Train - Production Co-ordinator Course £480.00 Clare Kerr Initialize Films - Producers Lab on European Co-production Strategies £1,367.40 Jack Dickson TAPS - Continuing Series Masterclass £767.12 Angela Murray Initialize Films - Producers Lab on European Co-production £1,466.08
The Script Factory - Scene Insiders; The drama of the Scene; Writing Dialogue
£460.00 Russell Davidson Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation £120.00 Alysia Maciejowska Search Engine Strategies - Viral Marketing £628.00 Shehzad Afzal Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation £137.00 Robert Scott Sproul-Cran Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation £226.32 Wendy Robertson Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation £96.00 Margaret Edwards NFTS - Drama Production Management
£1,944.00 John Henry Coghill
£2,040.00
The School of Sound - The Soundtrack: Sound and Editing Workshop
Brian Ross
£1,000.00
TAPS - Script Editing
Zoe Irvine
£411.04
School of Sound - The Soundtrack: Sound and Editing Workshop
£2,500.00
Christopher Maxwell
£810.00
Arabella Croft
NFTS - Shooting on HD
James Swan
Screen International - Eurpoean Film Finance Summit
£488.00
Screen Academy Scotland - Digi-DIY
£966.00
Graham Stewart Kitchener
The School of Sound - The Soundtrack: Sound and Editing Workshop
£409.60
Rick Hughes
NTI Birmingham - Shoot and Edit
£1,000.00
David Hammond
Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation
£1,591.00
Simon Anthony Gordon
Screen Academy Scotland – Digi-DIY
£175.20
Philippa Langley
TAPS - Continuing Drama
£446.00
Mathew Marsters
Mead Kerr - The Art and Business of Adaptation
£552.60
Shehzad Afzal
Symbiosis - Premier Pro CS3
£96.00
Michael John Cooke
Screen Academy – Digi-DIY
£521.92
Frances O'Neill
£760.00
Douglas Robert Neilson
Sources 2 - Script Development
The School of Sound - The Soundtrack: Sound and Editing Workshop
Sarmed Ayub Mirza
Eurodoc - Eurodoc
£1,372.00
Screen Academy Scotland – Digi-DIY
£2,500.00
Mairi Mackinnon
£580.00
Rosie Crerar
NFTS - Documentary and Factual Production Management
Elizabeth Toms
NFTS - Drama Production Management
£1,080.00
Screen Academy Scotland – Digi-DIY
PACT- Finance for Feature Film
June Margaret Kempsell
£416.00
£1,223.00
NFTS - Documentary and Factual Production Management £1,080.00
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£1,000.00 Lorna Anne Simpson
£1,000.00 Lesley Robinson Gordy Hoffman - The Bluecat Screenwriting Workshop £230.32 Angus Cameron Arvon Foundation - Film Writing £470.72
Rick Hughes
Richard Steel
David Taylor
Aimara Reques
TAPS - Continuing Drama Series
NFTS - Lighting for Film and HD
£435.10
£1,000.00
Protec Training and Consultancy Ltd - Lantra Awards 4x4 Professional User training Course;
Sunny side of the Doc - "Trailers" led by Fernanda "Doc Doctor" Rossi
Fiona Walton
Lesley Robinson
Trailer Safety Training Course
£273.60
TAPS - Continuing Drama Nations
Gordy Hoffman - The Bluecat Screenwriting First Act Workshop
£721.20
Inigo Garrido
Barbara Orton
Soho Editors - Motion 3, Certified Level 1
Indie Training Fund - Multi Platform Joined Up Production; Finding and Interviewing Contributors;
£978.00
£435.10 Wendy Robertson TAPS- Continuing Drama £570.30 Sarmed Ayub Mirza
£182.32 Clare Kerr Ateliers du Cinema European - ACE 18 £1,000.00 Holger Mohaupt
Making Money from Digital Platforms and Rights. £876.00 David Littlejohns
Kate West The Script Factory - TV Drama Script Reading £453.00 Ross Howieson
Mediamatic - Any Media Documentary Workshop
BBC - Risk Management for Productions parts 1-2; Safe Working with Camera and Lights
£955.20
£266.00
£503.24
Jaimini Jethwa
Nick Kershaw
Rick Hughes
Alex Jamieson
Cryptic Peach - Final Cut Pro
Soho Editors - FCP 300
Broadcast - The Factual Commissioning Forum
DFG Training - Writing and Pitching Proposals
£909.00
£925.00
£378.86
£448.74
Jim McRoberts
Ray Burnett
Richard Smith
Jan Nicholas Pester
TAPS - Writing for Continuing Drama
ICO - Developing your Audience
Raindance - Hands on Directing Parts One and Two
Soho Editors Training - Final Cut Pro 200; Color 101
£680.00
£508.76
£828.00
£1,000.00
Peter Broughan
Marcus Peter Owens
Damian Wood
Peter Johnson
UK Film Finance Summit; Initialize Films - Online Lab
The Animation Finishing School - Creating and Defining Memorable Characters
01 Zero-one - Intro to FCP; Advanced FCP; Adobe After Effects
Academy Class - Larry Jordan Final Cut Pro Seminar
£244.00
£1,000.00
Elaine McLenachan
Margaret Horspool
Glasgow Metroploitan College - Desktop Publishing
CadSchool - Vectorworks 3D; Sketchup Foundation
£932.00
£372.00
£967.60
Alex Jamieson
Linda Fraser
Martin Gillon
Academy Class - Premier Pro CS3
SCVO - Trainer Training
Academy Class - Final Cut
Academy Class - 3Ds Max Essentials Boot Camp (Master Class)
£551.26
£312.00
Pro 6 Introduction
£1,000.00
Claire Campbell
Kate Munro
£914.52
Meredith Adam
Bristol School of Animation - The Three Month Animation Course
LFS - Improvisation for Directors in Film & TV - Intensive Course with Sean McCann
Lalitha Rajan
Academy Class - DVD Studio Pro
£1,000.00
£504.00
NFTS - Producing a Documentary
£797.60
Aimara Reques
Minttu Maari Mantynen
£888.00
Teresa Flavin
Scottish Documentary Institute and Initialize Films Interdoc
NFTS - Lighting for film and HD
Alessandra D'Avanzo
Academy Class - Adobe Macromedia Flash CS3: Rich content creation; Actionscript
LFS - The other Side of the Fence with Richard Kwietniowski £393.12
£1,000.00 Stephen Anderson Scottish Documentary Institute and Initialize Films Interdoc
Academy Class - After Effects CS3 Introduction
£177.88 Sandra Josephine Jamieson Academy Class - Larry Jordan Final Cut Pro Seminar £63.45 Martin Kelly
£764.56
DV Talent – Final Cut Pro: Z1 Shooting and Directing DV and HDV
Alistair Ferguson
£320.00
Rachna Dheer
Academy Class - Final Cut Pro Masterclass
Elaine McLenachan
Academy Class - Larry Jordan Final Cut Pro Seminar
£937.18
Glasgow Metropolitan College - Desktop Publishing 2
£1,000.00
£1,000.00
Borja Alcalde
£372.00
Paula Poveda-Urrutia
Kathy Speirs
Academy Class - After Effects 1; Apple Motion 2
Len McCaffer
DV Talent - Production Co-ordinator Course
Advantage Learning - Prince 2
£995.00
The Faber Academy - Mike Figgis Three Day Masterclass
£482.00
£1,000.00
Morven Reid
£394.96
George Geddes
Paul Graham
The Script Factory - Script Reading
Emma Rhian
NFTS - Steadicam
Bill Curtis Associates - 005 Directing and Shooting DV/ HDV Camera
£335.00
Nicholas Academy Class - Final Cut Pro Intro
£1,000.00
Merlin Bonning
£973.24
Victoria Watson
Andrew Green
VET- Final Cut Pro; DV Talent- An introduction to Production Management
Shagufta Anwar
Academy Class - Maya Bootcamp
New Producers Alliance- 5-week Intensive Producer Training
£804.80
DV Talent - Final Cut Pro: Z1 Shooting and Directing DV and HDV
£1,000.00
Andrew Bonner
£661.60
The Script Factory - Script Development 101
Anne-Claire Pilley
£292.00
Ravenspoint - Intensive Gaelic Course
Kate Munro
£230.00
Elaine McElroy
NFTS - From Documentary to Drama: Single Camera Directing
Julien Pierrefeu
Indie Training Fund – Intro to Employment Law
£496.00
£316.00
Martin Brocklebank
Mark Prebble
TAPS - Series Masterclass
The Script Factory - The Genre Season
£797.00
£236.80
Hester Annalert Steenkamp
Rick Hughes
Documentary Forum Group (DFG) - Final Cut Pro Editing Week
£716.00 Sarah Harrison DFG - HDV Camera Techniques; BBC - Investigative Research on the Net (part 1); BBC - Production Research
£679.20
£540.00 Andrew Bonner The Script Factory - Script Reading Training £320.40
Screen House - How to get your TV Ideas Commissioned £186.04
£998.00
Napier University - Writers Factory: Screenwriting Express £120.00
£917.24
Michael Callaghan The Script Factory - Script Reading £413.00 Andy Lawson Mark Grindle - Scriptwriting £1,000.00 Mary Helen Anderson
Perry Costello
Woodbridge Productions - Flawless Airbrush Beauty for HD Professionals Masterclass
Protec Training - 4x4 Off Road; Trailer Safety
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£560.80
Jaygo Bloom
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Harvestworks - Max/ Msp Intensive week
Initialize Films - Co-production Lab
£1,000.00
£360.00
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MEDIA NEWS media news
News 17 MEDIA-funded films in Cannes This year there were 17 MEDIA-funded films screening at Cannes Film Festival, which have received a combined total of over €3 million in funds from the MEDIA Programme. Screening in Official Selection for the festival, Pedro Almodovar's Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) has so far received €1,105,708 funding for distribution in five European territories - with this amount likely to increase in the coming year. Fish Tank, directed by the UK's Andrea Arnold has received €44,706 support through MEDIA's i2i Audiovisual funding scheme. Ken Loach's Looking for Eric has so far been awarded €526,931 from the MEDIA Programme for distribution in three European territories. Discovery Campus sets out to new horizons and changes to Documentary Campus Discovery Campus eV has changed its name to Documentary Campus to make the already strong focus of the European initiative on documentary training visible in the name and to meet the organisation’s growing international orientation. For more information email info@documentarycampus.com or visit the website at www.documentary-campus.com.
MEDIA Networking Rome international Film Festival’s The Business Street 15-19 October, 2009, Rome, Italy Deadline: 10 June 2009 The market sidebar of Italy’s new A-list Festival. A five-day market which engineers meetings between producers and distributors. In 2008 there were 620 registered participants at the five-day event. For more information email business@ romacinemafest.org or visit www. romacinemafest.it. Sheffield Doc Fest/ MeetMarket 4-8 November, 2009, Sheffield, United Kingdom Deadline: 17 June 2009 for film submissions to Sheffield Doc Fest Doc/Fest is the UK’s leading documentary festival; it is where the international documentary industry gets together under one roof for a week of intense deal making, doc watching and debate. Meetmarket has it’s own submission deadline for projects: 4 September 2009 There will be around forty discussions, masterclasses, workshops and presentations
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in close co-operation with the industry. Part of the sessions programme is DigiDocs 360 a unique strand of sessions addressing the challenges of embracing the cross platform world. For more information email info@ sidf.co.uk or visit www.sheffdocfest.com. Register now for Cartoon Forum 22-25 September, Stravanger, Rogaland Deadline: To register a project has passed, but you can still register as a participant until 30 June 2009. Cartoon Forum sees the coming together of the key-players of the animation industry at the 4-day co-production forum for TV and new platform animation, providing producers with the opportunity to pitch their projects, negotiate and seek co-production partners. For more information you can email on forum@cartoon.skynet.be or visit www.cartoon-media.be.
MEDIA Funding Television Broadcasting 20/2008 The scheme's objective is to encourage independents to produce television programmes involving the participation of at least three broadcasters from several member states participating or co-operating in the programme. The following categories are eligible: Television fiction films (one-off or series) of a total duration of at least 50 minutes; Creative documentaries (one-off or series) of a total duration of at least 25 minutes; Animation (one-off or series) of a total duration of at least 24 minutes. The financial contribution awarded cannot exceed 12.5% of the total eligible costs for fiction and animation works. The maximum financial contribution which may be awarded to fiction and animation works is €500,000. For documentaries, the financial contribution awarded cannot exceed 20% of the total eligible costs and the maximum financial contribution which may be awarded is €300,000 per action.
i2i Audiovisual 28/2008 The i2i Audiovisual scheme supports production companies that bear the costs of bank financing and/or associated insurance and completion bonds costs. It offers subsidy to cover up to 50% of the following costs, capped at €50,000 per project, and at €100,000 per company: insurance costs; completion guarantee costs; financial costs. In order to be eligible companies must present a signed credit agreement, insurance contract or completion guarantee for the project. Companies can apply for more than one module for the same film, unless it is possible to obtain the maximum of €50,000 under one module. The minimum allocation is €5,000 per project. Deadline: 7 July 2009 - for projects that have started between 1 January 2009 and 7 July 2009 ie the credit agreement with the bank or financial institution has been signed within that period and the first day of principal photography has not taken place before 1 January 2009.
MEDIA Training Primepackaging 2009 PRIMEPACKAGING provides comprehensive support and consulting in various fields: script development, market research, financing, distribution, world sales and games/interactive media. The main idea is to introduce the expertise of market professionals as soon as possible into the crucial phase of project development. The successful development of the individual projects is the main focus of the three centres. Interdisciplinary exchange in workshops and individual coaching sessions with the experts provide opportunities to work intensively on each project. First Centre: 8-12 July, 2009, in Berlin, Germany Second Centre: 14-18 October, 2009, in Vienna, Austria Third Centre: 11-13 December, 2009, in Warsaw, Poland
Deadline: 26 June 2009
Deadline: 5 June 2009
Selective Distribution 22/2008 The scheme is to facilitate transnational distribution of European films. It aims to encourage distributors to release films that might be a challenge were they to be supported by market forces alone. Distributors wishing to distribute one or more non-national European films must form a grouping, co-coordinated by the film's sales agent or the producer, which will set out to release the film in several European territories.
Fee: Usually €7,500. This year, there are two full scholarships on offer and the remaining participants will only be charged €1,800. The remaining €5,700 difference will be due after the project has received financing. For further information please contact info@ prime-house.de or visit the website at www. prime-house.de.
Deadline: 1 July 2009
Multi Platforms Business School Multi Platform Business School (MPBS) is a five-day project-based workshop designed to give producers of audio-visual content a creative environment in which they can advance the development of their multi
platform project and address the distribution of linear and interactive formats in their respective markets. The workshop will take place from 4 - 8 August 2009 in Ronda (Malaga), Spain. Deadline: 9 June 2009 Fee: €1000 including subsistence costs and shuttle service between airports and Ronda. For further information please contact mdcourse@mediaschool.org or visit the website at www.mediaschool.org. Cartoon Master Finance Cartoon Master Finance will be the second Master of 2009, taking place in Munich, Germany in June 2009. Designed to keep the busy animation professional completely updated with all the latest developments, including theory, practice and networking. Deadline: 15 June 2009 Fee: €500 per participant, scholarships may be available for participants from new Member States. For further information, please contact masters@cartoon.skynet.be or visit the website at www.cartoon-media.be. Documentary Campus 3rd Open Training Session 2009 Documentaries: Secrets of Success. Documentary Campus has lined up a team of international experts to come to Greece and share the secrets of their success. Through about eight case studies, Documentary Campus will cover all essential aspects of documentary production and listen to producers, filmmakers and commissioning editors who will present the outstanding work they have done in the documentary business. Secrets of Success gives you real opportunities to discuss craft: editing, dramatic reconstruction, humour, dramatic arc, writing, pitching, distribution outreach and more. Deadline: 19 June 2009 Fee: Standard registration €170 including catering. East Europeans and students €110. Special rate for Reelisors €150. For further information please contact info@ documentary-campus.com or visit the website at www.documentary-campus.com. Interspace: TOSMI TOSMI focuses on Blender and features sessions, dedicated to modelling, animation, materials, lighting, rendering, compositing, sound and video editing. Participants are trained to work with open source solutions, and to customise them to their needs, enabling independent professionals to produce quality content at lower production costs. Deadline: 20 June 2009 Fee: €1000 per module including subsistence costs For further information, please
media news
contact info@tosmi.org or visit the website at www.tosmi.org. ACE 2009 ACE offers continuous training for advanced producers who have already produced at least one feature film. Participants need to have an internationally targeted feature film project in development. ACE helps independent film producers to improve their development and management skills; increase their knowledge of the international marketplace, its key industry players and of new technologies and widen the financing, distribution and business opportunities for their projects and companies. Deadline: 22 June 2009 Fee: €5,500 for the initial training year (which lasts exactly 14 months) including accommodation and subsistence at workshops. €700 annual membership fee to stay in the ACE Network after the first year. For further information please contact info@ ace-producers.com or visit the website www. ace-producers.com. ScripTeast 2009 ScripTeast is a programme for experienced authors, meant to help scriptwriters from Eastern and Central Europe to overcome the barriers they encounter. The method of work in ScripTeast is a week of individual analysis of each script by the creative advisors scriptwriters, directors and producers from different cultural backgrounds, who have experienced successes far beyond their own countries. After the initial workshop, the participant is encouraged to deliver a new draft of his/her script, in consultation with a chosen creative advisor, and re-work it with the aim of presenting it to professionals during sessions at Berlin and Cannes.
television. The last script development workshop will take place in Graz, Austria in November 2009 and applications are being taken now. Deadline: 1 July 2009 Fee: €150 fees to apply; participation fee €1,800 per writer/project; €900 for each additional person attached to the project For further information, please contact info@ sources2.de or visit the website at www. sources2.de. Fabulafilm: MAIA Workshops 2009 MAIA Workshops will be running three residential workshops this year. The third is called Marketing and Distribution in Development and will take place in Bratislava, Slovakia in October 2009. Deadline: 25 September 2009 Fee: €600 per person per workshop For further information, please contact maia@fabulafilm.com or visit the website at www.fabulafilm.com. Nipkow Programme 2009 The Nipkow Programme provides training to promising participants from across Europe in order to develop their business skills and thereby increase the quality of European co-production. Nipkow is responsive and flexible and works through project development; participants have specific activities tailored to their individual needs. Deadline: 30 November 2009 Fee: The Nipkow Programm awards grants for 3 to 6 months (€1500 per month) For further information, please contact nipkow-programm@t-online.de or visit the website at www.nipkow.de.
Dates and sessions: Workshop in Sterdyn, Poland: September 2009 On-line follow-up: October 2009 - January 2010 Evaluation Session: during Berlin International Film Festival, February 2010 Second on-line follow-up: February - April 2010 Final Session: during Cannes International Film Festival, May 2010 Deadline: 30 June 2009 Fee: €200 including subsistence costs and travel expenses. A limited number of bursaries may be available to participants from Eastern and Central Europe. For more information please contact info@scripteast.pl or visit the website at www.scripteast.pl. SOURCES 2 – Script Development Workshops SOURCES 2 is an advanced training programme for professionals working in the field of script and story development of feature-length projects for cinema and
For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact MEDIA Antenna Scotland on 0141 302 1776.
Alternatively, you can also email us at
Scotand@mediadeskuk.eu or visit our website:
www.mediadeskuk.eu MEDIA Antenna Scotland operates with the kind support of Scottish Screen and the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.
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eiff special
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Hannah McGill
“I’d advise people to seek out films they might not have heard of, particularly ones which they might never get a chance to see again on the big screen.”
Moon
The
2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival is settling into its new June berth in the festival calendar. And looking forward to her third festival is EIFF Artistic Director, Hannah McGill, who works all year to ensure that there’s the highest possible standard of cinematic entertainment on offer. She took a break from preparing the 2009 programme to provide her own personal guide to this year’s festival. “It’s hard to chose one particular favourite. As director, you end up with such a emotional investment in the whole programme,” she says. “But if I was advising people what to see, I’d suggest they do what I do when I get a festival programme: seek out films they might not have heard of, particularly ones which they might never get a chance to see again on the big screen.” It’s not easy to select individual films, but there’s a few which have already singled themselves out as particularly intriguing prospects. “There’s Baraboo, which is by Mary Sweeney, David Lynch’s long term collaborator, a beautiful film we’re very privileged to have the world premiere of. And from Australia, there’s Jonathan Auf Die Heide’s Van Diemen’s Land, the true story of
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Alexander Pearce, Australia’s most notorious convict,” she says. “And I’m also very pleased that we’re showing Moon, which stars the wonderful Sam Rockwell as an astronaut, and marks the directorial debut of Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie.” This year’s retrospective honours one of the most influential filmmakers alive, the incomparable director, producer and occasional actor, Roger Corman, while other directors attending including Joe Dante and Darren Aronofsky. And there’ll be a retrospective looking back at the work of television director John McKenzie and writer Peter McDougall. “It’s a nail-biting part of the process for everyone at the EIFF when we’re trying to pin down the final programme, but it’s very exciting when you finally get everything sorted, says McGill. “As well as honouring great work from the past, we’re also keen to showcase younger filmmakers; we’ve got animation Mary and Max, the feature debut by Adam Elliot, who won an Oscar for his animation Harvie Crumpet. And we’ve got The Girlfriend Experience, a new experimental film by Steven Soderbergh about a high-class prostitute and how she’s making her living in the days before the 2008 presidential
election. It stars real-life porn star Sacha Grey; you can quickly find out what kind of films people watch when you mention her name to people...” With new work from Scottish director David Mackenzie in the form of his Ashton Kutcher drama Spread, Gael Garcia Bernal re-teaming with his Y Tu Mama Tambien co-star Diego Luna for soccer flick Rudo Y Cursi, Robin Wright Penn in Rebecca Miller’s The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes in Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, plus sidebars on 3D technology and exhibition, and a visit from Lord David Puttnam, and you’ve got what is traditionally referred to as a ‘packed programme’. “Once the programme is released, it’s very exciting looking forward to all the different events and screenings,” says McGill. “I’ll need to lie down in the proverbial darkened room afterwards, or at least crash out with a Gray’s Anatomy boxed set, but that’s just the way it should be after you’ve worked your socks off at a festival like this.” www.edfilmfest.org.uk
news
The Girlfriend Experience
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Van Diemen’s Land
Spread
The Hurt Locker
Baraboo
Adam Elliot:Mary and Max
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eiff special
Richard Mowe’s
TOP EIFF 2009 films for roughcuts Film festivals are all about making choices – let’s face it no matter how hard you try you cannot see everything. Sometimes other people’s predilections are a good place to start. roughcuts asked film writer and festivals organiser Richard Mowe to make his personal selection
(in alphabetical order to avoid unfair favouritism)
Boogie Woogie Director: Duncan Ward, UK, 2009, 90 min 24 June 19:30 Cameo 1 27 June 15:45 Cameo 1 The long-awaited film version of Danny Moynihan’s art world romp has promise aplenty in its cast of Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham and Gurka freedom fighter Joanna Lumley. Charlotte Rampling drops in for a cameo. Set against the backdrop of contemporary London and the international art scene, director Duncan Ward casts his acerbic eye over the appetites and morality of some of its major players. When a well known dealer becomes aware of a priceless painting, he unleashes all his powers of persuasion to encourage its owners, an aging couple, to part with their prized possession. As his efforts spiral out of all proportion, enjoy the motley crew gathered here for our delectation - dealers, collectors, artists, and aspiring hangers-on who all vie with each other in the pecking order. Whether they succeed or fail rests on the dubious throw of the dice.
Comrades Director: Bill Douglas, UK, 1986, 182 min 22 Jun 13:30 Filmhouse 2
Days and Nights in the Forest Director: Satyajit Ray, India, 1970, 115 min 20 Jun 13:00 St John’s Church
Coming after the director’s esteemed trilogy the director’s final film had even more painful birth pangs, taking over nine years until it found a limited release. Bill Douglas, staying true to his style, tells of the Dorset labourers whose transportation to Australia became central to trade union history as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Although made on a broader canvas than his earlier work, with filming taking place in both England and Australia, it was also focussed on individual struggles. The gentry are played by established names such as Robert Stephens, but it is lesser known actors (and in particular Robin Soans as George Loveless) who hold our attention. Rivetting and fascinating.
One of Satyajit Ray’s most delicate and subtle films in which four young men spend their holiday in a country bungalow where they come into contact with the villagers, meet a rich family, and develop relationships with women. A series of episodes reveal the characters. Drunken sprees, social embarrassments, adventures with servants, officials, and, of course, romance. The four friends’ youthful arrogance gets them into a series of disastrous and often hilarious adventures. The picnic sequence recalls the work of Renoir with whom Ray worked. Essential viewing as part of Mark Cousins’s threeday extravaganza of Bengali Cinema.
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eiff special
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life Director: Remi Bezançon, France, 2008, 114 min 22 Jun 21:15 Cineworld 3 23 Jun 19:10 Cineworld 10
The Girlfriend Experience Director: Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2009, 77 min 24 June 21:30 Cineworld 27 June 20:45 Cineworld
The premise may be simple – the film recounts five decisive days in the life of a family of five. The period turns out to be particularly significant when nothing will ever be the same the following day. It begins when the son of the household Albert (newcomer Pio Marmaï) moves out to live on his own. As events unfold individually for MarieJeanne (Zabou Breitman), Robert (Jacques Gamblin) and their three children, the film shows the consequences on the other members of the family and the way they relate to each other. Respectively playing daughter Fleur and son Raphaël, Déborah François and Marc-André Grondin were awarded a 2009 César for most promising actress/ actor. The relationships are beautifully judged in a film that has a universal resonance.
Forget all the hoo-hah about real porn star Sasha Grey taking the leading role in Steven Soderbergh’s take on a $2000/hour call girl juggling a boyfriend and professional demands. With a screenplay penned by Ocean's Thirteen writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien, this marks a return to the Soderbergh of sex, lies and videotape in which, you may recall, James Spader’s character recorded women talking about their sexuality. After the rigours of the epic two-part Che, The Girlfriend Experience is an edgy and indy exercise shot in 16 days on high-definition video. Soderbergh aims to show that Grey, far from being exploited by her clients, always remains in complete control, and also reveals how her boyfriend (Chris Santos, a personal trainer), manages to cope with his partner’s activities. Undeniably gripping.
Fish Tank Director: Andrea Arnold, UK, 2009, 120 min 21 June 20:15 Cameo 1 24 June 15:00 Cameo 1
The House of Usher Director: Roger Corman, USA, 1960, 80 min 18 June 13:00 Filmhouse 1
On the strength of Red Road, Andrea Arnold’s first feature and winner of a special Cannes jury prize, there is a huge air of anticipation about Fish Tank which has as its central character Mia (Katie Jarvis), a volatile 15-year-old, who is always in trouble and who has become excluded from school and ostracised by her friends. One hot summer's day her mother (Kierston Wareing) brings home a mysterious and charismatic stranger called Connor (Michael Fassbender from Hunger), who promises to change everything and bring love into all their lives. Mia, naturally rebellious, is more interested in a traveller called Kyle (Harry Treadaway). Arnold evokes some of the themes in her Academy Award-winning short Wasp, and weaves a highly original narrative.
In the days when Roger Corman was starting out he managed to persuade American International Pictures to give him enough money to fund a movie based on Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. It marked the first of a run of Poe adaptations, often featuring Vincent Price, but it was one of the best. It opens with Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) riding through a twisted, burned-out forest. His destination is the titular house, where he finds himself most unwelcome. Despite his efforts to whisk his fianceé Madeline (Myrna Fahey) away from the clutches of her tragic, haunted brother Roderick (Price), Philip finds himself stymied. In order to save his beloved, he must unravel why Roderick believes the family line is cursed, and how Madeline fits into this obsession. Despite the limited budget it all looks opulent and Corman’s ingenuity surmounts any obstacles.
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Humpday Director: Lynn Shelton, USA, 2009, 94 min 23 June 19:00 Cameo 1 24 June 22:15 Cameo 1
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Director: Rebecca Miller, USA, 2008, 93 min 18 June 20:30 Cineworld 19 June 19:00 Cineworld
The third feature from Seattle photographer/filmmaker Lynn Shelton was made on the Mike Leigh model of gifted actors improvising off a well-rehearsed and prepared series of scenes. The technique works well for this relationship comedy in which happily married Ben (Mark Duplass) feels compelled to break out of the confines of his life when his old college chum Andrew (Joshua Leonard) turns up out of nowhere and lures him to a free-wheeling party where they dare each other to make a porn film starring themselves. How is Ben's straight-laced wife Anna (Alycia Delmore) going to react? No matter how implausible, every move that these characters make is understandable. Inspired by a straight friend's reaction to seeing gay porn at Seattle's Hump Day, Shelton started thinking about straight men and gay sex and the rigidity and fluidity of their identities. Witty, insightful and aware.
This intense and claustrophobic drama gives Robin Wright Penn a gift of a role as Pippa Lee, a woman in her prime who is a happily with two grown-up children. Over the years she has honed her skills as a generous hostess and an excellent cook. Her marriage to legendary publisher Herb Lee (Alan Arkin), who is 30 years her senior, is a relationship based on partnership, and it goes without saying that she will accompany her husband during the next phase of his life. When Herb turns 80 the couple moves out of their luxury home in New York and into a formidable retirement village in Connecticut. This is an idyllic world that promises to allow the pair to spend their remaining years together in quiet comfort. But instead of tranquillity the moves proves the catalyst for Lee to confront the demons from her past which she had previously managed to ignore, partly through her relationship with a younger drifter (Keanu Reeves). Beautifully written and observed with performances to match particularly Penn, Reeves and Arkin.
Mesrine: Killer Instinct Director: Jean-François Richet, France, 2009, 113 min 20 June 18:45 Cineworld 21 June 18:20 Cineworld
Seraphine Director: Martin Provost, France, 2008, 125 min 23 June 20:15 Cineworld 26 June 17:45 Cineworld
Mesrine Public Enemy No 1 Director: Jean-François Richet, France, 2009, 133 min 20 June 21:05 Cineworld 22 June 18:15 Cineworld
Jacques Mesrine, the restless son of middle-class parents, went off to fight in Algeria and came back to start a new life, as bank robber, killer and escape artist. He thumbed his nose at his bourgeois past, taunted his jailers, held the rich for ransom, played hide-andseek with the press, and captivated the post-1968 generation of intellectuals with his anarchistic stance. He was also a serial collector of women. Now he’s the subject of two films by Jean-François Richet which explore and explode the myth. Vincent Cassel for whom the long-awaited project became a personal quest, plays him to Scarfacelike perfection.
Martin Provost turns his camera on a little-known yet endlessly fascinating artist known as Séraphine de Senlis, a simple housekeeper whose brilliantly colourful canvases adorn some of the most famous galleries in the world. His fictionalised portrait of her is a revelation mainly because of Yolande Moreau's performance she literally becomes the artist. When Seraphine moves to Senlis the locals do not take her seriously, believing her to be an ignorant housekeeper. The German art critic Wilhelm Uhde discovered her work and helped to set up an exhibition as well as giving her money to buy time for her to paint. Besides Moreau, the film’s other main strength is the way Provost uses a simple and direct approach to his subject.
Richard Mowe is a freelance film journalist and director of the French Film Festival UK (November 2009) and co-director of the Italian Film Festival UK (April 2010). He is also a director of Scottish-based distribution company CineFile. 16
training
17
eiff special
Film Restoration -
Bringing the Magic Back By Sara Carlsson, Park Circus
“An
audience makes a conscious choice to go and see a film on the big screen. The thing is, now that people can buy high definition DVDs and TVs, if a film is showing on the big screen, they expect it to look at least as good as the copy sitting on their shelf at home,” says Nick Varley, Joint Managing Director of Park Circus Films, the leading distributor of classic and back catalogue films for theatrical exhibition. At this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, Park Circus is proud to present a brand new 35mm print of one of the most beautiful films of all time – The Red Shoes. Ahead of a panel discussion about Digital Restoration, preceding the screening of the film, I catch up with Nick to discuss the different methods of making a classic film look its very best. To fully understand what happens to a film print during the restoration process, one needs to take a step back and look at how film is made, what film actually is. “The camera negative - what comes out of the camera, developed and then cut down to the director’s vision of the film - is the primary asset,” explains Nick. “From that original negative we make, what we call with colour film, an ‘inter-positive’, which is a high density positive image of the negative. Or, for black and white film, we produce what we call a ‘fine grain’, which again is very high density, a black and white positive print.” “Thereafter, apart from being used to create the print for the premiere of the film, the camera negative is never used again and is put into storage. From the inter-positive, we produce what we call an ‘inter-negative’, which is the negative that is used to make the copies that goes to cinemas”, he continues. Naturally, repeated use of an inter-negative or an inter-positive creates wear and tear, damage that starts to reflect in the quality of the print. Indeed, the minute prints are made from a negative it starts to deteriorate. The colour fades and the sound deteriorates, and at some point, the studio has to make a decision about how to ensure that the cinema audience experiences the best possible presentation. There are two ways of doing this: preservation is merely the process of ensuring that the
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original elements are preserved and kept in a suitable, usually temperature controlled, environment, whereas restoration is the process of using the original asset and creating a new negative or digital master as near as possible to the vision of the director. A film print can be restored through two different processes. The more traditional photochemical option involves cleaning the negative frame-by-frame, by hand, and creating new film elements in the laboratory with chemicals. With new technology, digital restoration makes it possible to scan the best available negative, clean and colour-correct it digitally, and output a new negative - a ‘digital intermediate negative’. One clear advantage with digital restoration is that you can make as many negatives as you like, by using the digital file. Hence, the new digital cinema master and the release prints can all be made from the same digital file. What are then the visible differences in restoring a film photo-chemically and digitally? “Doing something digitally allows you to do something far more sleek… you are able to take away more blemishes. Photo-chemically, you may be able to take some dust out and solve some light scratching, but you can’t make the film look pristine and perfect,” Nick says. However, as Nick points out, there are dangers with being too thorough when it comes to film restoration. “You can restore and clean up too much and it becomes false. You are not trying to create something that looks like it was made today; you are looking to create something that, yes, was made in 1945, but we are using modern technology to make the film look as good as possible. Personally, I think that you should never do more than you need to. You are there to preserve and restore the filmmaker’s original vision, and once you start doing things that interfere with that, I think that’s wrong. I think the majority of people do.” Looking back at film history, since the 1900s, around half of all films made are lost for all time. “The early silent films were produced on highly
flammable nitrate film stock. Into the 1950’s, the studios were keeping film on nitrate and every so often the fire inspector would come and take a negative away – and that would be the film gone. The last 30 years, we have become more aware of film restoration and preserving film heritage,” Nick says. However, rights owners must prioritise what titles they choose to restore. If film negatives have been lost or damaged, and are in imminent danger of deteriorating, then it becomes a priority. Of course, it would also have to be financially viable. This is where Park Circus comes in. The Glasgow-based distribution company assists in the theatrical exploitation of the restorations, ensuring that some of the rights owner/studio investment in the restoration can be recouped through exposure in cinemas. “The rights owners have an obligation to look after the films, however, there is also a profit-making obligation. There is no point in spending substantial amounts of money restoring a film if nobody wants to see it,” Nick clarifies. “From a commercial point of view, we will advise on the potential revenue from a particular title. In addition to theatrical revenues, the rights owner will also look at other possible revenue sources, such as DVD and television sales.” One of the biggest film restoration projects that Park Circus has been involved in to date was the restoration of eight key David Lean titles, including Oliver Twist, Brief Encounter and Blithe Spirit. “It was the centenary of the birth of David Lean, and the films were in a dreadful state, but the David Lean Foundation very kindly provided funding, which enabled ITV, the owners of the films, along with the BFI to fully restore them. Park Circus was involved in that project with theatrical sales, and these restorations have now appeared on the big screen in over twenty countries.” Generally, film restoration is financed by the film companies themselves. Investment from a Foundation, like with the Lean films, is very rare but not unusual. Brief Encounter is one of Nick’s personal favourite restorations, along with South Pacific.
Red Shoes
Red Sh
oes
fic
South Paci
BEFORE AFTER
Grading Example “Goldwyn and Fox really spent an incredible amount of money on that film [South Pacific]. The film had so many layers to it and was filmed in 70mm with colour effect changes that in the 1950’s were quite difficult to achieve. The negatives were in a horrendous state. They restored the film digitally and produced a new 70mm print and digital cinema master - the colours are so rich and the preservation of the original 6-track sound is perfect. Everything is flawless.” The Red Shoes has been restored many times, in one form or another. The last one was in the 1980’s by the British Film Institute. The latest project is American-led, and the ravishing classic from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger has undergone a painstaking restoration over 18 months, made possible by Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and
Red Shoes
UCLA Film & Television Archive, in association with The British Film Institute, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd, and Janus Films. Every stage of the process has been supervised by Bob Gitt of UCLA, and approved by Thelma Shoonmaker-Powell and Martin Scorsese. “Martin Scorsese is a great fan of the Powell/ Pressburger films, and his editor Thelma Shoonmaker, Michael Powell’s widow, is very passionate about making sure that the films don’t waste away,” Nick discloses. Now when the restoration is complete, Park Circus and ITV will make The Red Shoes available commercially to cinemas, DVD and on television.
Circus’ Nick Varley) all the questions you may have about film restoration, and will give you further insight into film heritage - what happens to films that are made, how films are looked after, how they are restored and why they end up looking so good back on the big screen. The event takes place on Thursday 18 June at 4pm in Filmhouse 1. Other Park Circus titles showing at EIFF 2009 are Shallow Grave and selected cult classics from Roger Corman. For screening details, please visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk. For more information about Park Circus, please visit www.parkcircus.com.
The panel discussion prior to the screening of The Red Shoes at EIFF will give you an opportunity to ask specialists (including Park
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eiff special
A Kind of Seeing: Scotland’s Documentary Heritage By Janet McBain, Curator, Scottish Screen Archive
Edinburgh on Parade
There is a certain amount of pleasure to be taken in the knowledge that in the 1960s a corporate film about the strength, wonder and optimism of the Scottish steel industry at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh steel mills, was snapped up by Hollywood giant MGM to screen in UK cinemas alongside Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the studio’s dancin’ hollerin’ hootenanny of a Cinemascope musical. The confidence to even countenance this cross-fertilisation of celluloid is characteristic of the greater philosophy behind Scottish documentary. The Big Mill was proposed by the Films of Scotland Committee, led creatively by Glasgow-based Templar Film Studios with sponsor Colvilles Ltd footing the bill.
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his was creative enterprise drawn by encouragement. The great 1938 Empire Exhibition was held in Glasgow and sparked a national outpouring channelled into a series of seven documentaries overseen by John Grierson. It also marked the inception of the Films of Scotland Committee, committed to promoting Scotland and Scottish life to audiences both at home and abroad without the kilts and cabers. Or public funding. Pitches for projects had to be resourceful as Scottish production companies found opportunities to be creative with what might appear to be a restrictive form – the factual film as publicity tool. And unfortunately there isn’t enough space here to do justice to the beauty of Orcadian Margaret Tait’s Rose Street (1956), which reaches out from a parallel independent self-financed world. According to the promotional material for Eddie McConnell’s 1967 visual poem A Kind of Seeing, “Give me freedom!” is “the perennial cry of the artist who feels his imagination cramped when given a restrictive brief”. That cry echoes still in a year of coming home to re-discover Scottish roots. This event is a celebration of breaking through that restrictive brief to find the different ways of seeing Scotland and Scottish life.
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A Kind of Seeing: Scotland’s Documentary Heritage will be screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Thursday 18 June 2009 at 17:30 in the Filmhouse Cinema, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh. Followed by open discussion. Tickets are available from www.edfilmfest.org.uk and the EIFF box office on 0131 623 8030. Face of Scotland (dir Basil Wright, 1938) One of the seven documentaries made for the 1938 Empire Exhibition, Basil Wright (co-director of Night Mail) sets out to answer the questions: “what and why is the Scot?” Rose Street (dir Margaret Tait, 1956) The minutiae of daily life on Edinburgh's Rose Street in the 1950s is presented in this impressionistic observational piece by the director of Blue Black Permanent. A Kind of Seeing (dir Edward McConnell, 1967) The colours and shapes of the Scottish landscape with music by Frank Spedding. The Big Mill (dir Laurence Henson, 1963) The production of sheet steel at the Ravenscraig and Gartcosh Works of Colvilles Ltd, Lanarkshire. Edinburgh on Parade (dir Mark Littlewood, 1970) The streets of Edinburgh at festival time.
Rose Street
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eiff special Running in Traffic
doing it the
By Stuart Mcintyre
dabhand way W
ithin the confines of a room not much bigger than your average kitchen, Glasgow-based production company Dabhand Films is up to its neck in passion and film projects. And for company directors Bryan Larkin and Marc Twynholm, anything less is just not worth it. It started a few years ago, in 2004 to be exact, when the recently graduated drama students ventured into the entertainment industry and tried their hand at making their own short film that, Bryan says, “Miraculously made it to the Sundance Film Festival. It was a stroke of luck that paved the way.” Taken aback by their sudden recognition at one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world they formed a business and Dabhand was born, and they have never looked back since. “It would drive us crazy to be like those actors who are always complaining about the lack of work coming their way, so we decided to make our own films and create those roles for
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ourselves. Marc brought the business sense and an order to things that I really didn’t have any clue about,” explains Bryan. Over the next two years some professional work sustained roles in independent film and television for the actors. Bryan has appeared in a number of familiar Scottish TV shows and plays the lead in the new BBC drama Townsville, with another two feature films set for release this year, Miles Away, and American indie flick, The Red Machine. Today the duo are equally as passionate in their quest to develop their own projects as they are in expanding their CV. “Dabhand Films is essentially a platform for our own creative aspirations as actors and filmmakers and for those with whom we work. By undertaking challenging corporate projects for a small network of clients we can deliver some quality work for them meanwhile building our own business and developing new skills and projects. We produce corporate videos and other projects to fund the equipment of their developing company to oversee
any small scale production. This enables us to be self sufficient towards our own aspirations for the company in the long term. Adopting this mindset makes it a lot easier to get things done and helps enormously with networking, especially when you have so much more to offer,” says Marc. In 2006 another two short films went into production, Miracle of Silence and SCENE., which eventually put both actors on screen together. The latter has blazed a trail at film festivals across the world and was
recently sold to Japan. With this growing success and the collection of awards, including the BAFTA Scotland award for Bryan’s acting performance, further inspiring their ambitions, they moved to the next level by venturing into feature film production and knew they had a challenge on their hands. This was always going to be difficult because, as the two openly admit, “We’re not really sure we’d call ourselves producers; we’re filmmakers and as such are prepared to do what it takes to make it all happen.”
Dabhand Films at the BAFTA New Talent Awards 2009
Dabhand Films’ debut feature, Running in Traffic, will screen as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Monday 22 June at 21.25 and Friday 26 June at 21.00 at Cineworld.
Dale Corlett, Bryan Larkin, Kenneth Cranham and Marc Twynholm
Bryan Larkin, SCENE
And do it they did. In December of 2007 their debut feature film went into production with little financial backing to pull it through the dozens of locations, cast of plenty and four hours of daylight each day. Produced in association with Jigsaw Productions with Dale Corlett as director and Alcoba Films’ producer Abigail Howkins, the film itself, entitled Running in Traffic is a dramatic and semi-autobiographical tale based in Glasgow on Bryan’s own personal experience of losing his father to cancer in 2006. The film is now complete, and is soon to be released at festivals across the world. It features Bryan in the lead role
of Joe Cullen, legendary British actor Kenneth Cranham, Polish actress Anna Kerth, Atta Yaqub, Anne Downie and a host of other emerging onscreen talent. Although Dabhand Films is an almost entirely self-financed venture with little in the way of financial backing, it does not deter the production team from achieving the impossible. “We have had the luxury of not having to meet anybody else’s deadlines and demands but our own. We have creative control and were met with an even more creative challenge because of the lack of resources - proving that money is not the driving
force behind movie making. So we really have to thank those who left us to get on with it, as much as those who dedicated their time and talents to our projects.” Both agree that making films their way is not really advisable unless the project itself is a labour of love for all involved. It is what will see you through until the very end. “The people involved in every department are responsible for that and you are responsible for them,” they say, "which can be a demanding task, as people move onto other projects, and you remain obligated to making everybody’s contribution count." In March of this year producers Marc, Bryan and Abigail Howkins, beat off over 200 film and television productions for this year’s BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award for Best Producer - Dabhand’s second BAFTA - proving that in spite of a miniscule financial outlay, a quality feature film can be produced with a wealth of talent. They stress that most of this is down to the time and dedication it took to develop the script, work closely with the
actors, and the hard work that went into preparing for principal photography, and editing the film together. “There is a long list of people who brought this together and they know who they are and so do we. We enjoy the entire process of filmmaking from script writing right through to editing. Even though we’d agree that our first love is acting we believe that we have the best of both worlds. People will pigeon hole you but it is just not the way things work around here. You really have to get out there and do it. Find your passion and pursue it. You can’t wait for anybody to hand opportunities to you, you have to create them for yourself, especially nowadays.” Dabhand Films have three new projects, in development and have their sights set on an international collaboration in America, Canada or Germany next, and are already writing for their favourite actors.
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Richard Jobson’s fourth feature, New Town Killers, is a tough, streetwise fantasy in which blue-collar hero Sean (James Anthony Pearson) is pitched into a life-ordeath game of hide and seek on the streets of Edinburgh against heavily resourced villain Alastair (Dougray Scott). Eddie Harrison examines the story behind homegrown Scottish cinema’s first real foray into action, the most commercial of cinematic genres. 24
S
hot in Edinburgh over a five week period in early 2008, New Town Killers will get a multiplex release through High Flyers distribution company across the UK from 12 June. It’s a genre-based action film, which features a David and Goliath struggle in the mould of crowdpleasing films like John McTiernan’s Die Hard. But it also benefits from a ‘torn from the headlines’ subject matter; Jobson’s prescient film is timed to perfection to point an accusatory finger at the bête-noirs of 2009: investment bankers. “Recently, people have asked me, ‘Where the hell did you get the story from?’” says Jobson. “All I can say is that I lucked out in terms of catching the wave of what’s happening. I saw the way that people like hedge-fund managers conducted themselves. They seemed to have such a sense of entitlement about them, yet it was obvious that their way of doing things was one that couldn’t be maintained forever. I didn’t know the financial meltdown would happen in the way it has, but I could feel that things were about to change.” New Town Killers’s plot, in which a rich businessman engages his quarry in a hunting game, is familiar from films such as The Most Dangerous Game, Surviving the Game and John Woo’s Hard Target. But while Jobson is well versed in how the story has become a cinematic staple, he’s also keen to add his own political and social agendas. “Although there’s a degree of stylisation in New Town Killers, I’m not trying to make a high-concept film like, say, Crank 2. I’m trying to use the genre to look at a bigger picture, socially and politically. There’s a sub-plot in this film involving Sean’s sister Alice. She’s one of those people who have been led to believe that they can buy a place for themselves in the world with their credit-card, and end up in debt and highly vulnerable,” says Jobson. “I’d originally had the idea while doing charity work with kids in Edinburgh, and met plenty who have a similar situation to Alice. They start out with the same dreams and ambitions as anyone else, but it’s as if they’re prevented from doing that by an invisible barrier,” he says. “And when they fail, they end up socially invisible. Seeing young people in that world gave me a quiet rage, and I wanted to make a film that would address that young audience, and try and put
forward positive characters that they could believe in.” Such socially aware elements might well suggest a documentary approach, or the sincere semi-documentary work of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach. But to reach a young audience, Jobson has attempted to reach out to a teenage audience by synthesising an eclectic series of influences. “My reference points come from film noir: The Third Man, Don Siegel’s The Killers, or even David Fincher’s The Game. But there’s something I didn’t get from the cinema of the west, and I found it in the east with Old Boy and Sympathy for Mr Vengence, or Takeshi Miike and Johnnie To,” says Jobson. “But there were also lots of genre cliches I wanted to stay away from. I didn’t want Sean’s character to be some kind of ex-special forces, indestructible Jason Bourne-style super-soldier. He has to seem real to the audience; when he falls, it hurts.” Action films have an obvious appeal in dubbed or subtitled appeal, but despite the historical action portrayed in Rob Roy and Braveheart, there are few examples made by Scottish filmmakers. An action film needs an action star, and Jobson found his in Dougray Scott, who got a few high-flying kicks at Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, and also featured in the recent video game adaptation Hit Man. With his black Armani coat and his Maserati, Scott’s Alistair Raskolnikov is a villain to match the best. “Alistair is a very twisted character,” says Dougray Scott. “Richard told me that he wrote the character specifically for me, which I’m not sure is a compliment or not. There’s a strong nihilistic element to the way that Alistair sees the world; he understands the social injustice that’s going on around him, and in a way, he relishes it. He’s a scary character to play, and I think that scariness comes from his complete detachment about what he does, however violent that might be.” As Scott and his associate Jamie (Alastair Mackenzie) pursue Sean through the pubs, clubs, backstreets and rooftops of Scotland’s capital city, both Scott and Jobson faced a demanding schedule of late night shoots and freezing conditions. “When you’re aiming for such a high degree of stylisation in the action sequences, there’s
inevitable budget restrictions, and the challenge is to come up with ways of getting around that. We need to see the running kid in an almost elemental way, and that means we have to literally see him jump over cavernous spaces,” says Jobson. “A long chase has the potential to be boring once it’s up there on the screen, so you have to find a way to crank up the gears, creating different kids of anxiety in each situation, making sure that there’s a palpable tension all the way through.” “One of the most exciting things for me was the geography of the film. Obviously it’s now got a global resonance because so many of the hedge fund managers chose to live somewhere that’s dripping with gold like Edinburgh’s New Town area,’” says Scott. “New Town Killers has a story that encompasses very separate areas of society, from the New Town to Muirhouse, and that quality of providing an overview of society gives the film something of the quality of a fable. The locations are central to what the film is about.” Scott and Jobson have also agreed to work on a future adaptation of Macbeth, aiming to create a Sin City-style background to Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. Storyboards are being drawn with the help of a development award from Scottish Screen, with production tentatively scheduled for 2010. Both stories are violent, but Jobson believes that there’s no other way to address the serious themes involved. “It’s a violent film, certainly, but I don’t think we use violence for sensation’s sake in the way that, say, the Hostel films do. We’re more about capturing the malaise or maladies of society than just creating thrills,” says Jobson. “The key thing here is the perspective of the story. If it was from the point of view of Alistair and Jamie, it would be an arthouse film, but it’s not, we’re appealing to a younger audience, the people who buy Halo or Grand Theft Auto, and we’re doing it by telling the story through the POV of Sean. That puts a different spin on the story, and hopefully our audiences will enjoy that.”
New Town Killers is released on 12 June. Scottish Screen invested in the film with National Lottery funds through its Content Production Fund.
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cannes film festival Red Carpet
Laid Off
in Cannes
By Annalise Davis, Wilder Films
W
riter/director Zam and I recently attended Cannes Film Festival with the support of Scottish Screen. We were there with our low budget feature comedy, Laid Off, the development of which has been supported by Scottish Screen and UK Film Council. The planning began weeks beforehand as we identified who would be useful to talk to whilst over there. Arriving in Cannes without a clear strategy can be overwhelming and wasteful so it was vital to prepare. Luckily the festival has a great resource you can access, the cinando website (www.cinando.com). Essentially it’s Facebook for the film industry. It has photos and information so I was able to recognise people in Cannes and introduce myself. The trip began with the Producers' Breakfast, attended by key European companies. I was lucky enough to be chosen by the UK Film Council as one of their Producers in the Spotlight, so I was introduced by Lenny Crooks, Head of the New Cinema Fund, who spoke about Laid Off as a project he was very keen to support. Having this kind of intro made it very easy to talk about the project during the networking session afterwards.
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Through this, I was able to set up more meetings for the week ahead. Zam and I then attended the New Cinema Fund lunch, another good way of meeting even more people who could help finance our project. This was followed by a round of meetings with sales agents, distributors and financiers. We were able to talk about the film in more detail with Zam presenting his vision of the film. This created a lot of positive interest in the script, which we'll send out immediately after Cannes as a follow up. Just having the support of Scottish Screen and the UK Film Council opened doors to us that would otherwise have been closed, as both provided a great stamp of approval. The Scottish Screen reception was equally invaluable in helping create interest in the project. Lenny Crooks and Robbie Allen had been talking to people about the film, so we had several sales agents and UK distributors approach us to talk about it in more detail - a welcome change from the usual chasing we have to do. By the middle of the week, Cannes starts to quieten down. But I stayed out there for a few days longer, as a short film I made last
year After Tomorrow, with writer/director Emma Sullivan, had been selected as part of the Official Competition - one of only 9 short films up for a Palme d'Or. Suddenly I was seeing Cannes in a whole new light - the festival moved us into a central hotel, and we had a team of people in the festival office looking after us. We had a red carpet screening on the final Saturday, then attended the awards ceremony and party on the Sunday night - a very exciting way to end the festival. Thanks to Scottish Screen's support, Zam and I were able to meet the people we needed to, and create awareness about the Laid Off, that we would never have achieved in the UK. It really made me appreciate the value of these festivals, and was a vital part of our preparation for the film. Annalise Davis and Zam Salim attended Cannes Film Festival 2009 with support from Scottish Screen National Lottery through the Opportunities Fund.
cannes film festival Cannes
The Projection Room
The Palais
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cannes film festival
Hazel Baillie
By the Grace of God at Cannes 2009 By Hazel Baillie, editor of By the Grace of God
I
t is two nights before our NFTS Masters Graduation show and we are still desperately trying to finish the online of By the Grace of God, the film I have edited and been involved in day and night for what seems like an eternity. A long and painstaking production for everyone in the team, yet we still hold a strong galvanic feeling of excitement, anticipation and hope. Hope, that the audience will see and feel in the film what we have set out to achieve from the very beginning: a fresh, engaging, emotive piece of cinema.
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At 38 minutes long, we feared the film would not be eligible for most festival categories, but rather than cut it down to half its duration or stretch it out to feature film length, we chose not to compromise. Having faith in the film we were making and allowing it to be the length it craved, praying that somewhere out there, a festival programmer would fall in love with it and invite it to screen. Imagine our delight when on this stressful night, we are informed that that very programmer is in fact Laurent Jacob of the Cannes International Film Festival. Our jumping up and down like excited children at a birthday party is immediately followed by a long sigh of relief and moment of contemplation as it all sinks in.
Here we are, only just outputting our final master copy of the film, about to plan our first trip to Cannes to see it premiere as part of the festival's Official Selection. The run up to the festival sweeps by so fast. Before we know it we are collecting our accreditation at the Palais gossiping about the fact that our Jury is made up of figures such as Ferid Boughedir, actress Ziyi Zhang, and renowned director John Boorman. Although our premiere doesn't have the red carpet glitz and glamour of the new Tarantino or Ang Lee films, we dress in our finest and take pride in our position in the programme. The audience turn out is great and the butterflies begin to flutter in our stomachs as the lights go down. As the Cannes film festival opening logo
cannes film festival photo by Paula Garcia
By the Grace of God
animates with it's soft, magical score, an overwhelming rush of emotion comes over me. For that small perfect moment, everything falls into place. All we have worked so hard for, right up there on screen at one of the biggest film festivals in the world, and to top it off, John Boorman is watching! I have seen every frame a thousand times but I enjoyed the screening as if it was my first. The atmosphere in the auditorium was electric and the audience reaction and comments following were fantastic. The experience of showing the film to such an eclectic mix of film-lovers from all over the world, and the opportunity to meet like-minded people who I might otherwise have never come across, was invaluable. I
feel I've formed many potential relationships for future funding or collaborations through the networking opportunities to promote ourselves and the film. All this, plus of course the Cannes sun, sea, parties and premieres, has made it an unforgettable trip and the first of many I hope.
L-R: Dan Stafford-Clark (DOP), James Spencer (Production Designer), Stuart Earl (Composer), Laura Castelli (Colour Grader), Ralitza Petrova (Director), Michelle Eastwood (Producer), Paula Gracia (Production Manager), and Hazel Baillie (Editor)
By the Grace of God will also now be screening as part of the Trailblazers program at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. I'm really looking forward to showing the film on home turf, and we'd be delighted if the audience turn out and reaction was just as strong so hope to see you all there! Hazel Ballie attended Cannes Film Festival 2009 with support from Scottish Screen National Lottery through the Opportunities Fund.
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cannes film festival
Flying Scotsman Films in Cannes by Peter Broughan
C
annes means many things to many people, although not as many as usual this year if the reports of the sellers are to believed. The international industry is currently facing a massive crisis on several fronts at once, assailed as it is by changing leisure tastes, internet and DVD piracy, and the global financial crisis.
Taking a sundowner with the staff of a very prominent London sales company in their office on Friday evening I was struck by their looks of gloom and worry as we looked down an almost deserted Croisette. It was a bad Cannes for them and for pretty much everyone else too, by all accounts. But still the party has to go on, and go on it did as surely as they partied on The Titanic even as the waves lapped at the ankles of
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the orchestra. I felt a mixture of mild regret and envy, but also considerable relief, as I retired to bed early every night. I confess that I don’t party – ok, can’t party – as well as I used to, especially when there were real targets to pursue this year. My first main focus was on attending, as I did last year, the morning breakfast meetings of the Producers’ Network. These round-table sessions offer a menu of different high-level guests from around the world, presenting talks to whoever gets there first to occupy one of the ten or so chairs at every table. The advantages of the sessions were many and various. It is an opportunity to refresh one’s knowledge of what is happening around the globe, but also to get privileged access to funders and others who can often be very hard to meet. When the formal sessions finished, the queues immediately formed to press flesh and throw ‘elevator pitches’ at the great and the good. The other main benefit is the chance to network with other producers, and as a result of just such a meeting last year I am hopeful of participating in a massive multicountry project being planned by a young producer from Belgium - or Flanders, to be precise, where they make 8 features a year. Since the region is only slightly more
populous than Scotland, this is another statistic that demonstrates we are not getting our fair share of the movie action in this part of the world. My other priority was to pull together the final strands of an international coproduction we hope to shoot early in 2010 in Germany, Sweden and Scotland. The focus there was on meetings with the coproduction partners and sales companies, and as soon as all that was achieved, I got on a plane two days early to return to sanity. And to reasonable prices. Cannes was always relatively expensive, but this year it was just silly. If the good burghers of Cannes want the good times to continue, they might want to address this outrageous fact. Otherwise in these straightened times the party might just slip below the waves for good.
Flying Scotsman Films attended Cannes Film Festival with support from Scottish Screen National Lottery through the Opportunities Fund.
production news
A touch of tartan sleuthing with a French accent
By Richard Mowe
O
ne of France’s favourite actresses has dyed her fair hair red and donned the kilt to take on the role of a Scottishstyle Mata-Hari in a film that had three weeks of exterior shooting in May and June around various locations in Edinburgh, the Peebles area, and in Falkland in Fife. Catherine Frot who appears in the current release in UK cinemas, a psychological thriller Mark of an Angel (L’empreinte de l’ange), incarnates Imogène McCarthy, a member of the McLeod clan, who works as a secretary in the Admiralty in London in the private eye spoof, adapted from the original novel by Charles Exbrayat, whose work has resonances of Leslie Charteris (creator of The Saint) and other thriller writers of the period. He wrote a number of novels set in Scotland including the Imogène series. Set in the sixties, Frot’s character, who has a penchant for rugby, bagpipes and especially whisky, finds herself entrusted to deliver the plans for a revolutionary new aircraft simply because her disarming and zany exterior is unlikely to arouse suspicions. The official synopsis continues: “As she gets onto the train which will take her back to Scotland, Imogène is unaware of what awaits her: a plot which is beyond her, three merciless Bolshevik agents, but above all, Samuel Tyler, her great childhood sweetheart, who has been shattered by a terrible secret. Danger, honour and love… Imogène to the fore!” In the original book Imogène's home town is Callander but the filmmakers have opted to shoot in the Peebles area instead. Frot, the daughter of an engineer and a teacher, has won awards for her stage and film work, notably a César (a French equivalent of an Oscar) for her performance in Cedric Klapisch’s Un air de famille. She is the winner of a Molière (the National Theatre Award of France), and a nominee for seven additional Césars. She has also appeared in film comedies among them La Dilettante, and Les soeurs fachées.
“I am very excited about coming to Scotland,” she said. “People tell me I have a certain Scottish allure so perhaps I will stumble across some ancestors! Most of the time we’re going to be in the countryside and lot of the action takes place around a river. It’s a burlesque adventure and I think it will be very funny. My character is supposed to deliver a secret dossier to an important contact in Scotland, but she is the kind of person no one would suspect. I guess it has a bit The 39 Steps about it mixed in with The Pink Panther and it will be very stylised.”
eighties when the character lost her Scottish identity and became a Bretonne. Two of Frot’s most recent screen appearances have been in French adaptations of Agatha Christie novels for director Pascal Thomas: Mon petit doigt m’a dit and Le crime est notre affaire (taken from respectively By the Pricking of My Thumb and Partners in Crime). During the latter her co-star André Dussollier donned a kilt, perhaps giving Frot a taste for Scotland. Exbrayat (his first name, Charles, never appears on the cover of his novels) was born in 1906 and died in 1989, and came from Edinburgh's twin town Nice. He wrote over a hundred books and gave his name to a literary prize.
The film which is being made for the French company UGC on a budget of some €17million, had a promotional reel on view at the Cannes Film Festival. It represents the directorial debut of Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier who wrote last year’s Gallic mega-hit Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks) as well as Astérix at the Olympic Games. Co-starring alongside Frot is Lambert Wilson, a prolific French leading man who received worldwide exposure as the villainous Merovingian in the final two instalments of the Matrix franchise. He plays a senior intelligence officer.
Ros Davis, Production Liaison Manager for Edinburgh Film Focus, the film office for Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Scottish Borders said: “Imogène is the second big European production we have attracted to our area this year (the other one is Whiteout for German TV). The benefits of our filmfriendly reputation and great locations together with the weak pound are really working in our favour at the moment.” Sarah Cuthbert-Kerr, Communications Manager at the National Trust for Scotland said: “Falkland and the surrounding countryside is a wonderful location and is sure to look great on the big screen. We hope this international exposure will encourage more visitors to explore this lovely part of Scotland.”
Frot’s character previously has been camped up on French television by the actress Dominique Lavanant in a series in the
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festival report
The team in Beijing
Cinema of By Tamara Van Strijthem Freelance festival programmer and Project Officer at the Screen Academy Scotland
I
n September 2008, I was offered a part-time secondment to the Scottish Government to project manage a festival of Scottish films in Beijing. The British Council and Scottish Screen had both agreed to be involved but very little was known, at the time, about what shape the event would take – except of course that it would involve screening films by Scottish filmmakers or filmed in Scotland and that it would take place in China, sometime in the spring of 2009. The whole thing seemed distant and rather hazy and I had no idea what would be expected of me, but Mark Cousins was on board and that was enough for me to say yes. I had missed out on the Nairn experience (the “Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams” buzz so many of Scotland’s movie enthusiasts seemed to be high on, following Tilda Swinton and Mark’s homemade film fest in August 2008) and wanted to be involved in whatever the be-kilted Irish man was cooking up next. What followed was six months of hard and often tedious work, hours of telephone meetings, endless email correspondence about minute organisational details, an awful lot of worry (I tend to do a lot of that) and a fair amount of frustration… In short, nothing unusual for a film festival.
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Yet there was a genuine desire, amongst all players involved, to make this particular event truly special: to avoid anything unimaginative, tacky or, worst of all, corporate and bland. Mark had secured Tilda Swinton’s commitment and the two of them had hand picked a compact programme of films spanning six decades of Scottish cinema. They had also dreamt up a small patch of wonder in which to showcase it. There would be music, surprises, conviviality (all screenings were free). Oh, and a magical forest. The day before I left for Beijing, I was exhausted, worried (about the design for the venue, the subtitles, the projection… worrying is definitely one of my specialities) and unsure as to how local audiences would react to this “Scottish Cinema of Dreams”. The concerns disappeared the moment I saw the setting Li Qian, our production designer, had created. Somehow, despite the distance, the cultural differences and the language difficulties, she had “got” what Mark and Tilda were trying to achieve. She had understood that this festival was about making cinema-going a magical experience in itself, about creating a special place outside of space and time, where cinema’s power could take hold. There was a forest. And it was magical.
Before each screening, as the auditorium lights dimmed, a specially selected piece of music filled the midnight forest we had created (complete with pine trees, birdsong, starry sky and grass-green bean bags) within the cold, institutional space of the China Film Archive. A spotlight scanned the room as Tilda and Mark made their way up the stage and raised a huge white sail with the words “Scottish Cinema of Dreams in China” hand-stitched in both English and Chinese. And, each time, the audience clapped and whooped. Mark and Tilda introduced every film, sharing their knowledge and interest in the particular filmmaker and piece of work we were screening and whetting the audience’s appetite for further discovery. Beijing cinema-goers fell for I Know where I’m Going, Powell and Pressburger’s love song to the Highlands and Islands; they delighted in Neighbours, Norman McLaren’s stop-motion paean to tolerance and understanding; responded to the power of Bill Douglas’s uncompromising trilogy and were moved by Evelyn Glennie’s incredible energy… They also responded to the unmistakable passion and authenticity at the heart of this event. Yes, the setting was magical; yes, the films were great – but what elevated
Audience with the programme
Tilda Swinton
Dreams this into so much more than a nice wee quirky festival was the fierce love for cinema that shone from Mark Cousins and Tilda Swinton’s every word, and their genuine desire – and ability – to inspire others. This was no vanity project, and it was definitely not a cold, commissioned showcase toeing the latest governmental cultural agenda. Mark and Tilda poured their love of movies into this event, infusing it with their unshakeable belief in the relevance of film – not only as an art form, but as a way of bringing people together, of opening up our world, of discovering new ways to dream. This generosity of spirit defined the Scottish Cinema of Dreams in China. It motivated the volunteers who, having caught the Ballerina Ballroom bug, had travelled from Japan, India and Scotland (at their own expense) to be part of our team. It motivated Salzgeber, a German distribution company involved in the Nairn event, to supply projection equipment – and staff – for free. It astonished our hosts, the China Film Archive, whose tireless staff responded with wholehearted enthusiasm. And it thrilled our audiences.
I don’t know how to describe the elation we all felt, the sheer delight with which we discovered the enthusiasm this event generated. I don’t know how to convey the smiles, the hugs, the cheers, the sense of belonging… without sounding corny (or cultish!). I felt privileged to be part of such an adventure; privileged to be in Beijing to witness the culmination of so much hard work, of course, but grateful, above all, for the unadorned, inclusive beauty of it all.
Tilda and Mark with the Chinese press
PS: I am writing this from a few hundred yards south of Kiloran Bay. Mr Powell would be pleased…
Scottish Screen supported The Scottish Cinema of Dreams in China.
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awards special
photos by Marisa Privitera
The Celtic Media Festival at 30 By Festival Producer, Jude MacLaverty
T
he Celtic Media Festival hit an impressive milestone in April this year celebrating its 30th year. The Celtic Film and Television Festival, as it was formerly known, arose out of a small film and video project based on the Island of Benbecula called Cinema Sgire (Community Cinema) in 1980. Our current Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, Michael Russell was the Director of that project. It was his brainwave alongside the then Controller of RTÉ 1, Muiris MacConghail, to invite practitioners who worked in the other Celtic countries and other Celtic languages to the Western Isles to share their experiences. That first festival, held in the Lochdar Community Hall on the island of South Uist, attracted about 50 delegates. The second, held in Harlech in North Wales, attracted more than double that, and also featured some of the first public statements by the directors of the fledgling S4C and Channel 4. By its third year, held in Wexford in 1982, the festival had grown a competition and was firmly established as an annual happening.
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Thirty years on from its inception, Mike Russell MSP said, “When I started the event, Linda Myles, then Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, told me that there would not be enough material to make a second festival, so I had better make the most of the first. Fortunately she was wrong. Thirty years on, the screens at Caernarfon will be full of images from all our countries and beyond. The festival, collecting over the years a changed name and an even wider focus, has gone from strength to strength. So, of course, have our film and television industries. In 1980 there was no minority language channel in these islands. In that year the only production in Gaelic was that undertaken by Cinema Sgire for a local audience. Now there are channels in all our countries and the output is constant and prolific.” Over the years, the festival has showcased hundreds of award-winning documentaries, short dramas, features, animations, radio programmes, entertainment shows amongst its award categories and this year added two new awards: Titles, Stings, Idents & Promos and The Kieran Hegarty Award for
Interactivity. Celtic Media Festival has played host to guests such as Ken Loach, Brian Keenan, Jon Ronson, John McGrath, Peter Mullan, Ian Bannen, John Cale and honorary Celt, Jimmy McGovern. So what about the future? What will the Celtic Media Festival be celebrating in the next 30 years? The dynamic cultures of our countries, all our languages, including English!, but most of all we will be celebrating the creativity and ingenuity of our filmmakers, broadcasters, actors, our writers and our crews. They are what makes a film, TV and radio industry and we need to support and recognise them as much as we ever did. www.celticmediafestval.co.uk
awards special
De A Nis Winner
Steve Hewlett
James Strawbridge
Chris Young Last Choir Standing
Nick Goldsmith with Garth Jennings
Jon Ronson
Fiona Hay
Lucy Owen
Students - Speedate
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festival report
I’m a filmmaker and script editor based in Knoydart in the Highlands. I’m from London originally but I’ve been living in Knoydart for the last three years teaching children to make films. In March I got invited by Highlands & Islands Enterprise to go to the Celtic Media Festival in Caernarforn, Wales. Here’s what happened...
I’m away from my home in Knoydart when I get an email from Amanda Millen, offering a place at the Celtic Media Festival in Caernarforn. I’ve been to the festival once before and had a great time so decide to go even though I’ll have to leave again pretty much straight after getting back home. Amanda encourages me to enter a one minute film competition funded by HIE. Last summer I bought a Sony Z1 and apple mac and it’s about time I used it even if I have no idea what I’m going to do. But I’ll have plenty of time travelling back to Knoydart from London to think of ideas. I arrive back home in Knoydart after 3 months of travelling and visiting family in the US and London. I have five days to make a one minute film before leaving again and heading to the festival in Wales. The film has to be about identity. I have so little time I need to use something close to hand. I go through my photo album and notice the number of passport photos. Identity and passport photos. I count them and there are about 60. One photo on average per second. I have a film. I set up a mini studio in my front room. I’ve got no time to hire in equipment so I use what I find from around the house. I use desk lamps taped up with kitchen towel for lighting and weigh the back of my tripod down with cushions to get the right angle. One by one through the night I film each of the passport photos. The next night after a chat with my sister about voice over I spend about an hour talking on tape about my teenage years which is when all the photos came from. An hour I will have to edit down into 60 seconds. To edit I have to pretend the person in the photos and on tape is not me and find myself referring to the pictures as “her”. It seems to work as I find a mini structure for my mini film. When I show it to some friends I realise I have made a film which I find quite embarrassing for other people see. Too late. I leave for Glasgow in the morning and I have to take it with me. In Glasgow I meet with the rest of the HIE contingent. Twelve of us in total. Some I know already from a screenwriting workshop I led a year ago and some are new, but everyone is very friendly. In the morning we have a fun trip down and are pleased our car beats the other one. We arrive just in time for the opening ceremony. For the next few days I forget about my little film. There is so much else to take in. There are what seems like hundreds of workshops, lots of new people to meet, and a DVD library of all the films ready to raid.
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In one of the few quiet moments I get I manage to watch BBC Scotland’s Mother and Me, which wins an award and is fantastic. There are lots of other films I want to see but don’t get chance, because the DVD library is so busy. HIE are running a strand for new entrants called Green Light, which everyone attending the festival, new entrant or not, seems to go to by the end, because the sessions are so good. Highlights are the workshop on working in radio complete with jingles (some live, some recorded) and some of Nick Fenton’s most recent editing work. I miss the pitching workshops in favour of a workshop in the main festival but everyone from the HIE contingent comes back buzzing. There are lots of parties and everyone I meet asks me what a girl from London is doing living in Knoydart. I tell them it’s a long story and that it will have to be the subject of my next film. I don’t quite get it commissioned but discuss lots of other ideas. By the final day everyone is pretty exhausted. After catching a short nap it’s time to go to final gala dinner. It’s only when we get there it occurs to me that we are going to find out who wins the one minute film competition. Before we know it, someone is on stage, and instead of announcing the winner, they are going to go straight into showing the film. My heart starts pounding. It’s only a one minute film, but if I win then there are a lot people in the room who are going to see photos of me as an 11-year-old. My friends who have watched the film think I have a chance, but do I really? I’ve not seen any of the other films. It’s seems like ages and ages of waiting and then they announce technical problems. Arrghh. We get on with eating our dinner and then finally they announce the winner. When the presenter says in a strong accent that the winner is “ID”, I think that someone called Heidi has won the competition which is strange as I haven’t met anyone called Heidi at the festival. It takes a minute to realise that ID is the title of my film, and I have won. By which time it seems a bit late to go on stage so it’s only the other people from the Highlands who know it’s me. Never mind. Thanks to HIE I am now the proud owner of a brand new i-pod touch. Thank you! The rest of the evening was spent celebrating to the wee hours and I wasn’t shy about telling people by the end of it. And for some reason the return journey back to Mallaig the next day seemed to go a lot quicker then coming down, maybe because most of it was spent sleeping. If you’d like to see the film ID then go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l9X5vUoIjA.
Celtic Media Festival On 25 March the Celtic Media Festival celebrated its 30th birthday by rolling into Caernarfon, the heart of western Wales’s media industry, to celebrate the best of talent from the Celtic regions. For seasoned vets and rookies alike, it was a chance to catch up, talk shop and applaud loudly as several nominated delegates walked away with a beautifully crafted Torc award. As one such rookie (I wasn’t even born when the inaugural Celtic Media Festival launched on South Uist in 1980), I was attending my first festival in the capacity of wide-eyed filmmaker as oppose to wide-eyed student to promote my short film, Social Circles, made through Fife-based social enterprise Kinetic Media and nominated at the Celtic Media Festival for best short drama. For those roughcuts readers who can remember their first festival, you will sympathise with the fact that I had no idea what to expect other than an intense feeling of nausea as they read out the nominees in my category.
A skim through the programme promised a wealth of experienced industry types, broadcasters and producers and it did not disappoint. At a discussion on the future of commercial television in the Celtic regions David McRedmond, CEO of Ireland’s TV3 was an enjoyable firebrand, sparking debate with his views on how Irish indie television enjoys a more beneficial relationship than stv with parent company ITV. Defending stv, Elizabeth Partyka told how they have started showing Scottish-based features as oppose to bland English exports such as Lewis or Al Murray’s Pub Landlord character. In that moment, I could have kissed her. My personal highlight of the festival was a discussion around the broadcaster’s role in the Celtic film industry. The panel, consisting of Peter Edwards, head of drama at ITV Wales, Kevin Jackson, assistant head of drama at BBC Northern Ireland, Ed Guiney from Element Films and Chris Young of Young Films, showcased a selection of their Andrew Cumming
Speaking of teens, perhaps one of the most exciting things about this festival was the fresh batch of wide-eyed students from across the Celtic regions taking part in the GreenLight programme. From pitching to industry, speed dating, to editing workshops with leading industry practitioners, I began to get quite jealous that the young upstarts were getting even more out of the festival than I was. So, after changing into the skinniest jeans and most retro t-shirt I could find in my suitcase I snuck into a masterclass with Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith AKA pop promo impresarios Hammer and Tongs. Surprisingly, they were incredibly modest and approachable despite their iconic success both in the music video world (Blur, Beck, Vampire Weekend) and feature films (Son Of Rambow, Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy). Director Jennings even took time out to show an early advert campaign for Polish Plums, a bizarre brief from his time as a graphics student at St Martin’s College. As a former student myself, it was refreshing to hear the desire they clearly still have for their job come through to an audience as uncertain of their immediate future as most of the old guard outside, and their DIY ethos is just as relevant to budding young filmmakers as the established auteur in these pocket pinching times.
Jon Ronson’s session, not to mention a debate on censorship in the media, plus a discussion on the computer games sector and its unwavering growth in Scotland as oppose to other Celtic nations. Now throw in various parties, stand up comedy, a medieval castle, a giant mobile cinema fittingly titled The Screen Machine, and a jazz trio dressed like leopards and you’re some way to understanding the array of interesting, topical and downright random things on offer. As an example, I found myself sitting next to an extremely polite woman at the closing night’s gala dinner. She had travelled from Canada via Heathrow to promote and find backing for a Gaelic channel she was trying to kick start back home, to celebrate the Celtic heritage of her small community. She said the success of the festival and the dynamic people she had met had confirmed her own belief that a Gaelic language channel was of vital importance to understanding her country’s past and envisioning its future. It was only then that I truly understood what the Celtic Media Festival is, and with hindsight what I should have expected all along – a rare chance for people from Celtic regions all over the world to unite, share ideas, passion and creativity. Like the GreenLight students and my fellow delegates from the mainland or across the Irish Sea, I left Wales rejuvenated,
Social Circles
Any nerves disappeared however when I stepped into the Galeri on Victoria Dock, an astonishing building that serves as Caernarfon’s creative hub and for three days the festival’s headquarters. Festival Producer, Jude MacLaverty, ably assisted by Festival Co-ordinator, Jo Stein, had gone to extraordinary lengths to pack a range of talks, parties, award ceremonies and masterclasses into 72 hours. There were even goody bags filled with programmes, brochures and t-shirts, although the inclusion of a complimentary frisbee from S4/C was a disaster waiting to happen in the gale force winds that battered the town all week.
latest output, namely the Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt drama Five Minutes From Heaven and Element Films’ Little Matadors. The latter sparked an interesting debate on what exactly defines a Celtic production; in the case of this rites-of-passage documentary on child matadors in the bullrings of Mexico and Spain, a Celtic production retains its Celtic identity via the people who make the film, not where the film is shot. Chris Young also dropped a minor exclusive that a feature length version of hit E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners is in the pipeline. As a fan of embarrassing comedies featuring male teens talking like male teens actually talk, I for one was cock-a-hoop.
Despite all the worthwhile things I did get to see, there were sadly many, many more I couldn’t. Although I didn’t attend the main theatre for The Story of Doctor Who, a discussion with head writer Russell T Davies and other key members of the creative team behind the sci-fi juggernaught, the flock of children and adults alike clutching their signed Doctor Who memorabilia hinted at a great night out for fans. I also heard good things about writer and documentary maker
full of inspiration and drive for the future. To get all that from a festival ploughing into its thirties proves that the Celtic media industry has a lot to look forward to.
Andrew attended the Celtic Media Festival with support from Scottish Screen National Lottery through the Markets & Festivals fund.
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Kurdi Kurdi set out to be a film about a man travelling from Scotland to Kurdistan in search of his gun, his shadow and a country that doesn’t exist. As time went by it became a film about a shadow in search of a man who, amid denial, determination, lies and war-trauma, got lost somewhere along the line. Marie Olesen on why you should go to the cinema to find out if Kurdi is still in the dark.
After having spent the best part of six years living, filming and surviving the lunacy of the Balkans and making four and a quarter films (Victim of Geography, Louder than Bombs, A Different Pitch and See You in the Next War), director Doug Aubrey returned to Glasgow in the summer of 2001. It was a city that had changed from the place that he’d known: more coloured faces, a host of new languages, new cultures and a new community of ‘asylum seekers’. Who were they…? Why were they here…? Were they really the great threat that many racist right - and left - wing politicians and, indeed, UK citizens feared…? It didn’t take long to find out. The pointless murder of a Kurdish Asylum seeker in Glasgow’s Sighthill estate meant Doug and myself were, all of a sudden, working on an item for Channel 4 News. It was to be a news feature about an, alleged, ‘racist’ killing but turned into being about the explicable tensions between the existing and new communities (for another article!), and about the anger and fear that the murder had unleashed. Before we knew it, we were filming members of both communities, as they took to the streets in riot-like conditions. We followed a vast group spontaneously charging their way from G21 to George Square with clenched fists punching the air, shouting: “We want justice! We want justice!” In the very front of this bunch – alongside a retiring race relations police officer and a human rights lawyer (both of whom we ended up making other films about…) – was a former Kurdish Peshmarga freedom fighter called Peri.
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By Marie Olesen, Autonomi
We met him again next day when he translated for a group Kurdish asylum seekers, who had assembled in one of the Sighthill flats to give us their account of their security and daily lives. And then we started talking. Peri – as a poet, a photographer, an aspiring filmmaker, an actor, a writer, a consultant, etc - had been involved in making Kenny Glenaan’s Gas Attack and wanted to make another film. He wanted to tell his story – and to tell it for real. 9/11 happened and the still ongoing ‘war on terror’ started which, in the aftermath of Saddam’s fall, gave Peri the opportunity of re-entering Kurdistan – still with some risk involved as he was, and still is, an outlaw in all of the countries that surround this nation that doesn’t exist. In 2003, three days before the start of the current war in Iraq, we began a journey with Peri – not just to tell his life story but also to find a way of telling it with him by writing directly with the camera. We were searching for a way of telling Peri’s story that used digital video cameras in a direct and reactive fashion and, over the course of our initial filming in Glasgow, we began to define a modus-operandi that allowed us to overcome both language and cultural barriers. Also we hoped it was a way of overcoming the challenge of getting this particular warrior to express recollections and emotions. Often, soldiers can remember, but they don’t talk about their memories. With development support from Scottish Screen we embarked on a filming trip to Kurdistan and Lebanon in the spring of 2004. Little did we know that this was only to be the start of an exhilarating, lifechanging, dangerous, heartbreaking and very frustrating five years before being able to complete Kurdi. Although we had additional development support from MEDIA and the National Lottery, we found it impossible and mindblowing that no one was prepared to back the production of the film. Had we got it wrong? Why were we the only ones to see the story’s universal appeal, applying, as it did, Peri’s experiences and traumas to the destinies befalling so many other refugees across the world: anonymous people, who in the eyes of most don’t matter and hardly
exist? Kurdi from the outset, was an attempt to pinpoint what constitutes living in exile and why it is difficult to map these lives, due to the fact that even a lot of the refugees themselves want to forget why they fled or what they left. In an attempt to simply fit in and assimilate in the western world – and in the UK particularly after 7/7 - a lot of asylum seekers and refugees won’t talk. Kurdi is a film about one of these people in search of a past, a present and, even though we didn’t know it at the time, a future… But it won’t take a particularly perceptive person to see that ‘Kurdi’ is a film credit as well as a film by Peri Ibrahim with Doug as its director and cinematographer, because Peri is of course more than just the subject of a story we are telling. He is telling his story, in his own words and language - as well as in his unique Scots-English. How can anyone – even as an observational filmmaker like Doug Aubrey - claim in that sense to be the sole author of this film? Kurdi eventually got completed with the help from numerous individuals, and organisations such as Glasgow Film Office and Arc Facilities who had confidence in the project. It was a blast to premiere at Documenta Madrid last month and although Peri claimed to be “sick of listening to his own moaning”, it seems like the acknowledgement, appraisals and applause did some trick. Kurdi’s UK premiere opens the first Refugee Week Scotland Film Festival at Glasgow Film Theatre on 16 June at 6.30pm. The screening is followed by a Q&A by the filmmakers. For more information please visit www. autonomi.tv. Watch Kurdi online on www. filmotech.com.
Kurdi received development support from Scottish Screen and Automoni attended Documenta Madrid with support form the Opportunities Fund. For more information about Scottish Screen investments please see www.scottishscreen.com/investment.
technology
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archive
The Best Day of the Year 100 Years of the Bo’ness
O
n 7 May 2009 the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness, West Lothian, played host to the premiere of The Best Day of the Year – 100 Years of the Bo’ness Children’s Fair. The 30-minute documentary was the culmination of a fouryear project by the Workers Educational Association (WEA) and the Scottish Screen Archive at NLS. The project’s aim was to provide access to a unique collection of films recording the Bo’ness Fair over a fiftyyear period, and capture the memories, recollections and histories of the Fair by the local community.
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The project arose at a unique time in Scotland’s cinema history, when in 2005, plans were afoot to restore the Hippodrome Cinema, one of Scotland’s oldest surviving purpose built cinemas, to its former glory. It was also during this time that the Scottish Screen Archive began a major digitisation project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to transfer 400 hours of film footage held in its vaults to enable wider access to its collections. These two projects would come together to form a unique opportunity to bring the films of the Bo’ness Fair back to the Hippodrome’s big screen. The Hippodrome first opened its doors to a paying audience on 11 March 1912, when it was opened by Provost Grant. The building of the Hippodrome Cinema was commissioned by Louis Dickson and designed by Matthew Steele with a stylish and unusual round auditorium. Like many cinema managers throughout Britain, Dickson filmed local events to attract people into his picture house with the promise of seeing themselves, family or friends on the big screen before the main feature. Already, a big part of Bo’ness life since 1897, the Children’s Fair was the obvious candidate and Dickson recorded the Fair on film every year from 1912 until 1960 – excluding two World Wars, the Miners Strike of 1921 and the General Strike of 1926. The Hippodrome closed its doors in August 1975 and the Fair films eventually found their way to the
vaults of the Scottish Screen Archive where they lay in their rusted cans for many years. As part of the digitisation project, this unique collection of films by Louis Dickson of the Bo’ness Children’s Fair were dug out of the vaults and earmarked for the high quality copying process. If the cinema was going to reopen, then perhaps Dickson’s films could again be screened in their original home. With the Scottish Screen Archive preserving hundreds of local fair and gala days from all over Scotland, the Bo’ness Children’s Fair films were unique in that they represented the most complete collection of films recording an annual event over five decades. Whilst the films were produced as a marketing ploy for the cinema, these wonderful snapshots of film history now provide us with a unique insight into the people, traditions, costumes, weather, joy and the immense work that went into the Bo’ness Children’s Fair over the years. With the films newly accessible, in April 2006 the WEA, project managed by Elizabeth Bryan, set up the Bo’ness Fair History group - a group of local people who met regularly to watch the newly digitised films, research the history of the Fair at the library and collect stories, images and memories of the Fair. Hours of oral history were recorded through interviews with people, both integral to the running of the Fair, as well as
Background pic by Gordon Barnes
facilities
By Ruth Washbrook, Education and Outreach Officer, Scottish Screen Archive, National Library of Scotland
Children’s Fair those who attended over the years. From what began as a small project to gather information and histories, inspired and provoked by Louis Dickson’s films, began to grow arms and legs into what would become a remarkably moving and powerful film. With mountains of information, stories, pictures and reminiscences, and with the generous support of Falkirk Council, Pilton Video was brought on board to put together a coherent film which told the history of the Fair during the last century using archive film, voice-over, interviews, footage from the 2007 Fair and still images. Community filmmaker, Lorna Simpson, rose to the challenge as the film’s director, editor and cameraperson and the finished film was made possible by Lorna’s commitment and dedication to the project. Lorna’s passion for the project is clearly shown in the film’s themes and tone, which provide its strong narrative voice. With the history group collecting the memories, and Lorna working on the film, it was local historian Val McKay, who took on the job of researching the history of the Fair and encouraging the people of Bo’ness into going on camera to talk about their memories. What emerges is a film that not only acts as a wonderful showcase for the Archive’s newly digitised films, but provides a historical document giving both the local community a look at their own history, and those outside Bo’ness
an insight into the town and its unique relationship with the Fair Day. The sell out premiere of The Best Day of the Year – 100 Years of the Bo’ness Children’s Fair took place on 7 May 2009 with the 2008 Fair Queen Eilidh and Provost Pat Reid attending. The public screening of the film on Saturday 9 May was also a sell out, and this was due in no small part to the dedication and support of Falkirk Council who helped with the project from its outset and organised for the film’s premiere at the Hippodrome. Standing on the stage at the Hippodrome Cinema introducing Louis Dickson’s films, which had finally been brought back to the big screen, was a proud moment for myself and the Archive, and I hope that if Louis was looking down that evening that he would have been proud and happy, to see his films again with an audience, still hoping to see themselves on the big screen, albeit many years later. The newly opened Hippodrome Cinema, run by Falkirk Council, now joins the ranks of Scotland’s other independent cinemas to showcase a variety of films for a wide range of audiences and host education workshops for schools, some of which the Archive will provide.
The double DVD of The Best Day of the Year – 100 Years of the Bo’ness Fair and Louis Dickson’s Fair Films is now available from the Scottish Screen Archive. For further information, please contact ssaenquiries@nls.uk or 0845 366 4614. 41
exhibition
“What’s on at the pictures tonight?”
Regional Screen Scotland
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oing to a cinema in Edinburgh, Glasgow or other major cities is an everyday, taken-for-granted activity that millions of people enjoy. There’s usually a choice of modern multiplexes, probably an arthouse cinema and sometimes independent local cinemas. The latest releases will be widely available – perhaps screening in 3D digital – along with a number of specialist films. There may even be a film festival showcasing hundreds of films from all over the world. Fantastic. In most other parts of the country, the situation is radically different. Few cinemas exist and the choice of films to see is drastically reduced. It isn’t unusual to hear anecdotes about rural cinemagoers travelling two hours or more to get to a cinema. That’s expensive and takes commitment. In response to this situation, Regional Screen Scotland has been set up by Scottish Screen and HI~Arts to act as the ‘rural cinema hub’ proposed in Scottish Screen’s Exhibitions Strategy, launched in May 2007. The new organisation has been established on the assumption that film is a crucial contemporary artform, and that therefore access to a high quality cinema experience should be available to all of the citizens of Scotland.
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Put simply, the role of Regional Screen Scotland is to be a development agency for access to the cinema experience. It aims to do this by providing: • Responsive services – providing advice, information and assistance to communities across Scotland with an interest in improving access to film and the moving image • Developmental services – working in partnership with local authorities, as well as private, public and voluntary sector organisations • Specialist consultancy and research services related to the development of cinema • Management of grant aid schemes devolved by Scottish Screen/Creative Scotland • Operation of Screen Machine mobile cinemas in rural and remote communities • Services complementing the work of the Scottish cinema exhibition hubs and British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS) Scotland Regional Screen Scotland was set up during summer 2008 and appointed cinema and arts consultant Ron Inglis as its first Director in October. The company is governed by a Board of Trustees including, as corporate directors, the five exhibition hubs (DCA, Eden Court Theatre & Cinema, Edinburgh
International Film Festival, Filmhouse, and GFT). Working in partnership with HI~Arts and Scottish Screen, Regional Screen Scotland has jointly managed the small-scale digital projection equipment fund which provides grants of up to £5,000 to film societies and community cinema groups. Over 25 groups have been awarded funds and several are already benefiting from the new projectors and sound equipment they have been able to purchase. One notable award went to BFFS Scotland for a set of equipment that can be loaned out to groups who are starting new film societies or community cinemas. Two new initiatives developed in partnership with Scottish Screen have been launched this spring: • a local film festivals & audience development grant scheme to support high quality, public film festivals and other unique cinema audience development activities. Grants up to £5,000 per organisation are available. • a Networks Development Pilot project which will see a Project Manager appointed to help local partners – especially local authorities – identify new opportunities to develop moving image access, participation
Eden Court
and learning, and to seek the best means to sustain local partnerships into the future. The most visible activity Regional Screen Scotland is involved in is the operation of our own cinema, the mobile 80-seat Screen Machine. Managed by Graham Campbell (based in Inverness) and operated by our two driver/operators/showmen Iain McColl and Neil MacDonald, this remarkable vehicle tours the Highlands and Islands and last year presented almost 600 screenings and attracted over 23,000 admissions. Screen Machine visits 22-25 locations on each 6-7 week tour and provides an impressively convincing modern cinema experience screening new release films on 35mm in Dolby Digital surround sound. We have plans to convert Screen Machine to the latest high-definition digital cinema projection systems later in 2009 although there are unusual technical and operational issues to be resolved before we have full confidence in the new technologies. For example a mainland fixed site cinema can easily provide a full-time broadband link between the digital projector and the manufacturer’s service engineers in Los Angeles. But for a mobile cinema this is
major technical obstacle to overcome. And then there is the issue of 3D – can we provide this in the mobile cinema? Can we afford not to? Our enthusiastic audiences in remote island communities want the same as their city-dwelling citizens. Screen Machine is a unique cinema in the UK (there are two similar vehicles in the Republic of Ireland) and it is in regular demand for festivals and commercial hires. Watch out for something special later this summer… Ron Inglis can be contacted at Regional Screen Scotland, Craigmount, Bonnington Road, Peebles EH45 9HF T: 01721 720040 E: ron.inglis@regionalscreenscotland.org
Inside the Screen Machine Screen Machine on tour
Eden Court
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By Tiernan Kelly, General Manager
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round 12 months ago, I caught up with a friend I hadn’t seen for a while for a drink. When conversation inevitably turned to work matters, he enquired, “So, how’s the Emerald City then?” A combination of the unique, palace-like beaux arts architecture, and curiosity to what actually happens behind the velvet curtain, so to speak, at Govan Town Hall, has probably led many people to much the same conclusion. Looking back, Govan Town Hall has always been a building in search of identity and purpose. Completed in 1901 as a focal point for the burgh of Govan, its temporary elevated status was diminished somewhat as Govan, along with Partick and Pollokshaws, became a mere annex of the wider city of Glasgow. For the remainder of the 20th century the building has housed, alongside the more mundane municipal office accommodation, a Masonic temple, a methadone clinic, Poll Tax and various political rallies, and curiously, a much loved boxing and wrestling venue.
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Fast forward to 2009, one fantastic idea and £3.5 million later, and Film City Glasgow. Let’s begin with a quick summary of the genesis of the project thus far. Taking inspiration from Zentropa’s Filmbyen in Copenhagen, Gillian Berrie of Sigma Films saw the potential in the vacant spaces of Govan Town Hall for an inclusive film and television production centre that would meet the increasing demand for practical and affordable build and production office space in Glasgow. But why stop there? How about state of the art sound and picture post-production facilities? And, of course, low cost office rents for emerging creative talent to work alongside established industry professionals. So, what does exactly happen in the corridors of this fabulous building? First, Film City Glasgow offers over 5,000 sqft of build space, and 12,000 sq ft of production office space available for short term occupation. Over the past three years we’ve become pretty much the de facto production base for feature films coming to the city, which have included Hadrian Productions’ Doomsday, Mob Films & Infinity Features’ Stone of Destiny, and Sigma Films’ Red Road and Hallam Foe.
We are also home to two of the UK’s leading post-production facilities, Serious Facilities (picture post) and Savalas Sound (sound post). Before a brick was laid, both companies had the once in a lifetime opportunity to put together their dream post facility, one that engendered collaboration and intelligent workflow, and if required, an entire one-stop post solution. Scotland’s first ‘superpost’ if you like. And when we use the phrase ‘state of the art’, we mean it. Serious Facilities boasts Scotland's only Baselight Telecine System, and Savalas the world’s third accredited Dolby Premier studio. Our newest acquisition is the remaining 9,000 sqft of redeveloped office space in which we house our 20 plus permanent tenants from across the screen industries. The good news for us, and for the industry as a whole, is that we are absolutely bursting at the seams, 100%, fully occupied, can’t squeeze any more in. The new tenants come from across the screen disciplines, encompassing film production, factual TV, casting, and facilities. Indigenous talent such as the team at Hopscotch Films have relocated their operation to Film City and, from further a field, Keo Films, responsible for the River Cottage series, who are looking to remain on site once their current short term projects
have completed. At the other end of the spectrum we have a company such as Inlightin, who specialise in animation and 3D architectural illustration work, but have a desire to move into broadcast graphics, and where better for them to make this happen than from Film City? Given the level of production use of Film City Glasgow over the last three years, one can only imagine the difficulties of making independent film or television content in Scotland before such a purpose-built facility existed. No more draughty portakabins, dodgy landlords, temporary IT and comms installations, or bleak industrial warehouses with skylights and flat tin roofs! Incredibly, in May this year there are four major film and television projects working from the building. For TV, Silver River/BBC’s One night in Emergency with Kevin McKidd and Michelle Ryan, and Finestripe Productions’ factual The Week We Went to War for BBC One daytime. Feature film wise, Peter Mullan’s Neds starts prep, and Black Camel’s Legacy, with Idris Elba and Clarke Peters (Stringer Bell and Lester Freamon for all you Wire fans) is currently using both production offices and build space at Film City.
Incidentally, one of the most personally satisfying aspects of managing the project thus far has been watching the development of Scottish Screen NETS trainees working on the various productions we have housed. Part of the NETS induction includes a tour of the facility, and many of the faces I see on those initial tours return to the facility with ever increasing skills and confidence. Film City’s strength is our adaptability to every project and budget. We’ve never had a rate card per se, and with each production we start with a blank page and discuss the project on its own terms. From students to multi-million features, and for hires lasting for anything from one hour to one year, we can accommodate you (if there’s space!) This way, whether you aspire to be the next Chris Marker, or indeed Jerry Bruckheimer, Film City Glasgow has the facilities available. We are now at the most exciting part of any creative business: at the beginning, absorbing ideas, adapting to change, challenging what can and can‘t be done, with no dictating precedent or rule structure, and, most importantly, loving every second of it. The third phase of Film City Glasgow will officially open on 12 June. For details please contact Tiernan Kelly: E: tiernan@filmcityglasgow.com T: +44 141 445 7244 F: +44 141 445 6900
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locations
LOCATION OF THE MONTH Hospitalfield House, Angus Stephen Rea stars in a new film based on the life of Irish writer, Patrick MacGill. Child of the Dead End (An Páiste Beo Bocht) is the story of the life and work of the Donegal poet and novelist Patrick MacGill (1899-1963), and uses archive film, stills, interviews and filmed drama. The film was produced by Des Bell’s Glass Machine Productions, and is financed by the Irish Language Broadcast Fund. Patrick MacGill was born in Ireland, the son of a labouring family, and at the age of 14 found himself working on the new train line being built for the Caledonian Railway in Scotland; he was one of thousands of Irish Navvies as they were called. Life was very hard for this group of workers who built much of the infrastructure of Britain. Yet at 21, he published his own volume of poetry Gleanings from a Navvy’s Scrapebook; he sold over 7000 copies by knocking on doors. In 1914 he published Children of the Dead End, which became a bestseller. Serving with the London Irish Rifles during the First World War, he continued writing, recording his experiences in books and poetry. As well as Stephen Rea, a starring role in Children of the Dead End also went to Hospitalfield House, which stood in for locations ranging from Windsor Castle to the trenches of the First World War. Willie Payne, who manages the house, says he was delighted to get involved as he’s known producer Des Bell for many years. He was even asked to step in at the last minute and make an appearance as King George. The house, which looks like a cross between a mansion and fairy tale castle, is on the North Sea coast of Angus. It sits on an ancient raised sea-beach with views across the Firth of Tay into Fife. But mansion or castle, it actually started life in the 12th century as a Tironesian Abbey and was an ancient place of pilgrimage. Long before the development of major sea ports on the west coast of the UK, the east coast was a major trading route with Europe, with small ships taking goods to and from countries now known as the Netherlands, France and Germany. So too the east coast was a key religious centre, especially around the focal point of St Andrews and Arbroath. Pilgrims would land at the ancient harbour in Arbroath and make their way up to Hospitalfield on their way to Arbroath Abbey. Later, it became a hospice known as the Hospital of St John the Baptist. The house itself is built of red sandstone - rocks that are particularly found in the area, and which can also be seen at the dramatic cliffs running along the Angus coast. The house has intriguing stone carvings, one of the most evocative of which is on a pillar on the main staircase. Paying tribute to the very sedimentary stones that give the house so much character and atmosphere: it’s a carving of ferns set above a stone containing a fossil of an ancient fern. The house was bought by the famous 19th century art collector Patrick Allan-Fraser, who went about re-modelling it. He was hugely patriotic to local craftsmen, and the interiors have an arts and crafts feel, although they’re actually from a much earlier period and still in their original state for the most part. Writer, Sir Walter Scott stayed at the house in 1803 and 1809, and it’s said to be the model for the house, Monksbarns, in his book The Antiquary. Child of the Dead End was shown at the Belfast Film Festival in April 2009.
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With Roger Moore at Inveraray Castle, for Michael Winner's Bullseye!
Brian Pendreigh
I
t is 22 years since I began writing about film for The Scotsman, debuting with a feature-length review of Bill Forsyth’s Housekeeping. I was employed as a news reporter, but cultivated film as a part-time specialism. I had reviewed films as a student and before that I ran the Royal High School’s film club (or rather cinematic society), programming such educationally stimulating fare as If.... and Night of the Living Dead. And way back in the mists of time I visited my very first film location with my dad when The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie shot just along the road from where we lived. While at The Scotsman I went to Cannes and the Oscars (the year Braveheart won), met film stars and filmmakers and wrote On Location: The Film Fan’s Guide to Britain and Ireland, which was probably the first guide of its type aimed at the general public, full of anecdotes and offbeat details. It was a book I wanted to buy, but it didn’t exist, so I wrote it. For more than a decade now I have made a decent living as
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a freelance film journalist and author, with some specialist consultancy work as well. But prospects for journalists are looking only marginally better than those of coal miners when they decided that Scargill had the beating of Thatcher. Newspapers have been hit by the recession and the loss of property and job advertising. But there is as a deeper, longerterm decline as well, because of the Internet, with its rich array of news and specialist sites, much of it written by people in their spare time, for free. Circulation of The Scotsman and The Herald has halved. Scotland on Sunday has abolished its freelance news budget, which is why the Sunday Herald has had a lot of good film stories recently and SOS hasn’t. Unlike other industries, newspapers will not go back to the way it was before the recession. They will be my main source of income for the foreseeable future - and I still want to hear from anyone who thinks they may have something of interest! But every journalist should now be thinking longer term, and if they are a specialist they should
(a film journalist faces up to the recession) consider the opportunities for using their experience and expertise in other ways. My areas of expertise are journalism (obviously) and film. Poacher turned gamekeeper, I can offer advice on dealing with the press, including such specific things as constructing a press release. I also have some experience in script consultancy - not a single script I assessed was filmed, but I reckon I saved the company a lot of money. I ended up knocking up a script myself. It got as far as a producer being appointed and the hiring of offices in Leith, but that’s another story. My most ambitious project is something that stems from my first book On Location back in 1995 and from numerous visits to film sets, from Southend (Killing Dad – Allan Hunter and Iain Smith might remember, no one else will) to Dunnottar Castle (which I suggested to Franco Zeffirelli when he was looking for locations for Hamlet and they were talking about going to Eastern Europe). Film tourism has taken off
since On Location was written. Braveheart is in the book, although it had not come out. Contrary to what many people think, it did not shoot entirely in Ireland. The filmmakers constructed a medieval village at Glen Nevis. It is a film I know well, as I was actually involved in it before Mel Gibson. Film tourism is evolving and growing as an element within the tourist industry. In 2005 Oxford economists estimated that visits inspired by film and television were worth £2.6 billion a year to the UK economy, but detailed research on the nature of film tourism is limited. The most detailed Scottish research was done in the 1990s after the release of Braveheart. It showed that many international tourists came to Scotland at least partly as a result of seeing Braveheart. In other words it worked as a glorified advert for the country as a whole as a holiday destination. Some films, including Highlander and The Wicker Man, develop cult followings and fans will plan holidays around visits
Lunching with Franco Zeffirelli at Doune Castle, which he considered for Hamlet, but didn't use.
to multiple locations associated with a single film. I know of tourists who have travelled from as far away as Australia specifically to visit Highlander destinations. But in between these two extremes there is a large group of mainstream tourists, who come to Scotland for reasons that may not have be linked to movies, but who, once they get here, might want to visit places associated with a number of different popular films. Visitor numbers at the Wallace Monument quintupled after Braveheart – and it is not even in the film. Since Braveheart, Scotland has played host to Harry Potter, James Bond, Trainspotting and The Da Vinci Code. Harry Potter has had a big impact on locations. Visitor numbers more than doubled at Alnwick Castle, in Northumberland, and rose dramatically at Gloucester Cathedral, though it is more difficult to measure the effect on Scottish locations, including Glen Coe, Glen Nevis and the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Visitor numbers also rose dramatically at Rosslyn Chapel on the back of The Da Vinci Code.
banged together to make the sound of horses’ hooves, because the film’s budget does not run to horses).
Tourist bodies have occasionally produced maps and itineraries, but without much scientific foundation. I worked out a way of adapting existing statistics and ongoing research to my own specific needs. My calculations show Braveheart is top in terms of international numbers who have seen it and it is No 2 when it comes to ranking films in terms of how good they are. Its main rival may come as something of a surprise. Number 2 in terms of the number of viewers and No 1 in terms of quality ranking is not Harry Potter, James Bond or Da Vinci, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
What I am aiming to do is use my own expertise and experience to provide an upmarket, personalised tour of locations and possibly other sites associated with films and film stars, such as Sean Connery and Stan Laurel. I intend to offer a personal service, hosting tours, with lots of detail and anecdote and the occasional aside – did you know The Da Vinci Code is not the only book to use Rosslyn as a key setting? There is a Batman graphic novel set at Rosslyn. For now, that is the closest we get to a Scottish Batman film.
It shot at Doune Castle, Bracklinn Falls, Glen Coe and numerous other Scottish locations. Anecdotal evidence from Doune is that many visitors go to the castle because of the film. The custodian keeps a supply of coconut shells for those who want to re-enact a particular scene (where the shells are
One idea was to tailor each itinerary to customers’ interests and requirements and guide them round Scotland, the Highlands, Edinburgh or wherever they want to go. I have been in discussion with VisitScotland, who are very keen, and they have asked me to host a half-day tour of locations in the Edinburgh area for journalists, during the
Edinburgh International Film Festival. That effectively will be the launch of what I am calling Scotland Film Tours. I have also been in discussion with tour operators, who might in the slightly longer term provide the infrastructure to market the concept internationally, take bookings and arrange transport and accommodation. It looks like I will be linking up with the Edinburgh company Wild Green Travel (www.wildgreentravel. com), who will be including Scotland Film Tours in their package for 2010. They included it in their marketing materials at the VisitScotland Expo at the SECC in April. There is a lot of interest, but who knows? Like most film projects, there is nothing definite about it until the call of “action”.
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DEADLINE - Applications to Scottish Screen’s Content Development’s Seed Fund (tinyurl.com/2fwght) FESTIVALS – Reel Iraq (to 12 July), Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (www.reelfestivals.org/) EVENTS – Dragon Forum, Krakow (www.dragonforum.pl) TRAINING – The Next Step, Glasgow, Cultural Enterprise Office (tinyurl.com/plhm5u) EVENTS – Dragon Forum, Krakow (www.dragonforum.pl) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) TRAINING – The Next Step, Dundee, Cultural Enterprise Office (tinyurl.com/orufow) EVENTS – Dragon Forum, Krakow (www.dragonforum.pl) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) EVENTS – Media Composers: Rules of Engagement, London (www.pact.co.uk/events/detail.asp?id=6518) EVENTS – Dragon Forum, Krakow (www.dragonforum.pl) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) EVENTS – Dragon Forum, Krakow (www.dragonforum.pl) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) DEADLINE – Registration for Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Hamburg International Short Film Festival (festival.shortfilm.com/) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) FESTIVALS – Monte-Carlo TV Festival TV Exchanges (www.tvfestival.com) TRAINING – Practical Press Relations I, ICO, London (tinyurl.com/ql9zyd) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) MARKETS – International Animated Film Market, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) FESTIVALS – bTween Interactive Festival, Sheffield (btween.co.uk/) FESTIVALS – Monte-Carlo TV Festival TV Exchanges (www.tvfestival.com) TRAINING – Practical Press Relations II, ICO, London (tinyurl.com/ql9zyd) EVENTS – Delivering Digital Britain, London (www.pact.co.uk/events/) FESTIVALS – Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland (www.msfilmfestival.fi) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) MARKETS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) FESTIVALS – bTween Interactive Festival, Sheffield (btween.co.uk/) EVENTS – One Day Documentary Pitch, Inverness (www.sheffdocfest.com/view/otherevents_overview) EVENTS – Delivering Digital Britain, London (www.pact.co.uk/events/) FESTIVALS – Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland (www.msfilmfestival.fi) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) FESTIVALS – bTween Interactive Festival, Sheffield (btween.co.uk/) TRAINING – Planning Your Time and Projects, Edinburgh (tinyurl.com/orufow) DEADLINE – Entries to Fast Track at Edinburgh TV Festival (www.mgeitf.co.uk/home/fast-track.aspx) DEADLINE – Applications to UKFC Publication Fund (www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/filmpubfund) EVENTS – Delivering Digital Britain, London (www.pact.co.uk/events/) FESTIVALS – Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland (www.msfilmfestival.fi) FESTIVALS – International Animated Film Festival, Annecy (www.annecy.org/) FESTIVALS – Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland (www.msfilmfestival.fi) FESTIVALS – Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland (www.msfilmfestival.fi) MARKETS – DISCOP East, Budapest (www.discop.com) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) DEADLINE – Entries to Sheffield DocFest (www.sheffdocfest.com/) MARKETS – DISCOP East, Budapest (www.discop.com) Tue
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EVENTS – Archive and Auteur, University of Stirling (tinyurl.com/on2xsb) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) EVENTS – Archive and Auteur, University of Stirling (tinyurl.com/on2xsb) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) EVENTS – Archive and Auteur, University of Stirling (tinyurl.com/on2xsb) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) DEADLINE – Applications to Opportunities Fund for San Sebastian International Film Festival (tinyurl.com/ pa7rud) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx)
DEADLINE – Applications to Strategic Partners, Canada (www.atlanticfilm.com/sp/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh Interactive Festival (www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh TV Festival (www.mgeitf.co.uk) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh TV Festival (www.mgeitf.co.uk) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh TV Festival (www.mgeitf.co.uk)
CALENDAR JUNE - SEPT 2009
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EVENTS – London Film Focus (tinyurl.com/prmw33) FESTIVALS – Reel Iraq (to 12 July), Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (www.reelfestivals.org/) TRAINING – Creating Contacts, Edinburgh (tinyurl.com/orufow) TRAINING – Starting Out, Glasgow (tinyurl.com/orufow) EVENTS – London Film Focus (tinyurl.com/prmw33) TRAINING – Planning Your Time and Projects, Aberdeen (tinyurl.com/orufow) TRAINING – Making Applications and Proposals (tinyurl.com/orufow) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) TRAINING – Making Applications and Proposals (tinyurl.com/orufow) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) DEADLINE – Applications to MEDIA I2I Audio-Visual Fund (www.mediadesk.co.uk/funding) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) FESTIVALS – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (www.kviff.com/en/news/) DEADLINE – Applications to Opportunities Fund for Venice International Film Festival (tinyurl.com/pa7rud) TRAINING – Inspirational Leadership Skills, Culloden House, Inverness, HIE (tinyurl.com/cmlq3z) DEADLINE – Applications to Opportunities Fund for Toronto International Film Festival (tinyurl.com/pa7rud)
FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) MARKETS – DISCOP East, Budapest (www.discop.com) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) EVENTS – Glasgow Market Day, Cultural Enterprise Office (tinyurl.com/orufow) MARKETS – DISCOP East, Budapest (www.discop.com) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) DEADLINE – Entries to Virgin Media Short Competition (www.virginmediashorts.co.uk) DEADLINE – Applications to ACE Training and Development Scheme (ace-producers.com/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) TRAINING – Starting Out, Edinburgh (tinyurl.com/orufow) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) TRAINING – Starting Out for DJCAD Graduates, Dundee (tinyurl.com/orufow) EVENTS – Cartoon Finance Workshop, Munich (www.cartoon-media.eu) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) TRAINING – Starting Out for DJCAD Graduates, Dundee (tinyurl.com/orufow) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) DEADLINE – Applications to Archive Skills, CPD Funding Programme, Skillset (tinyurl.com/dfmbur) DEADLINE – Applications to MEDIA TV Broadcasting Fund (www.mediadesk.co.uk/funding/) TRAINING – Making Applications and Proposals, Glasgow (tinyurl.com/orufow) TRAINING – Starting Out, Aberdeen (tinyurl.com/orufow) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) FESTIVALS – Edinburgh International Film Festival (www.edfilmfest.org.uk/) EVENTS – London Film Focus (tinyurl.com/prmw33) DEADLINE – Entries to Encounters Short Films Festival (www.encounters-festival.org.uk/) DEADLINE – Entries to Africa in Motion (www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/) DEADLINE – Entries to Films in Progress 16 at San Sebastian Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) DEADLINE – Entries to Cinema in Motion 5 at San Sebastian Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) EVENTS – London Film Focus (tinyurl.com/prmw33) Fri Sat
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please Contact us If you wish to add your event email: info@scottishscreen.com
CALENDAR
FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Strategic Partners (www.atlanticfilm.com/sp/) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (tiffg.ca/default.aspx) MARKETS – Toronto International Film Market (tiff.net/default.aspx) FESTIVALS – Strategic Partners (www.atlanticfilm.com/sp/) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – Strategic Partners (www.atlanticfilm.com/sp/) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – The Learning Festival, SECC Glasgow (www.ltscotland.org.uk/slf/) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – The Learning Festival, SECC Glasgow (www.ltscotland.org.uk/slf/) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com) FESTIVALS – San Sebastian International Film Festival (www.sansebastianfestival.com)