ReelScotland round-up 🎬 4th December 2023
John Byrne, Sean Connery Talent Lab and The Wicker Man at 50
Welcome (back?) to the ReelScotland round-up, a look at what’s happening in the world of Scottish film and TV. If you work in the Scottish screen sector, are trying to enter it or just enjoy films and TV with a Scottish connection, then this is for you.
News
🎬 The death of screenwriter, playwright, artist and designer John Byrne at the age of 83 last Thursday has left the Scottish arts sector in mourning. It’s impossible to do justice to Byrne’s career here so please have a read of some of the numerous online obituaries, though it might also be a good idea to pop over to BBC iPlayer to watch one of his most impressive creations, 1987’s Tutti Frutti. I’d also recommend watching this fascinating interview between John Byrne and actor Peter Capaldi from a few years ago.
🏆 The results of this year’s BAFTA Scotland Awards were announced on Sunday 19th November, with the cast and crew of Aftersun taking home multiple awards and Lauren Lyle winning twice for her portrayal of Karen Pirie in the ITV series of the same name. Find the full list on the BAFTA website.
🎓 Famously donating his £1.25 million pay cheque from Diamonds are Forever to establish the Scottish International Education Trust, Sean Connery’s legacy continues with news of the Sean Connery Talent Lab, a new Edinburgh-based 12-month part-time training programme for 30 emerging Scottish filmmakers that will start in April 2024. Run by the The National Film and Television School (NFTS) Scotland, each of the 30 places will be substantially subsidised to ensure the programme is as accessible to as many people as possible, with 70% of fees underwritten by the Sean Connery Foundation.
💰 City of Edinburgh Council has agreed to contribute £60,000 towards supporting the return of the Edinburgh Filmhouse building at 88 Lothian Road, stating that councillors are “committed to having a home for cultural cinema in the heart of the city and for the wider sector going forward.” The fundraiser has almost passed the £200,000 mark and has been extended until the end of February, donations are still welcome to the Crowdfunder.
🎞️ On a side note, anyone who prefers watching their films in 35mm or 70mm should follow Analogue Film Scotland on Twitter/x for regular updates on where you can see the likes of Braveheart or Oppenheimer on the big screen the way they were meant to be seen!
📽️ Scotland’s screen and performance industries are to be boosted by a new multimillion R&D lab with sites based in Dundee and Edinburgh. According to Screen Scotland, the Convergent Screen Technologies and Performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) programme is supported with £75.6 million of funding and will specialise in virtual production, a new cinematography technique which uses computer-generated imagery (CGI), augmented reality and motion capture to create virtual film and performance sets.
🤝🏽 Short Circuit will be co-hosting the final Cinetopia networking night of 2023 at Edinburgh's Traverse Bar on Thursday 7th December from 7.30pm. It'll see many of those in the local filmmaking community gather for a chat and to hear from the likes of The Rig creator David Macpherson and Girl producer Adura Onashile - join the guestlist.
✈️ A teaser trailer has been released for the second season of hit BBC drama Vigil, filmed in Scotland and Morocco. Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) and Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie) look to the skies as they enter the secret world of drone warfare to catch a killer. The six-part series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
🚆 Photos from another drama filmed in Scotland have been released, this time for BBC One’s Nightsleeper, a real-time thriller set on a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London while a government agency desperately tries to intervene in the rapidly-escalating events onboard. The cast includes Alexandra Roach, Joe Cole, Alex Ferns, Sharon Small, James Cosmo and David Threlfall.
🎬 A new adaptation of David Nicholls' novel One Day is coming to Netflix. Partially filmed in Edinburgh, it stars Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall as Emma and Dexter.
⛰️ Also on the BBC over the festive period is Mary Berry's Highland Christmas, in which the cook travels to her mother’s homeland for a winter break - it airs on December 13th.
📧 Thanks to Michael MacLeod for the ReelScotland shout outs in his excellent Edinburgh Minute newsletters. Paid subscribers also receive the curated Edinburgh Culture Minute which is full of film and arts news.
🔥 Finally, this week marks the 50th anniversary of the classic Scottish horror film The Wicker Man, which was released on 6th December 1973. BBC Four is celebrating with a chance to watch the film on Tuesday at 10pm, followed by the 1988 Ex-S documentary on the film at 11.30pm. BBC Radio Four broadcast numerous Wicker Man-related programmes at the weekend, including a new adaptation of the story starring Brian Blessed, an episode of Desert Island Discs featuring Christopher Lee and an interview with actress Leslie Mackie, who was in the film - you should be able to find the full listings using this link.
Wicker Man fans might also want to check out new posters (including the one above) created by artists at Glasgow-based studio Float which they say updates the film’s imagery to how a more modern ‘horror’ aesthetic as The Herald reported on Saturday.
Watchlist 📺
A few films and TV series with a Scottish connection are dotted around the place right now, including:
Edinburgh-based director Paul Sng's new documentary Tish is now in selected cinemas. Driven by a commitment to document the impact of deindustrialisation on working class communities in Northeast England in the 1970s and 1980s, Tish Murtha used her camera to expose societal inequality. However, despite early acclaim for her work, she was unable to make a living from photography and died in poverty.
David Tennant returned to Doctor Who last week, while Ncuti Gatwa will be taking the TARDIS key from him on Saturday - watch the new episodes on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ everywhere else
Two Doors Down has returned for its seventh series, this time promoted to BBC One - watch all episodes on iPlayer
Loch Ness: They Created a Monster is a new documentary looking at the various people who have made their way to search for Nessie through the years - it’s now on iPlayer
Starring Kevin McKidd and James Cosmo, Glasgow-based drama Six Four is now on STV Player
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Thanks for reading!
Mutual shout-outs 'R' us! Thanks very much Jon. Really enjoying your revived regular posts 👍