ReelScotland round-up 🎬 September 2024

Save Screen Machine, Gaelic horror and The High Life returns

Promotional still from Screen Machine campaign video

Welcome to the ReelScotland round-up, a look at what’s happening in Scottish film and TV. If you work in the Scottish screen sector or enjoy films and TV with a Scottish connection, this is for you.

🚐🎥 Screen Machine, Scotland's mobile cinema serving the Highlands and Islands for over 25 years, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to secure a new vehicle. Supported by actor Alan Cumming, the initiative aims to raise funds for a more accessible, comfortable and sustainable mobile cinema. The current vehicle, on loan after the original’s retirement, faces limitations in reaching all 44 communities it serves. The new Screen Machine, costing approximately £1.7 million, promises to continue bringing the latest films to remote areas, potentially saving 8,000 litres of diesel annually.

🍻 Edinburgh's Filmhouse has secured a premises licence from the City Council, allowing it to sell alcohol. This crucial step maintains the cinema's previous offerings and distinguishes it from a typical pub in the 'over-provision' area of Lothian Road. The decision aligns with the Council's support for reopening the cinema.

📽️ Staying with Filmhouse, Edinburgh Live reports that the new operators aim to reopen in March 2024, however challenges remain, including a potential refusal for an advertising screen installation.

💰 The Stirling Studios project has received a significant boost with the approval of a £6 million building contract for redevelopment at the Forthside site. The Daily Record notes that the investment, part of a £19.1 million UK Government Levelling Up Fund grant, will primarily focus on upgrading a 160,000 square-foot former Ministry of Defence building.

💻 Screen Scotland's new pilot fund, PGF Project Post, has successfully attracted major post-production work to Scotland, including HBO Max's The Penguin. The initiative, created in response to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes, aims to bring large-scale film and TV post-production to Scottish facilities. Glasgow-based FixFX worked on the high-profile Batman spin-off series, showcasing Scotland's VFX talent.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 GMAC Film has reopened applications for its Little Pictures programme, aimed at nurturing new Scottish filmmaking talent. The initiative will commission eight short films up to 12 minutes long (six minutes for animation) across various genres. Successful applicants receive up to £4,000 in production funding, along with training and mentorship.

👶 Screen Scotland, in partnership with Breaking The Wall Education, is offering a comprehensive film and screen training programme for Early Years practitioners across Scotland. This initiative aims to test Screen Scotland's draft Film and Screen Curriculum in early years settings. The fully-funded programme, running from June 2024 to May 2025, includes in-person and online training, classroom support, and resource development.

📺 BECTU Vision has opened applications for its 2024-25 Producer Development Programme, aimed at nurturing Scotland's future high-end television producers. The 9-month programme offers monthly training courses, masterclasses, and bespoke individual support for senior scripted film and TV practitioners. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 8th October at 9am.

🌟 Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has announced participants for its fifth year of talent development initiatives. Screen Scotland reports that nine Scotland-based projects have been selected for Animatic, a six-month training programme for animated feature films, series and shorts. Additionally, GFF revealed the 2024/25 participants for its New Talent Mentorship Scheme, supported by industry veterans like Ben Wheatley and Prano Bailey-Bond.

🎬 Five Gaelic short films from the FilmG competition have been shortlisted for the Scottish Youth Film Festival. Entries include Aillse Sealladh Marsaili by Sgoil Lìonacleit, winner of FilmG's People's Choice Award, and Iomlaineachd by Parker Dawes, previously named Best Film in the FilmG under-18 category. Other shortlisted films explore themes ranging from Gaelic education to a Kardashian-inspired mockumentary.

🇪🇸 The 11th Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) is set to run from 2-26 October, showcasing 15 Spanish-language films. This year's lineup features seven debut features from Spain and Latin America, all Scottish premieres. The festival opens with Artificial Justice, a futuristic political thriller by Galician director Simón Casal, who will be present for a Q&A.

🎬 The village of Gartmore in west Stirlingshire is set to host filming for Glenrothan, a new film starring Brian Cox and Alan Cumming. The Daily Record reported that filming took place last week, with scenes at the Black Bull pub, Gartmore Cemetery, and the village's Main Street. The story follows two estranged brothers attempting to save their family-owned distillery.

🧛 AMC Studios is set to film their new vampire drama series Talamasca in Glasgow. The Scottish Sun reports that filming will take place on Bothwell Street and surrounding areas on 12-13 October. The six-part series, which will also shoot in Manchester until February 2025, has requested road closures from Glasgow City Council to accommodate the production.

🎬 A new Gaelic horror film, Seaforth, is set to bring the legend of The Brahan Seer to life. Written and directed by John Murdo MacAulay, the folk horror will be filmed on Lewis and Harris, drawing inspiration from the 17th-century Scottish farmhand known as the "Hebridean Nostradamus". The film stars Lewis actress Sorcha Groundsell and is executive produced by ex-Good Omens showrunner Douglas Mackinnon.

🍿 Scotland's cinemas are set for an action-packed October, according to The Skinny. Highlights include film festivals such as the Edinburgh Short Film Festival and Doc'n Roll, alongside special screenings from the London Film Festival at GFT. Genre enthusiasts can enjoy GFT's "The Art of Action" series, featuring classics like Safety Last!, while Dundee Contemporary Arts celebrates 100 years of surrealism with a dedicated film season. Halloween brings a variety of horror screenings, including a unique audio-only thriller Dark Soul, designed for visually impaired audiences.

🗞️ A treasure trove of 99 vintage TV adverts for Scottish comics and magazines like The Dandy, Bunty and Jackie has been discovered in DC Thomson's Dundee basement. Dating back to the 1950s and 60s, these films offer a unique glimpse into early commercial television advertising and social history. Through a partnership between DC Thomson and the National Library of Scotland, these ads have been restored, digitised and made available online via the Moving Image Archive.

📚 Still Game has been reimagined as a comic book, adding a new dimension to Craiglang. Created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, the first book He Who Hingeth Aboot Getteth Hee Haw features six comic strips based on the show's first series and promises to bring new life to Jack, Victor and the gang through detailed illustrations and creative storytelling.

✈️ Oh deary me! Take a flight back to the 90s on BBC iPlayer as Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson’s cult comedy The High Life gets another airing. It comes as the pair pen a new stage musical version for National Theatre of Scotland, which will see the pair return as Steve and Sebastian.

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