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Lights, camera, action Edinburgh-based company, Strange Boat, is asking the public to dig into their pockets and help fund some movie magic Words: Anna Millar
E dinburgh film company, Strange Boat, is asking the public to help finance their upcoming film, Electric Man. In the face of financial pressures, and in the spirit of community involvement, the team are inviting local film-lovers to donate money to get the film off the ground. In return they will be given a chance to get involved in the development of the film, with any donation of £100, £200 or £500.
Keen to stick closely to the low budget ethos, director and co-writer David Barras said, ‘We have an incredible Edinburgh producer, a brilliant cinematographer, a talented artist and bands from Edinburgh and Glasgow contributing; hopefully the public will be as enthused as they are.’ Barras’s first screenplay EM won the Euroscript Screenwriting competition in 2000, since which time several of his scripts have been optioned; he hopes Electric Man can build on that. With a brand new comic invention at its centre,
the story follows two twenty-something misfits as they stumble upon an extremely rare and valuable copy of Electric Man Issue 1 in the local comic book shop. ‘We wanted to build this comic character like an old classic, so we built him a back history from the 1930s to the modern day,’ he explains. Sticking close to their roots, the team hope to start shooting in March, budget allowing, at various locations around Edinburgh, including the famous Deadhead Comics shop, with hopes to feature the film at San Diego’s Comic Con and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
‘We just really want to bring the fun back into movie-making,’ says Barras. ‘Forget the doom and gloom and really embrace the Bill Forsyth kind of filmmaking that is humorous and entertaining; hopefully people will get on board with that.’
See www.electricmanmovie.com
FENCE RECORDS HOMEGAME RETURNS ■ Fence Records Homegame event is to return for its seventh year, at various venues in Anstruther, Fife. Spread over three days and hosted by King Creosote (pictured) and The Pictish Trail, next year’s festivities will run from 12–14 March, with performances from various artists on the Fence label, as well as a range of other up-and-coming Scottish, UK and international acts.
AND FINALLY, after months of planning, the first phase of the St Enoch Centre’s £100m makeover is complete. Highlights include the unveiling of toy emporium Hamleys which has chosen the Glasgow shopping centre as its first stand- alone store in the UK, outside of London.
8 THE LIST 3–17 Dec 2009
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BRIEFS
THE TENTH EDITION of Scotland The Best, full of author Pete Irvine's distinctive and reliable recommendations, has been published to coincide with St Andrew’s Day. The new issue of the biennial guide features Top Tens, which range from Away Days with Kids to Ten Places for Contemplation. The book also uses two new codes: DA (dogs allowed) and ATMOS, which the author describes as ‘the indefinable, ambience that you can sense and feel but can’t put your finger on.’ FALKIRK councillors have voted to scrap the Big in Falkirk Festival. Although attendance figures topped 100,000 this year, it was deemed ‘unsustainable’ in the current climate. The festival currently costs around £400,000 to stage and is credited with raising £1m for the local economy.
SOUNDTRACK GIANTS SET TO APPEAR Goblin will make their third UK appearance in 20 years, at the O2 ABC as part of the Glasgow Music and Film Festival. The strand is helmed by the Arches, as part of the Glasgow Film Festival. Goblin – who enjoyed close collaborations with filmmaker Dario Argento – famously soundtracked over 20 films, including cult hit Dawn of the Dead.
NATIONAL REVIEW OF LIVE ART PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED ■ Tickets for the 2010 NRLA are now on sale. This year’s programme features more than 100 artists who have played a part in the festival’s 30- year history, including Alastair MacLennan, Iona Kewney, Julia Bardsley & Andrew Poppy, Guillermo Gómez Peña, La Ribot, Michael Mayhew and Stelarc. The New Territories main stage will also present UK premieres of work by Australian artist Fleur Elise Noble, Slovenia’s Via Negativa and Hiroaki Umeda from Japan. The festival runs from 2–21 March. See www.newmoves.co.uk