Enlighten Up!

Do you exist? If you do, do you know who you are? If so, can you be sure you really know anything?! Robert Florence and Iain Connell have some burning questions for you that will change the way you see the world.  Through their unique brand of absurd comedy, Florence and Connell teach viewers just what it takes to think philosophically. This 30-minute special unlocks the big questions through mind-bending sketches and animations, using real world examples and contemporary culture.

For the answers we look 300 years ago to a group of upstart Scots. They came up with some crazy ideas- and changed the way we think about everything from happiness to what makes you, you! Florence and Connell tackle a big philosophical question in each sketch using the theories of the Scottish Enlightenment. 

Broadcast on BBC1 Scotland, and BBC Learning.

Clips online at here.

Watching Ourselves series 2

 

Our second series of Watching Ourselves returns with Greg Hemphill at the helm to celebrate more gems from the past 60 years of television in Scotland.

In a four part series, we examine how Hogmanay shows have, for better or worse, defined our culture at this very Scottish time of year. We revisit the heyday of the Scottish swashbuckler, a genre ruled by swordfights and skullduggery and talk to some of its dashing heroes.  Over the years producers and directors have made ground-breaking programmes capturing the artist at work, no mean feat when you're dealing with some of the nation's most challenging talents. And finally there's the weird and the wonderful ways in which television has celebrated the life and works of our most cherished national hero, Robert Burns. From the kitsch to the clever, the far-out to the fabled, Burns has been a staple of Scottish television since the formative years.

Featuring interviews with Michael Gambon, John Cairney, Billy Connolly, Eileen McCallum, Mary Marquis, Janis Forsyth, Iain Glen, Andrew O'Hagan, Alex Norton, Brian Cox and more!

Enquirer

Blending fact, anecdote and passionate opinion, Enquirer is a rapid response to the unfolding events in the newspaper industry. It is based on interviews with over forty journalists and was first performed in June as a site-specific piece of theatre performed in an empty media office block in Glasgow. 

This specially produced radio adaptation is a co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland, the London Review of Books and Hopscotch Films.

Edited and directed by Vicky Featherstone and John Tiffany, co-edited by Andrew O'Hagan. The Enquirer cast includes: Maureen Beattie, John Bett, Billy Boyd, James Anthony Pearson, Gabriel Quigley and Billy Riddoch.

Produced for Hopscotch Films by Clara Glynn and Carolynne Sinclair Kidd

Boccia Brothers

With the countdown to the London Paralympic Games well under way, this documentary tells the inspiring story of a bid by two brothers from Lanarkshire to be chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime event. Narrated by Billy Connolly, Boccia Brothers follows Peter and Stephen McGuire from Hamilton in the lead up to the selection process for the Games.

Their discipline is Boccia, a sport similar to French boules and which is believed to have ancient Greek origins. The programme picks up the story with the McGuire brothers riding high in the sport's rankings.

Stephen and Peter have an undiagnosed form of Muscular Dystrophy. Their lives have been burdened with their fair share of heartbreak and misfortune, yet they are inspiring and funny throughout. As well as being skilled practitioners of their sport, they are engaging and amusing characters during the journey.

The story of their quest for selection goes from the Scottish Championships to the International Championships in Portugal and on to the crunch date when the contenders find out if they have made a final cut.

Directed by Martin Clark and Cara Connolly

Watching Ourselves: 60 years of TV in Scotland

The best of drama, comedy, sport and documentary from the last 60 years have been dusted off and brought back to the small screen. Marking the sixtieth anniversary of television broadcasting in Scotland this seven-part series paints a picture of Scottish television and society.

With characteristic warmth and humour Greg Hemphill acts as guide through the years of broadcasting history talking to the actors, producers, writers, directors, and viewers who have found parts of their lives immortalised in TV history.

1911: Review of the Year

Hopscotch Films were commissioned by BBC Learning to create a unique window into what life was like one hundred years ago. With a mix of archive, animation and specially shot footage, we tell the story of six amazing events from the perspective of the witnesses. These are the stories you would be reading about in the newspapers one hundred years ago:

Bombing Raids in Libya:  Italian forces attack Libya in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire.  They drop bombs from small planes in the world’s first air raid.

Industrial Unrest in Glasgow: Women protest against a cut in wages and ten thousand workers strike at the Singer factory.

Armed Gang in shootout with the Police: Home Secretary Winston Churchill watches as police and army battle a gang of jewel thieves.

Art Theft in Paris: the Mona Lisa  is stolen from the Louvre.  It’s so famous it’s unsellable, the police suspect it’s a prank by the modernists.

The Conquest of the South Pole: Admunsun triumphs over Scott in a tale of adversity and heroism.

Street Protests for Democracy : Suffragettes storm parliament and smash windows demanding the vote.

Produced by; John Archer, Carolynne Sinclair Kidd

Directed by: Clara Glynn, Dhivya Chetty, Ewan Morrison, Joseph Briffa, Aileen Ritchie

The School of Scottish Studies

The School of Scottish Studies was founded as a part of the University of Edinburgh in 1951 to collect, archive, research and discover everyday life in Scotland; its culture, and lively arts traditions.

Taking their cue from pioneering American folklorist Alan Lomax, and the mid-century Mass Observation movement, the school’s researchers work in the field recording audio and moving image with people across the  length and breadth of Scotland.

As the school celebrates its diamond anniversary, this documentary looks back at this vast and astonishing range of materials, which tell us as much about the time they were made in as about the lives they were seeking to capture. We look to the present and future, as we meet some current researchers as they continue the work. 

Directed by Joseph Briffa

Produced by John Archer

Broadcast on 30th November 2011, BBC Scotland

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

An epic 15 hour film about the history of innovation in the movies. Made over six years on four continents, covering eleven decades and a thousand films.

Epic... a global vision of cinema. Ian Christie, Sight and Sound

Audacious... a treat for movie lovers. Toronto Film Festival

A brilliant and monumental achievement. Roger Graef

A landmark in thinking and talking about cinema. Jonathan Coe

The Story of Film shows that innovation is at the heart of movie history. This series is about the pioneers, the people who really loved film, brought it alive and used it in new ways. The questions it asks are: who, at any time, were the most dynamic filmmakers on the planet? What sort of films were they making? How did they drive movies forward? Each section of the story is filmed in a different country, an atmospheric reminder that movies are about the real world.

Movies can't change the world or feed a nation but for over a century now people have flocked to films, to see their dreams, their fears, their sexuality and that of others on screen. The movies at the heart of this story have helped shape how we feel, love, look and hope.

Based on the internationally acclaimed best-seller The Story of Film by Mark Cousins

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and look out for the new website coming soon: www.thestoryoffilm.com

Written and directed by Mark Cousins

Producer: John Archer

Asylum (2011)

A co-production with the Bureau and Imagine Pictures, Asylum was made with the support of Creative Scotland and Film 4. It is currently beginning it’s festival life and has been selected for Hamburg, Grimstad and Edinburgh film festivals.

Asylum from Hopscotch Films on Vimeo.

Writer/Director: Joern Utkilen  

Producer: Carolynne Sinclair Kidd & Matthieu de Braconier

For news and updates on Asylum click news

Ruby (2011)

A comedy about a pharmacist who dreams of being an entrepreneur, RUBY was a 4 part series for Radio Scotland, broadcast in Spring 2011, and starring Mina Anwar and Julia Deakin.

Written by Sanjeev Kohli and Donald Mcleary

Produced by Carolynne Sinclair Kidd