FEATURE NEW SCOTTISH FILMMAKERS
Prague
Ian Sellar
Writer/ Director of Venus Peter and soon-to-be-released feature Prague.
‘Prague is about the search for identity, a pretty appropriate subject for a filmmaker really, and one which is central to most of my films. It is very much a Scottish film as the central character is a Scot and, like seaside rock, it is run right through with all the passions of a Scottish mind. But I never really considered this to be an important issue. I’m not aware of making ‘Scottish’ films; I just portray people in what I hope to be an honest way.
‘Scotland doesn’t have a culture which values film. Maybe they haven’t been given the right food because they just aren’t hungry for it. Scottish culture, however, is just as rich — if not richer — than any other European country, with amazing potential for the visual and the imaginary. There are plenty of films to be made in Scotland, plenty of sides which have never been portrayed and there’s no reason why anything can’t happen. People just have to stop moaning and do it - make good films. Why? Because films have the capacity to express people’s souls.’
i Now in post-production of
Betty’s Brood
Mick McConnell
Director of Betty ’5 Brood, highly commended at the 1991 Edinburgh Film Festival, and soon to be broadcast on Channel
4. ‘Betty ’3 Brood was made for £2000, which just about paid for transport and food. People sweated blood and tears. It’s an urban story, dealing with problems such as drug abuse, unemployment and poverty, and was made by the Gorbals Unemployed Workers Centre. For community groups it’s a very important film as it has set a bench-mark. People can now see just what is possible even with VHS equipment.
‘Film can often articulate what people who aren’t good with words or language want to say and Betty’s Brood has changed a lot of people’s lives. It has given them confidence. I know when I saw Gregory’s Girl I thought, “Magic, there’s my life up there
on screen.
Bill Anderson
Writer/ Director currently at the National Film School. Last film
l
King ofJazz screened on BBC 2.
feature due to go be shown at
Edinburgh Film Festival.
‘Creatures of Light is set in 19th century Scotland and it’s a love story in a rural setting. We filmed on Mull where we had to contend with force eight gales and with the art department accidentally driving the van off a cliff. I’ve always had total undiluted support from people in Scotland working in the industry even before I went to film school. There’s so much talent hanging around trying not to work on Taggart. In a wider sense, people think of Scotland as being exotic, but for me it’s a culture I know and understand, and this story, although it could have been set anywhere, just worked in Scotland. If Scottish people start to take themselves seriously, they will be taken seriously.’
Margaret Tait
Writer/ Director of n umerous shorts mostly in an experimental vein and subject of two television documentaries. Currently in pre-production of first feature due to go on general release in September.
‘It has taken seven years to raise the funds for Blue Black Permanent, and the money comes from seven different sources. Set in Orkney and Edinburgh, the story is about a Scottish woman who has a strong love ofthe sea. It could be set anywhere, as it’s an emotional but universal story. Since the 505, I’ve been making short films of4—45 mins long, with absolutely no finance. They
Creature: ot Light
PEN
just sort of bumped along, each one just about paying for the next. Let’s hope that this film will act as a precedent, as it’s an artistic film which hopefully will do well commercially. Nevertheless, there’s no guns and there’s no murders.’
Alan Finlay
Writer/ Director. Recent recipient of grant from GFVW for film to be included in annual Production Workshop at the GFTin July. Lastfilm Reclamation shown at Expo Festival of Experimental Film and Video in February.
‘The film I’m working on at the moment, Wired, is about my grandfather in the 205, contrasted with a city in the present day. It looks at the personal and contrasts it with the public. I’ve been influenced visually by Bill Douglas, but I’d like my work to be seen more as creative documentary. It’s Scottish in so far as it’s set in Scotland, but I’d hate to be parochial.
‘What’s lacking in Scotland is an integrated structure to pull the talent up. With so little money around, the people who are producing stuff have to be admired. However it has started moving and there’s a really strong undercurrent of motivation despite all the obvious problems.’
Reclamation
Sharon Kerr
Writer/ Director of short, funded through the S TV/SF C scheme. ‘Wave is a surreal documentary drama, filmed around the pit bings and slag heaps of Lanarkshire. It focuses on the state of flux in Scotland and also on a global level. What I hope this film will do is document an area which has been almost totally disregarded by the media. The moving image is, for me, a way of capturing this derelict landscape and putting life and movement into it. Then I hope to be able to view it and analyse it from a different perspective. The STV/SFC Awards are vitally important for filmmakers, but people in Scotland should broaden out and accept experimental as well as narrative works.’
10 Thai; {(3:53K3ri1 1992