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SCOTTISH FILM
Richard Wilson
I BAFTA Scotland Awards Familiar faces from in front of the cameras mingled with the big-wigs from behind the scenes as Scotland’s film and television industries met at the second BAFTA Scotland Awards on 4 Nov in Glasgow. In the presence of HRH The Princess Royal, a total of twenty awards were given out, indicating the breadth and quality of Scottish moving image talent.
Peter Capaldi swept away with an enviable hat-trick, picking up awards for Best Actor (Soft Top, Hard Shoulder. Best Film (Soft Top. Hard Shoulder. which he wrote) and Best Short Film (Franz Kafka 's It 's A Wonderful Life. which he wrote and directed). His spotlight was shared by Gerda Stevenson (Best Actress for Blue Black Permanent), John McGrath (Best
Writer for The Long Roads, which also won Best Single Drama), Richard Wilson (Best Television Actor for One Foot In The Grave), and Annette Crosbie (Best Television Actress for One Foot In The Grave and Doctor Finlay, which also won Best Drama Series). Rikki Fulton received the BAFTA Scotland Lifetime Achievement Award, while Professor Colin Young, former head of the National Film And Television School. was given the fellowship of the Academy.
I Movie Makars: The Scottish Film Council’s week of workshops and debates designed to foster Scottish screenwriting returns to lnvemess at ’ the end of November with an George ll’s Bedcoat army bursts in to a impressive list of internationally , roll of the drums, crying out for renowned names on call to dispense recrllits to fight the rebellious
advice to young filmmakers. Volker Jacobites in the Scottish Highlands. A Schlondorff, Atom Egoyan, Jimmy bearded Englishman, looking McGovern (Cracker), Peter McDougall suspiciously like Brian Blessed, rises (Down Among The Big Boys), Doug to the challenge, takes the King’s Eadie (As An Eilean) and long-running shilling and swears on the Bible to partnership Dick Clement and lain la help ‘kick Prince Charles Edward Frenais are a few of those who will be I Stuart’s arse back to nome’. But a taking part. Full report next issue. i Scottish voice - this time suspiciously I Atom Egoyan: Making the most of like lain Cuthbertson - counters,
his visit to Scotland for Movie Makars, ! calling for Scots to ‘rise to claim our the Canadian-based director will drop ; ancient rights and liberties’. Maybe into the Glasgow Film Theatre (Sat 27) I this is typical behaviour in Edinburgh’s and Edinburgh Filmhouse (Sun 28) to City Chambers, but today. “Milk "Ot- discuss his work following a screening ' “'10 hundred and fifty years on from of his most recent film, Calendar. Cllll0llell. the “tors are giving us a
I on Shop: GFT‘s latest addition to taster of Chasing The Deer. a 90-
its facilities, a shop handily placed at : minute. 35mm feature bl! Cromwell
the end of the foyer, was officially i Films, due to begin principal
opened last week by Thelma ’ photography next spring. The cameras Schoonmaker, Oscar-winning editor of Will r0", however, only if the last Raging Bull and widow of Michael . stages 0i “"3008 can be secured Powell. The shop will stock a wide . through public subscription from
range of hard-to-get video titles and companies and individuals. The film’s film soundtracks. amongst other ; producers have scheduled a
goodies. ; production budget of £450,000, which
Ready for battle
has been divided into 450 £1000 shares. Around 150 investors are still needed and, as the filmmakers admit, putting up the money may not make you a millionaire, but it will secure your name on the credits, tickets to the exclusive premiere and your face in the battle scenes.
Producer Bob Carruthers reckons Chasing The Deer will be the first ever ‘accurate and faithful portrayal of the Jacobite rebellion’; the usual cinematic views on Scotland’s history are, he believes, ‘heather and haggis pastiches that make Brigadoon look like a gritty costume drama’. Chasing The Beer’s accuracy will come through some brave, uncommercial moves: using Gaelic for those characters who would indeed have spoken the language; casting a French actor of Italian descent in the role of Bonnie Prince Charlie (who was born in Rome and lived in France); avoiding the romanticised image of a Scotland v England civil war by acknowledging that many Scots saw the Jacobites as a political and religious threat. Drawing on the talents of the country’s many historical re- enactment societies, the film aims to set a family drama - father and son on opposite sides - against lush Scottish landscapes and a colourful, turbulent period. Big scenes, partial subtitles, correcting historical myths: could this be Scotland’s Dances With Wolves? (Alan Morrison)
More information is available from Cromwell Films (Scotland), 16 Forth Street, Edinburgh Elli 3l.il.
_ Lights, action, VISIOII
Thom Dibdin talks to Chris Byme, co-ordinator of the Ninth Fringe Film and Video Festival, about
this year’s event at the Edinburgh Filmhouse.
it must have been the Nietzsche Pops; that‘s the only explanation. The Fringe Film and Video Festival has grown so much. not just in the sheer quantity of films on offer but also in their scope and quality, that the normally docile production team must have been eating something to make them want to dominate the world of alternative film screenings.
Nietzsche Pops may only be a two minute short - a little boy eats what can only be described as the ‘iiberbreakfast‘ and consequently decides to take over the world before elevenses — but it provides an almost complete illustration of how the festival has grown. For a start. the 35mm film was
first generated by computer; it fails to take itself too seriously; it is
. entertaining and it is just the right
perfectly formed. it would hardly be a ‘fringe' festival ifthey were. but the ability to pick and choose has ensured
length.
‘We had over a thousand titles to look through this year,‘ says Festival Co- ordinator Chris Byrne, by way of explanation. ‘We were looking for work that was not made on big budgets or with a professional crew, but had something there: an idea or a story line which was interesting, or was doing
; that the themed screenings should at
least be watchable. ‘We are trying to
take work which might otherwise be
: regarded as difficult or too obscure to i watch, and promoting it in such a way as people feel that they are coming to
g see something that they might be able 2 to enjoy.‘ says Byrne. ‘That is why we have thematic blocks. so we can say something we hadn‘t seen before. i “this is generally about sexuality. the Maybe a little bit of humour or a little politics of identity and society or a
bit of intellectual insight. So the geographical area such as eastern festival raises a variety of talents and Europe.“ If you were, just to sandwich variety of production techniques as 5 some of this work with the products of well, from high level video art to
; Hollywood or even the European pe0ple playing around with cam- filmmakers and TV makers, people
corders, super-8 and even Pixel Vision.‘ ; could come out thinking “what was Of course the films are not all
i that about?“ it is a question ofgiving it
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a favourable context.‘
The influences of Hollywood are there though, strangely through such blockbusters as Total Recall where digital technology was used to create cinema. ‘As technologies come down in price. experimental makers and people who don‘t have access to big budgets are going to start using that more and more to pursue their own ends,‘ according to Byrne. ‘One programme, “Electronic Arts“ focuses on these technologies and how they are being used. specifically by people calling themselves artists. Some of those pieces are entirely computer generated. some use a combination of live footage and manipulate it
afterwards.‘
Although there is a good selection of Scottish films, the flavour ofthe festival is distinctly international. ‘Previously more than halfofthe films originated in the UK.‘ says Byrne. ‘This year it is only about 15 per cent: we have work from 25 countries. It is important to bring this material to . Edinburgh. not only for filmmakers but , so that audiences here have an , opportunity to see work they just would 9 never see otherwise.‘ The Ninth Fringe Film and Video Festival is at Edinburgh Filmhouse from Wed I to Sun 5 December. See Film index and listings for further
details.
The List 19 November—2 December I993 17