Screenplay 2023 Programme

Content

Screenplay films and events do get very busy so pre-booking is recommended. Visit our box office on www.shetlandarts.org at Mareel , or phone 01595 745500 . Because the usual adverts and trailers don’t apply during Screenplay, films will start at the advertised start times - please ensure you take your seat in plenty of time.

SCREENCARD

Priority booking 1-3 August and entry into all Screenplay screenings for only £65 (or £35 for students). Booking Required.

Some films haven’t been certificated by the BBFC but instead we’ve given them a recommended certificate, which works in the same way as an official one - please remember to bring I.D. if coming to 15 certificate films, or 12As if unaccompanied by an adult.

Please note that Screencards do not cover the workshop or the Film Quiz.

Films will start at the advertised times with no trailers.

Lindsay Duncan, Cairo Cannon, Kathy Hubbard & Carol Morley Screenplay 2015

Welcome to Screenplay 2023

It’s the last one that will be co-curated by us, so we’re all experiencing a wave of nostalgia – something evident in the programme, where we have some old festival friends visiting us in person and online, and some classic films for you to watch ( Top Hat , Gregory’s Girl and O Brother, Where Art Thou? ). But our faith in the future is demonstrated by the addition of a new theme – ‘Extraordinary Children’; this year there are so many fantastic films about children and young people that we really wanted to share some of them with you. From young refugees ( Name Me Lawand and Winners ) to the pupils of one of the most remote schools in the world ( Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom ), to the knock’em out singing and dancing youngsters in Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical , children are taking centre stage at Screenplay this year.

Some of the usual themes are here too –notably ‘Look North’ where we have films from Iceland ( Godland ), Norway ( Sick of Myself ) and Finland ( Sisu ), ‘Family Friendly’, ( Dragon Princess , Oink , and Shorts For Wee Ones/Middle Ones ), and of course, ‘Home Made’ where the Shetland public put their film-making prowess on display.

Visiting us in person are director Hassan Nazer ( Winners ), journalist and author Stuart Cosgrove ( Cassius X: Becoming Ali ), old festival friends director Carol Morley and producer Cairo Cannon ( Typist Artist Pirate King ), acclaimed British director Mark Jenkin and actress Mary Woodvine ( Enys Men ), along with first time producer Julien Allen ( The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras ).

Not everyone could get to us in person, so we are pleased to have pre-recorded interviews with legendary actress Emma Thompson, director Edward Lovelace and another old festival friend, director Bill Forsyth. In addition, we will be talking live on-screen to director Dylan Howitt and textile artist Allan Brown about a very special dress which was woven from nettles.

We will be showing three films that are snapshots spanning the career of Shetland film maker Jenny Gilbertson. There will also be a new film about Orcadian film maker Margaret Tait.

And that’s not all! Have a browse through the programme to see what six days of packed programming has to offer.

Since Screenplay started in 2007, we have been lucky to bring some of the best of Scottish, UK and international film here, and to welcome some wonderful people from the cinema industry. We have so many happy memories (the screening for dogs at Shetland Marts stands out as just one …) and we hope you do too. Shetland Arts would like to thank all the organisations, community groups and individuals who have loyally supported Screenplay over the past sixteen years either financially or in other, equally precious ways. But mostly, thanks are due to you, the audience, who have made it what it is; whether you come from Shetland, the mainland or further beyond – you are the best.

Kathy Hubbard , Mark Kermode and Linda Ruth Williams

Discovering the Northern Isles has never been easier with NorthLink Ferries.

The comfortable and reliable service offers sailings from Aberdeen to Lerwick, Shetland, with regular calls into Orkney’s capital of Kirkwall. Alternatively travel from Caithness to Orkney’s port of Stromness. This 90-minute journey on MV

Hamnavoe passes the iconic sea stack, the Old Man of Hoy. With regular sailings between Kirkwall and Lerwick it is possible to discover both Shetland and Orkney during your visit!

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Operated by

northlinkferries.co.uk

The Other Fellow 15

2023 | UK | 1h20m (+20min Q&A) | Doc Dir: Matthew Bauer | Featuring: Gunnar James Bond Schäfer, James Alexander Bond

An energetic exploration of male identity via the lives, personalities, and adventures of a diverse band of men, real men across the globe all sharing the same nameJames Bond. 1952. Jamaica. When author Ian Fleming needs a name for his suave, sophisticated secret agent, he steals one from an unaware birdwatcher and creates a pop-culture phenomenon about the ultimate fictional alpha-male. Seventy years after the publication of the first Bond novel and as all eyes turn to who could be the seventh 007, Australian filmmaker Matthew Bauer is on a global mission to discover the lasting, contrasting and very personal impacts of sharing such an identity with James Bond.

Shetland Arts is grateful to Peter Parker (not that Peter Parker) for his support of this screening.

Matthew Bauer

Matthew Bauer is an Award-winning film director, producer and writer. Born and raised in Australia on a diet of Bond films, labyrinthine thrillers and Errol Morris documentaries, Matt travelled the globe for ten years meeting and filming the lives of real men named James Bond for his debut feature documentary The Other Fellow .

It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the National Film Awards, Austin Film Festival and DocEdge Film Festival and longlisted for Best Debut Director (Documentary) at the British Independent Film Awards.

(-16)

Cassius X: Becoming Ali 12A

2022 | UK | 1h30m (2h inc. Q&A) |

Documentary | Dir: Muta’Ali Writer: Stuart Cosgrove | Featuring: Muhammad Ali, DeeDee Sharp, Jim Lampley

Exploring the life of Cassius Clay as he undergoes his spiritual transformation as well as examining the evolution of his amazing boxing skills, this landmark film is structured around the early years of his boxing career between 1959 and 1964 when he turned professional and pursued his dream of becoming World Heavyweight Champion.

From his first contact with the Nation of Islam to the moment when he is given the name Muhammad Ali, the film charts the events in America that would shape his beliefs and examines the figures such as Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X who would become his spiritual advisors.

Featuring interviews with people with a direct connection to these moments in Ali’s life, Cassius X: Becoming Ali examines the influences on Ali’s awakenings with regard to owning his own identity - the Nation of Islam, integration vs. separation, and the thoughts and perspectives and beliefs he adopts.

It is Ali’s origin story - the definitive observation of the emergence of a hero

There will be a live Q&A with Mark Kermode and writer and journalist Stuart Cosgrove after the screening on Wednesday.

For more information on our memberships visit: www.shetlandarts.org/members

The Nettle Dress 12A

2023 | UK | 1h8m (1h38m inc. Q&A) | Documentary Dir: Dylan Howitt | Featuring: Allan Brown

Textile artist Allan Brown spends seven years making a dress by hand just from the fibre of locally foraged stinging nettles. It becomes a way to survive the death of his wife, and a beautiful way of honouring her. Over this period, his friend, film maker Dylan Howitt, records the journeys, both artistic – the harvesting, the fibre extraction, the spinning and weaving techniques – and deeply personal, as Allan pours his grief and his love into the process of creation.

A modern-day fairy tale and hymn to the healing power of nature and ‘slow craft’, this is ‘hedgerow culture’, the greenest of slow fashion and it became Allan’s medicine.

“An exquisite, inspiring film.”

- Sir Mark Rylance

The Tuesday screening will be followed by a live online Q&A with Kathy Hubbard, Dylan Howitt and Allan Brown.

Dylan Howitt

Dylan Howitt has been directing, filming and editing compelling stories from all around the world for more than twenty years.

Twice BAFTA nominated, his work is both intimate and political. From Mozambican artists creating sculptures out of decommissioned guns, to running video and story-telling workshops with young people in Guatemala City, or a portrait of a death row survivor in Ohio. His first feature documentary Out of Thin Air for BBC Storyville and Netflix told the story of Iceland’s most notorious crime case and won rave reviews.

Allan Brown

Allan Brown is a textile artist living in Brighton, East Sussex. His practice focuses on the creation of location specific textiles from fibres and dye plants that are grown or foraged in and around the South Downs.

He spins, dyes and weaves to capture the spirit of time and place. He founded the Nettles for Textiles group on Facebook which is now over 23,000 strong. He grows flax and numerous dye plants, as well as food, on an allotment he’s cultivated for over twenty years.

Name Me Lawand PG

2022 | UK | 1h43m inc. intro | Documentary | Subtitles

Dir: Edward Lovelace | Featuring: Lawand Hamad Amin and family

Lawand is a young Kurdish boy, deaf since birth. At five years old his future in Iraq looks destined to be limited and lonely. In desperate search of a better life in a world where he can communicate, his family decide to leave their home. After a treacherous journey and a year in a refugee camp, the help of a deaf volunteer brings them to Derby where Lawand joins the Royal School for the Deaf.

As he grows older, the film follows his dramatic progress learning British Sign Language, revealing a bright, charismatic and inquisitive boy, who discovers friendship and a new way to express himself. But just as Lawand is joyfully finding his place in the world, the family face deportation from the UK.

Writer-director Edward Lovelace spent four years filming Lawand, learning British Sign Language himself. In this moving and inspiring

portrait, we follow Lawand’s evolution from extreme isolation to becoming able to be his true self. This is a story about the strength that language gives us, whatever form it takes, and of the power of friendship and community.

There will be a pre-recorded introduction with director Edward Lovelace and Mark Kermode, made especially for Screenplay.

Shetland Arts is grateful to Amnesty International Shetland for their support of this event.

Edward Lovelace

Edward Lovelace is known for his critically acclaimed documentary storytelling, including his award-winning third feature film (co-directed with James Hall) called The Possibilities Are Endless , the box office record breaker Katy Perry Part Of Me , and the Sky Atlantic documentary series Human Made Stories (Cannes, Tribeca Film Festival 2020).

Name Me Lawand premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2022 in competition for Best Documentary and Won the Special Jury Prize at Toronto HOTDOCS 2023 for Best International Film, being described as a “groundbreaking work that moves the medium forward” by POV Magazine.

Scrapper 12A

2023 | UK | 1h24m | Drama | Dir: Charlotte Regan

Starring: Lola Campbell, Alin Uzun, Harris Dickinson

It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child but 12-year-old Georgie (Lola Campbell) has other ideas. Living alone since her beloved mum died, Georgie fills the flat they shared with her own special magic, with the support of her friend Ali. But when her absent father Jason (Harris Dickinson) turns up out of the blue, she’s forced to confront reality.

A dreamy, witty and unmissable tale of family and fresh starts, Scrapper is a film that believes life’s not so much about chasing rainbows but snatching fistfuls in both hands. An absolute charmer.

“There are echoes of Paper Moon (1973) in the father-daughter criminal partnership and the film’s sheer sense of fun. Scrapper is also reminiscent of Aftersun (2022), especially in scenes where Georgie and her dad adopt silly voices and pretend to be a couple with a failing marriage. This sense of humour and the charm of Georgie’s flights of fantasy elevate this feature debut above many of its peers.”

- Lou Thomas, Sight and Sound

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom PG

2019 | Bhutan | 1h50m | Drama | Subtitled

Dir: Pawo Choyning Dorji | Starring: Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup

Shot on location in the world’s most remote school, and boasting some amazing scenery, this charming, quietly funny culture-clash film about a young teacher in Bhutan who is posted to a faraway mountain village is a thoughtful exploration of happiness and community values.

Still training to be a teacher, Ugyen lives in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, but dreams of moving to Australia to become a singer. When he finds out that his final year teaching placement will be in Lunana – a community so remote that it is a seven day walk from the nearest road – his enthusiasm for the teaching profession is dampened still further. But go he must, and he sets off with all his urban essentials, including his mobile phone ever-present in his hand. But the onset of the high altitude, the lack

of amenities and the absence of any signal doesn’t improve his mood, and he arrives in Lunana ready to turn straight around and head back to the city.

Can the children in his new community change his mind, and win him round before the onset of winter forces him to decide –should he stay or should he go?

Shetland Arts is grateful to the local branches of the EIS and UNISON for their support of this (and other) screenings.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (The Sing-along Version!) 12A

2022 | UK | 2h17m inc. intro | Musical drama/comedy | Dir. Matthew Warchus

Starring: Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch and Andrea Riseborough

Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind and a vivid imagination - and the worst parents in the world. While her parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes, she loves to lose herself in the pages of her beloved books. Where they are loud, selfish and unkind she is a quiet observer, thinking up small and cheeky acts of rebellion and revenge. On meeting her inspirational teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales.

Excited to attend Crunchem Hall, Matilda is shocked to find the school is an ominous and oppressive place led by the huge

and villainous Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Filled with an overwhelming sense of injustice, Matilda dares to take a stand for what is right.

Bursting with energy and boasting fabulous songs by Tim Minchin, this is the SINGALONG version of the film, so come ready to exercise your voices!

There will be a pre-recorded interview before the start of the film with the legendary Emma Thompson, made especially for Screenplay, in conversation with local film makers Sophie Johnson and Martha Robertson.

Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson is one of the world’s most critically lauded and respected talents for her versatility in acting as well as screenwriting. She is the sole artist thus far to have received an Academy Award for both acting ( Howards End ) and screenwriting ( Sense and Sensibility ).

Thompson’s film credits begin with The Tall Guy , her feature debut in 1988. They include the aforementioned Sense and Sensibility (for which she also received a Best Actress BAFTA Award and Oscar nomination) and Howards End (for which she also received a BAFTA Award for Best Actress); The Remains of the Day (Oscar nomination); In the Name of the Father (Oscar nomination); Last Christmas (for which she was also co-screenwriter and producer), Late Night , King Lear , The Children Act , Love Actually ; Saving Mr. Banks ; Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast ; two of the Harry Potter films; Henry V ; Dead Again ;

Peter’s Friends ; Much Ado About Nothing ; Junior ; The Winter Guest ; Primary Colors ; Stranger Than Fiction ; Last Chance Harvey ; Love Punch ; Brave , two of the Men In Black sequels; Cruella , and Nanny McPhee , which she wrote.

Stage credits include the New York Philharmonic’s staged production of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Bryn Terfel, which they reprised at the London Coliseum with the English National Orchestra; Me and My Girl first at Leicester and then London’s West End; and Look Back in Anger at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.

Sophie Johnson & Martha Robertson

Sophie Johnson and Martha Robertson are variously members of Maddrim Media, Open Door Drama, North Sea Drama and Shetland Youth Theatre, and anything else which will help them avoid doing their homework.

Winners PG

2022 | Iran | 1h55m inc. Q&A | Drama/Comedy | Subtitled

Dir: Hassan Nazer | Starring: Parsa Maghami, Helia Mohammadkhani, Mohammad Amir Naji

In a poor Iranian village, the children work hard to support their families. One day nine-year-old Yahya and his friend Leyla find a precious statuette in the desert. As the authorities search for the lost treasure, sharing Yahya’s passion for cinema, Yahya’s boss Nasser Khan decides to help the children find its rightful owner.

Delightful film with truly winning performances from its young stars, Winners is homage to cinema, and to Iranian cinema in particular.

“I wrote the script bearing in mind how films allow us to dare to dream, how cinema is a perfect escape. Casting non-professional children was my aim for Winners. As a young boy I grew up in Garmsar selling plastic to make money to buy and rent DVDs, to also escape from my

own hardships. Those films kept me in a dream-like place… I wanted to give voice to a silenced, unheard and under-represented minority. In Iran there are over one million Afghan refugees living in hardship, so I chose to make two of my main characters a widowed Afghan mother and her son (Yahya), to give them voice.“

- Director Hassan Nazer

Shetland Arts is grateful to Peter Parker for his support of this event, in memory of Lesley Parker .

There will be a live Q&A with Mark Kermode, Linda Ruth Williams and director Hassan Nazer following the screening.

Hassan Nazer

Hassan Nazer is a British writer/director of Iranian origin, based in Scotland. Starting life as a child actor in Iran, from an early age Hassan was involved in directing for the stage and short film. He studied theatre at the Art University in Arak before leaving Iran for Europe as a refugee in 2000.

Aged 18, he arrived in the UK before going on to study film and media in Aberdeen in 2006. Hassan’s previous feature films have been released in Iran and internationally: Winners won the Audience Award at the EIFF 2022, as well as being the official UK submission for the International Feature Film category at the 95 th Academy Awards (2023).

Dragon Princess (Princesse Dragon) PG

2021 | France | 1h10m + 6m short | Animation | Subtitled Dirs. Jean-Jacques Denis / Anthony Roux

Bristle isn’t like other little girls: for a start, she has green hair (lots of it), she has been raised by a dragon, she breathes fire and can talk to animals using only her mind. When she meets Princess, who looks a bit like her in some ways, she discovers a whole new world, featuring lots of new things to treasure but also some big disappointments. With their very different starts in life (and families), can they become friends? And if their friendship can overcome their own individual differences, how will they manage to reconcile their fathers, whose rivalry is so deeply entrenched and seems certain to end in destruction?

This is a fascinating blend of classical fairy story and modern sensibilities, rooted in the eternal clash between human civilization and the untameable natural world.

2023 | Shetland | 6m | Animated short film

Film makers: Willa Anderson, Ellis Bruce, Leah Bruce, Alexander Cunningham, Tilly Sparks, Daisy Mallett, Thomasina Mallett. Producer & Editor: Bérénice Carrington. Editor: Fergus Tonner

A deserted cluster of mysterious old stone houses becomes the focal point for a group of Yell children. Some of the bairns play there, others pass it on their school bus. Now they reveal it as a world of magical creatures existing alongside the living world. This is an artist led project by Bérénice Carrington. It is part of Culture Collective, a Scotland-wide programme supported by Creative Scotland.

Oink (Knor) PG

2022 | Netherlands | 1h12m | Animation | Subtitled Dir. Mascha Halberstad

Nine-year-old Babs is perfectly content in life. She has a loving family, a great best friend/skateboarding buddy and is very happily 100% vegetarian. But what she really, really wants is a puppy...

When a rather strange, elderly, banjoplaying cowboy turns up out of the blue just before her birthday, claiming to be her long-lost grandfather, Babs is initially annoyed – especially when he takes over her garden hut as his new lodgings. But when he gives her what she describes as “the best birthday present ever”, she begins to slowly warm to him. It’s just that the present is not a puppy – but a pig.

In addition, he steadfastly refuses to reveal what is in the locked suitcase under his bed - and seems to be showing rather a lot of interest in a forthcoming sausage–making competition …

Keeping a pet pig is not for the faint of heart. Flatulence and poop are everywhere – and this film does not shy away from the awkward facts! The film revels in its Roald Dahl-esque sense of humour, but the overall message is one of triumph over adversity, and ultimately diploma-winning good behaviour!

Shorts For Wee Ones U

2022 | Various countries | 50m | Short films | Dialogue free | Dirs. Various

It’s not just the youngest age group that enjoys these films, but the Discovery Film Festival does seek out the best examples of films from around the world that will appeal most to those at the start of their engagement with film. This year they will be taking you all on a journey with animated stops in France, Germany, Slovenia, Norway and the Netherlands. Who needs a spoken language to tell a story when they are as visual as these are? Sheep, walruses, toddlers, jubee-loving Spuffies (wait and see!) and a bright red Wellington boot all invite us into their worlds for a whole host of adventures!

These magical tales will delight children age 3+ and are a colourful introduction to the cinema experience. All these short films are dialogue free.

Sheep (2018) dir. Julia Ocker, Germany (3m37s)

Spacapufi: Žize (Spuffies: Jubees)

(2021) dir. Jaka Ivanc, Slovenia (11m08s)

Step by Step

(2021), dirs. Theodore Janvier et al, France (7m29s)

Dooi (Thaw)

(2021), dir. Arthur van Merwijk, Netherlands (2m14s)

Franzy’s Soup Kitchen

(2021) dir. Ana Chubinidze, France (8m12s)

Ursa – Song of the Northern Lights

(2021) dir. Natalia Malykhina, Norway (10m20s)

Kayak (2021) dir. Solène Bosseboeuf et al, France (6m11s)

Shorts For Middle Ones PG

2022 | Various countries | 59m | Short films | English or dialogue free | Dirs. Various

This annual collection of short films for those aged eight and above is always a mix of animation styles and content that promises something for everyone. Sometimes chaotic, sometimes very serious, there is no predicting where we will head next. This year we have films from Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the USA, but often they are such universal storylines they could have been made right here. There are tales of brothers and sisters who turn fights into friendship, a renewed bonding between a young boy and his parents brought about by a friendly fox and an animated chase through a myriad of backdrops by some very strange characters.

There’s a beautiful, poetic account of the reflowering of the Yellowstone National Park after a devastating fire in 1988, and a melodic tale of music overcoming hatred of the unfamiliar (featuring an extremely perky raccoon).

Hello Stranger

(2021) dir. Julia Ocker, Germany (6m13s)

Tobi and the Turbobus

(2019) dir. Verena Fels, Germany (7m32s)

Aeronaut

(2021) dir. Leon Golterman, Netherlands (2m15s)

Základy Uméni

(2020) dir David Payne, Czech Republic (5m34s)

Fox For Edgar

(2021) dir. Pauline Kortmann, Germany (7m43s)

Flumina

(2021) dir. Antonello Matarazzo, Italy (3m33s)

Yellowstone 88: Song of Fire

(2021) J.Van de Beek, B.de Fries, USA (5m44s)

Thanh’s Story

(2022) dir. Jim Stirk, UK (5m02s)

Sounds Between The Crowns

(2021) dir. Filip Diviak, Czech Republic (14m32s)

Godland 12A

2022 | Norway | 2h23m | Drama | Subtitled | Dir: Hlynur Pálmason

Starring: Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson and Vic Carmen Sonne

In the late 19 th century, a young Danish priest, Lucas, travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, his mission and morality. At odds with his taciturn guide, Ragnar, everything about the journey seems determined to thwart him, and Lucas must dig deep into his faith – and his obstinacy –to achieve his epic task.

“There’s a strong element of myth and magic at work here... it all adds to the film’s haunting appeal, leaving the viewer with a sense of being engulfed by a landscape in which cultures collide – the incarnate and the infinite forever butting heads, neither willing to concede hard-won ground.”

- Mark Kermode

Thanks to Pálmason’s breathtaking cinematography, Iceland has never looked lovelier, or more challenging.

Sick Of Myself 15

2022 | Norway | 1h35m | Dark comedy | Subtitled | Dir: Kristoffer Borgli

Starring: Kristine Kujath Thorp, Eirik Sæther

Signe and Thomas are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship that takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist (creating works from stolen furniture) and in response, Signe makes a desperate attempt to regain her status by creating a new persona hellbent on attracting attention and sympathy. She does this by deliberately inducing a spectacular skin condition, which gives her the kind of global online and real time attention that she longs for, and feels she deserves.

Watching two narcissists battling for other people’s attention can’t help but put you in mind of the social media circus that thrives on this kind of scenario, and the film almost dares the audience to ask how far they would go to become a social phenomenon?

“Borgli doesn’t seem particularly interested in crafting a nuanced take on victimhood culture so much as he seeks to generate outrageous humour from Signe’s increasingly absurd sense of priorities. Hers is an extreme case of main character syndrome, which Borgli loosely — and smugly — connects to the toxic egotism underlying various facets of modern existence.”

-

Beatrice

Loayaza, New York Times

TUESDAY 29 AUGUST

WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST

THURSDAY 31 AUGUST

Screenplay events can get very busy, so pre-booking is recommended. Films will start at the advertised times with no trailers.

Tickets are available in person at Mareel or over the phone 01595 745500 (10am-9pm Tuesday – Sunday) or online at www.shetlandarts.org

FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 2 SEPTEMBER

SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

Sisu 15

2022 | Finland | 1h31m | Drama | Subtitled | Dir: Jalmari Helander

Starring: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie and Jack Doolan

During the last desperate days of WW2, a solitary prospector (Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched earth retreat in Northern Finland.

When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what “sisu” means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him this one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.

“Much in the manner of Ted Kotcheff and Sylvester Stallone’s 1982 First Blood (an essential film to which Sisu serves as a poetic tribute), Sisu is effective as both a straight story and as a cathartic jeremiad on the power of individuality against the unjust machinations of those who claim to be in charge … cool, calm, and collected in its bloodthirsty repudiation of fascism and the authoritarian inhumanity at its heart … this Finnish stunner is not just a rare example of excessive movie violence done right, it is also just may be the most essential action movie of the year.”

- Oliver Jones, Observer

The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras 12A

2023 | UK | 18m +10m intro | Horror/drama

Dir: Craig Williams | Subtitled

Producer: Julien Allen

Starring: Bryn Fôn and Seán Carlsen

One winter’s morning in the quiet town of Rhuthun, North Wales, three men are called upon once again to carry out a terrible assignment on the neighbouring mountain pass - the Bwlch Pen Barras…

The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras is a brandnew Welsh folk horror short film set and shot in Rhuthun, Denbighshire, by debut writer-director - and Rhuthun native - Craig Williams. The film features a stunning score by Dafydd Ieuan & Cian Ciarán of the Super Furry Animals. It is edited by Mátyás Fekete, HSE ( The Duke of Burgundy , In Fabric ) and was shot on Kodak Super 16mm film by the legendary New York-based cinematographer Sean Price Williams ( Good Time , Listen Up Philip , Funny Pages ).

Julien Allen

Producer Julien Allen will introduce the film in person. Julien is a film critic and essayist for Reverse Shot , whose writing has also been featured in Film Comment, Cinema Scope and Senses of Cinema. The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras is his producing debut.

Enys Men 15

2022 | UK | 2h06m inc. Q&A | Folk Horror | Dir: Mark Jenkin

Starring: Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe and Flo Crowe

Shot on 16mm, Enys Men is a mind-bending Cornish folk horror set in 1973 that unfolds on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare.

In his 5-star review for The Observer, Screenplay curator Mark Kermode wrote: “What Enys Men ‘means’ will differ for each viewer. For me, it is (like Bait ) a richly authentic portrait of Cornwall, far removed from any tourist-friendly vision – a land defined by rugged industry (those miners are still down below), locked in an elemental struggle with the sea (a force that can both give and take life) and driven by a palpable sense of the past underpinning the future.”

“A supremely disquieting study of solitude.”

- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

There will be a live Q&A with Mark Kermode, Linda Ruth Williams, Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine after the screening.

Mark Jenkin

Mark Jenkin is a filmmaker based in West Cornwall. His breakout film, Bait , hailed by Empire Magazine as “A rare find that is a truly original feature by a British director” won the Outstanding Debut BAFTA in 2020 and went on to collect 7 major international awards.

Mark Kermode, writing in The Observer, described it as “One of the defining British films of the decade”. His follow-up, Enys Men premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2022. Sight and Sound described the film as “A revelatory experience”, whilst Tim Robey writing in the Daily Telegraph called it “Lo-fi folk horror heaven.”

Mary Woodvine

Mary Woodvine is an actress based in West Cornwall. She has an extensive career in theatre, film and television. She has worked consistently with Mark Jenkin over the last 10 years, voicing and appearing in several of his films. She played Sandra Leigh in Jenkin’s BAFTA-winning film Bait in 2019 and is ‘The Volunteer’ in Enys Men , which premiered in Cannes 2022.

Her father is the actor John Woodvine who plays alongside her in Enys Men : the first time in her 30 year career that that they had ever worked together!

Typist Artist Pirate King 12A

2022 | UK | 2h16m inc. Q&A | Drama | Dir: Carol Morley

Producer: Cairo Cannon | Starring: Monica Dolan, Kelly Macdonald and Gina McKee

In a last-ditch mission to get recognition for her talent, Audrey Amiss persuades her psychiatric nurse, Sandra Panza to take her on a road trip back to where her story began –but with so many deviations along the way, will they ever make it?

Written and directed by acclaimed director Carol Morley and inspired by her research into the diaries and art of the late, undiscovered artist Audrey Amiss, Typist Artist Pirate King is a British road movie -with a difference. Carol was inspired by Audrey’s documented experience of the way she saw her world, as both an artist and a self-proclaimed ‘lunatic’, and imagined Audrey on an eccentric quest across England, with her psychiatric nurse as her reluctant chauffeur. The film rides many tones, emotionally and comedically, as it shifts rapidly from the gritty to the fantastical and back again, embracing social

realism and magic realism along the way. Typist Artist Pirate King is a singular film, original and inventive, and a warm and engaging one that reaches out to and ultimately embraces its audience, just as they will embrace the unique and unforgettable character of Audrey.

The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with Mark Kermode, Linda Ruth Williams, director Carol Morley & producer Cairo Cannon.

Carol Morley

BAFTA nominated writer and director Carol Morley graduated with a first-class honours degree in Fine Art Film and Video from Central St Martins College of Art. Her feature films include New Orleans-set noir Out of Blue ; The Falling , an exploration of a mysterious outbreak of fainting in a 1969 girls’ school, which was shown at Screenplay in 2015; Dreams of a Life , which looked behind the anonymous newspaper headline about Joyce Vincent who lay dead in her flat for three years; and the Grierson Award winning The Alcohol Years .

She is also the author of the autobiographical novel ‘7 Miles Out’, set in the North West of England where she grew up, which has been optioned for development by Michael Winterbottom’s company Revolution, with Morley at the writing and directing helm.

Cairo Cannon

Producer Cairo Cannon p.g.a. runs Cannon and Morley Productions (CAMP) with Carol. She produced Out of Blue (World Premiere TIFF Platform) and The Falling (World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival).

Being In A Place: A Portrait Of Margaret Tait 12A

Margaret Tait was one of Scotland’s most enigmatic filmmakers. She died in Orkney, her place of birth, in 1999 at the age 80. 2018 marked her centenary with a series of exhibitions and events taking place worldwide to broaden the distribution and appreciation of her work (MT100). Tait made one feature film in her life (Blue Black Permanent, 1992) but was best known for her short 16mm poem-films (or film-poems). After studying with Roberto Rossellini at the Centro Sperimentale film school in Rome she based herself in Edinburgh where she ran the Rose Street festival – rubbing shoulders with the likes of John Grierson, Hugh MacDiarmid, Sorley Maclean and Norman MacCaig. She returned to Orkney in the late 60’s, this being the landscape and subject of the majority of her films. Tait faced many prejudices and adversities in her lifetime as a female independent filmmaker, largely because

of her singular practice and her stubborn refusal to conform to the trends and fashions of her day. Apart from Tait’s Blue Black Permanent (1992), and a Scottish Arts Council award for experimental film Colour Poems, Tait self-funded and self-distributed the other 31 films she completed in her lifetime.

Using a collection of unreleased material and unpublished correspondence, Luke Fowler’s film is a homage to Tait’s life honouring her art and devotion to film as a poetic medium. The work encapsulates the process of filmmaking, accenting the strengths in her methods, the importance of fragmented bodies of work and the intrinsic value in failure.

The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with Professor Linda Ruth Williams, Luke Fowler and Professor Sarah Neely.

Luke Fowler

Luke Fowler (Glasgow, 1978) is an artist, filmmaker and musician based in Glasgow. His work explores the limits and conventions of biographical and documentary filmmaking and has often been compared to the British Free Cinema of the 1950s. Working with archival footage, photography and sound, Fowler’s filmic montages create complex portraits of counter-culture and other marginalised figures.

Fowler was awarded the inaugural Derek Jarman Award in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2012 for his first feature film All Divided Selves . In 2019 he won Best Short film at both Glasgow Short Film Festival and Punto De Visto international documentary festival, Pamplona, for his film Mum’s Cards .

Sarah Neely

Sarah Neely is a writer, producer and researcher, working primarily in the areas of artists’ moving image and film archives. She is a Professor in Film and Visual Culture at The University of Glasgow.

This event is part of the Scottish tour of Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait , supported by Screen Scotland.

Gregory’s Girl 12A

1981 | UK | 1h46m inc. intro | Comedy | Dir: Bill Forsyth

Starring: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan

Shetland audiences turned out in gratifying numbers in June for the 40 th anniversary of Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero , which was shown in Mareel at Screenplay 2012, when Bill came to do a Q&A. He can’t come in person this time, but we have recorded an introduction with him, speaking to Mark Kermode about this, his first international hit, now released in a new 4K restoration.

Gregory, a normal, gangly, hormonally challenged school student has begun to discover the charms of the opposite sex –especially those of Dorothy, the new girl in school who turns out to be a talented football player (and definitely better at it than he is). Gregory is smitten with her instantly and sets out to try and impress her.

He is prepared to go to humiliating lengths to try and impress her but it doesn’t quite work out the way he anticipates, even with the loyal and unswerving support of his little sister… because someone else has eyes for Gregory.

Who will be Gregory’s girl?

Absolute belter of a family film, perfect entertainment and a chance to either indulge your nostalgia or make a new and joyful acquaintance.

For various reasons we were unable to record an interview with Bill Forsyth as intended. But we are delighted that John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory himself!) and Mark were able to record an introduction to the film.

John Gordon Sinclair

John has spent over ten of the last forty years working in London’s West End where he has enjoyed a very successful theatrical career.

His film credits include Miss Marx, Nico 1988, World War Z, Britannia Hospital, The Girl in the Picture, Erik the Viking and The Brylcream Boys. John has made four films with director Bill Forsyth - Gregory’s Girl (for which he was BAFTA nominated), Gregory’s Two Girls, That Sinking Feeling and Local Hero.

John has written three crime fiction novels (‘Seventy Times Seven’, ‘Blood Whispers’ and ‘Walk In Silence’) for Faber & Faber. He is currently working on his fourth - as yet untitled.

He has had an extensive television career, including Marple: Greenshaw’s Folly (ITV); Rab C Nesbitt (BBC/The Comedy Unit); Your Cheatin’ Heart, An Actor’s Life for Me, Nelson’s Column, Murder in Mind, Bergerac (BBC); Hot Metal (ITV/Humphrey Barclay Productions); Snakes and Ladders (Channel 4/ Yorkshire Television) and The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (CBS/TVC London), to name but some.

Top Hat U

1935 | USA | 1h41m | Musical comedy | Dir: Mark Sandrich Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton

Prepare to be swept away on a tap-dancing wave of nostalgia in this 1930s classic!

Showman Jerry Travers (Astaire) is working for producer Horace Hardwick (Horton) in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace’s hotel, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont (Rogers) below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Mistaking Jerry for her friend’s husband, she flees to Venice where she impulsively decides to marry her highly-strung Italian couturier Alberto and a madcap comedy of errors ensues. Featuring Irving Berlin classics like ‘Cheek to Cheek’, ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’, this is a highly enjoyable film from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Sunday afternoon in the company of Ginger and Fred? That will do nicely.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? 12A

2000 | USA | 2h5m inc intro & short film | Comedy | Dirs: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson

On the last night of Screenplay, Festival Director and Co-Curator Kathy Hubbard was allowed to choose one of her all-time favourite films… and this is it.

The title is from Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels , the plot is from Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, in one of the loosest adaptations imaginable; everything else is the Coen Brothers, in the absolute form of their lives. George Clooney stars as fast-talking, hair-conscious idiot Everett Ulysses McGill, busting off the chain-gang accompanied by fellow idiots Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson). Their picaresque wandering sets them adrift in the depression-era South, where they record a hit single, thwart a Klan lynching, play a decisive role in the Mississippi gubernatorial elections, and encounter a legion of utterly fantastic grotesques

who are without exception a joy to watch and listen to – nobody in this film gives a restrained performance, and you wouldn’t want them to.

Nearly every line of dialogue is quotable, and the score is a treasure-trove of period folk, blues and country gems – “old-timey music” that picked up a Grammy for Album of the Year. The Mississippi countryside has never looked more beautiful, with groundbreaking digital colour grading leaching out all the green from the landscape, leaving a dry tobacco-stained sepia. As the Blind Seer says to our three heroes: “Join me, my sons, join me.”

Kathy Hubbard will introduce this film and one of her favourite short films.

Home Made 1-4 12A

2023 | Shetland | 2h (1h30m on Sunday) | Short films | Various local film makers

When Mareel was first imagined, one of our dearest ambitions was to see the work of local film makers on the big screen - and Home Made has delivered this in truckloads since Screenplay started in 2007. One of the most popular events at the festival sees Shetlanders of all ages and abilities ‘putting it out there’ for us all to enjoy.

This year we have the usual mix of genres and styles, all of them coming in at four minutes or under, and all entertaining. The event is enhanced by a supportive (and rambunctious) audience, and as ever, there will be an Audience Award for their favourite film (we might actually have one this year, instead of just ‘the glory’ …). Once again, Shetland ForWirds will be donating actual cash prizes for the most effective use of Shetland dialect.

Book early and come prepared to cheer your heads off.

An Asteroid Called Unst U

2023 | Shetland | 11m | Short films

Producer: Jane Macauley

Starring: Julie Thomson

Wild Skies Shetland, an Unst-based charity, has made a film called An Asteroid called Unst . There really is an asteroid called Unst, and this is a family-oriented, fun imagining of what happened when Unst-the-Asteroid visited Unst-the-Island.

An Asteroid Called Unst will screen during the Audience Award voting at Home Made 1-4 on Friday 1 September.

The Graduates 12A

2022/2023 | Scotland | 1h inc. Q&A | Short films

Kathy Hubbard takes a welcome opportunity to interview two of Shetland’s film graduates, and to ask them about their experiences since leaving higher education.

Greg McCarron is a writer and filmmaker now based in Glasgow. He recently graduated with an MA in Writing Fiction for Television from Glasgow Caledonian University and has produced several animations (debuted at Screenplay!) which have been shown at national and international festivals. He works as a media manager in the STV archive and is also chair of the Shetland Film Archive. Having campaigned long and hard for Mareel to be built, he has been a loyal supporter of the Screenplay Home Made events for years.

Herma And Saxa U | 5m

Dancin’ All The Time U | 4m

Barnum Nixon Smith recently graduated from Screen Academy Scotland earning an MA with Distinction in Film, specialising in Directing. Prior to this he earned a BA in Theatre and Film from Queen Margaret University. Under his production company, AIT Pictures, he has directed five short films that have been screened and nominated for numerous awards such as ‘Best Short Film’ and ‘Best Director’, at a number of national film festivals. In 2022, he moved back to Shetland, where he wrote and directed his debut play Jack and the Beanstalk , Open Door Drama’s biennial pantomime. He is excited for his latest fantasy short film, Sacred Skin , to have its official premiere at Screenplay 2023.

Sacred Skin

12A | 14m

Three Films By Jenny Gilbertson PG

1932 - 1976 | Shetland/Melville Peninsula | 1h5m | Short films | Dir: Jenny Gilbertson

This screening is dedicated to Helen Thomson, the Gilbertsons’ elder daughter who died in May. A “stalwart of the Shetland pony” (Shetland Times), Helen championed the breed and taught generations of Shetland lasses how to work with horses. These three films span Jenny Gilbertson’s filmmaking career from the silent to televisual and offer testimony to her love and affinity with animals, clearly a family trait.

With thanks to Dr Shona Main.

In Sheep’s Clothing

1932 | 8m

In Sheep’s Clothing follows Phemie as she helps caa then roo the sheep before carding, spinning and knitting its wool. It is one of six short Shetland films made with the encouragement of John Grierson who bought them for the General Post Office Film Unit, paying £40.

Shetland Pony 1969 | 30m

The rearing of Shetland ponies on island crofts, showing each stage of a year in the life of Shetland ponies, from winter months to foaling and sale at market. An educational film that captures the strong nature of these small ponies.

Jenny’s Dog Team Journey 1976 | 25m

This film records the 350-mile 2-week journey by qamutiik (dog sled) from Igloolik to Naujaat (then Repulse Bay) with brothers Pierre and Joe, Joe’s wife Terry and their 3 month old baby, Priscilla.

Jenny Gilbertson

Born Jenny Brown in Glasgow in 1902, she befriended Phemie Peterson whilst holidaying in Shetland. It was with Phemie (from Hillswick), her husband Johnny Clark and his sister Tina in Heylor that she filmed and stayed when she made her first film, A crofter’s life in Shetland (1931). By WWII she was married to Hillswick blacksmith Johnny Gilbertson, who helped her make all her early films, and had two daughters, Helen and Ann. She sold her camera and taught at Urafirth, then Brae. In 1965 Jenny picked up a camera again, and slowly (it took 4 years) made Shetland Pony (1969). It was broadcast by the BBC in 1970.

Following Johnny’s death in 1967 and her retirement, Jenny seized an opportunity to film in the Canadian Arctic. She spent the next nine years in what is now Nunavut, living with and filming Inuit communities. It was here that she made Jenny’s Dog Team Journey, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1978.

Jenny returned to Shetland where she died in 1990.

The Great Maddrim Reunion PG

2007-2023 | Shetland | 1h30m | Short films

Various film makers

Way back in 2006, a group of enterprising and very creative friends decided to form a media club. In partnership with SIC Youth Services and Shetland Arts, and with the help of the late Alex Cluness, they applied for funding to purchase film making equipment. The rest is history.

Featuring members of Maddrim Media, past and present, Screenplay is delighted to show a programme featuring just a fraction of Maddrim’s prolific output over the past fifteen years, much of which has featured in Screenplays past. It’s an opportunity to bring as many of them, their friends, supporters and collaborators together as we can to celebrate the work of this extraordinary group and its contribution to Screenplay since the festival’s inception.

Interested in filming making? Want to learn how to make films or expand your film making skills and aged 11-26? Come and join Maddrim! We meet at the Youth Services building, Lerwick, from 7-9pm every Monday. If you are interested in joining, please come along or if you have any questions give us a message at maddrimmedia@gmail.com

Does Shetland’s spectacular scenery inspire you to snap away or press ‘record’?

How ever our islands move you, please share your reels, ideas, images and stories on Facebook and Instagram.

Big Screenplay Film Quiz

It’s big … it’s bad … and it’s the hottest ticket in town. Mareel’s monthly film quiz gets beefed up for the festival with ever more inventive ways of parting you from your film knowledge. The rules are simple – no more than six to a team, and NO CHEATING. Featuring Mark and Linda alongside your usual quizmasters, prepare to be challenged and entertained in equal measure.

Doors will be open at 7pm. As ever, we implore you to arrive in plenty of time as we do intend to start at 7.30 on the nose – we have a lot to get through!

And we need to emphasise that the £15 ticket charge is not per person – it covers the whole table, so the more teammates you bring, the better the value.

The Giant Poster Giveaway

Screenplay wouldn’t be the same without the giant poster giveaway… so don’t miss your chance to browse through our film poster archive and see what treasures you can find.

This is a popular event, so be sure to come early, especially if you are looking for a particular favourite.

Donations welcomed.

Landscape & 16mm Film Workshop

Experimental handprocessing techniques using foraged dyes.

Artist and filmmaker Louise Barrington leads a two-day workshop to coincide with the festival screening of Luke Fowler’s Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait. Louise, who worked as a production assistant and sound recordist on the film, will introduce participants to the technical aspects of shooting with a 16mm camera before demonstrating experimental techniques for handprocessing 16mm film, including the use of hand-foraged dyes.

Participants will work together to plan and shoot, and process their own 16mm film. All materials will be provided, and no previous experience is required. This event is part of the Scottish tour of Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait, supported by Screen Scotland. Shetland Arts would like to thank Shetland Museum and Archives for their support of this event.

Louise Barrington

Louise Barrington is a multidisciplinary artist based in Orkney. Her work uses film, dance, textiles, and sculpture to focus on the aesthetic and environmental aspects of the landscape experienced over the four seasons.

She studied Textile Design at Central Saint Martins, Sculpture at Slade School of Fine Art, and a PgDip Island Studies at the Institute for Northern Studies, UHI. Louise currently works part time at Orkney college: UHI.

www.louisebarrington.com

Kathy Hubbard

Kathy (the one on the left) has been Screenplay Director and Co-Curator since 2009, apart from 2019 and the year of Covid-19 (when there was no festival). She was formerly Head of Development at Shetland Arts and was a long-time campaigner for the creation of Mareel. Kathy feels it has been a privilege to meet so many extraordinary individuals from the world of film and cinema during sixteen years of Screenplay festivals. She has also loved seeing Shetlanders’ own films on the big screen; this may be the final Screenplay in its current iteration, but she’s sure it won’t be the last of Home Made.

The one on the right has frankly been no help at all.

Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode is a film critic, broadcaster and musician. He presents a weekly film music show on Scala Radio, and co-presents the Sony podcast Kermode & Mayo’s Take and the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot. Mark writes for the Observer newspaper, and is the author of several books on film and criticism including ‘The Good, The Bad & The Multiplex’ and ‘Hatchet Job’.

He has written and presented a number of film documentaries including The Fear of God - 25 Years of The Exorcist and On the Edge of Blade Runner. More recently he presented the BBC programme Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema. He plays double bass in the Dodge Brothers, a skiffle and blues band who also accompany silent movies.

Linda Ruth Williams

Linda Ruth Williams is Professor of Film and Television Studies at Exeter University. She writes about women working in the UK film industry, including their presence in archives and importance for film history, and was co-investigator on the big AHRC-funded research project ‘Calling the Shots: Women in contemporary UK film culture 2000-2015’, which was launched at Screenplay.

Linda is working with a group which is helping to improve the infrastructure and skills for people in the screen industries in the south west of England, including setting up the Screen Devon screen agency.

Thank You!

Since Screenplay started in 2007 Shetland Arts has been grateful for the support of many organisations, businesses and individuals to make the festival happen. A three year development grant from Regional Screen Scotland gave us a massive boost when the festival moved into Mareel in 2012, and since then, we have enjoyed enduring partnerships with Shetland Film Club (who undertook our touring programmes), JG Rae, Amnesty International Shetland and the local branch of UNISON.

The education programme, active since 2014, has been enabled by significant financial support from the local branch of the EIS, and developed with the invaluable aid of Noelle Henderson (Creative Links Officer, SIC) and Mike Tait and the Discovery Festival For Young Audiences in Dundee. Shetland ForWIrds added a touch of glamour to Home Made with the donation of cash prizes, and over the years we have been lucky to receive help in cash and kind from organisations as varied as The Shetland Fishermen’s Association and the Shetland Livestock Marketing Group.

To all of you, to our amazing volunteers, and especially to our main funders, Shetland Charitable Trust and Creative Scotland, we say a massive ‘thank you’.

PETER PARKER IN MEMORY OF LESLEY PARKER