Mark Cousins and actress Helena Bereen at the world premier of I Am Belfast
I Am Belfast, the latest feature film from Mark Cousins, produced by John Archer and Chris Martin, had its world premiere as the opening film of the Belfast Film Festival. The night was a great success and reactions have been very positive. See below for press clippings and a glimpse of the night itself.
Featuring a Q and A with Alasdair Gray, a one off event at the Oran Mor will see the screening of “Alasdair Gray, A Life in Progress” as it starts a mini tour of Scottish cinemas. Live music of the soundtrack, recently released on Fence collective off shoot, De-Fence records, will be performed by Scott Twynoholm and friends.
There is also the opportunity to see an excerpt from the first film to ever feature Alasdair; 1964’s “Under the Helmet”.
Alasdair Gray, A Life in Progress, as well as documenting the painting of the main auditorium, where the screening of the film will take place, allows an intimate insight into Alasdair’s remarkable life and his impact on Scottish culture. It is a film by turns funny and incisive, reputed by Sight and Sound critic Thirza Wakefield, to contain one of the funniest scenes on film from 2014, and considered by the Scotsman to be a “remakable profile...it is not exaggeration to say it could completely redefine how Gray is perceived”.
Early booking is advised due to limited tickets.
EXCLUSIVE: Drama heads to shoot, The Yellow Affair to sell at EFM.
Brian Cox, Emilia Fox, Anna Chancellor and newcomer Coco König will star in The Carer, which is set to begin shoot in the UK later this month.
The Yellow Affair will present the English-language drama, directed by Janos Edelenyi, at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) (Feb 5-13).
The Carer is the last film scripted by the late Gilbert Adair,screenwriter of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, and was co-written by the director and long time Adair collaborator, Tom Kinninmont.
Cox will play an ageing star of stage and screen who forms an unlikely relationship with his immigrant carer.
Producers are Jozsef Berger of Mythberg Films (Hungary), Steve Bowden of Vita Nova Films (UK), Charlotte Wontner of Hopscotch Films (UK), and Kai Künnemann of A-Company (Germany).
Cox said of the film: “One of the central strengths of the movie is the comic creation of character Sir Michael Gifford - his persona is so bombastic and so full of himself while at the same time revealing deep and tragic elements of his character.”
“There’s a very strong feel-good element to the movie and ultimately it’s about redemption and about being who you are”.
The film is financed by the Hungarian Film Fund, UK private equity, Goldfinch Pictures (UK) and the Hungarian Tax credit, having been previously developed with the support of the Hungarian Film Fund, the MEDIA programme, Screen South (UK), Northstar (UK), Northern Film and Media (UK) and The Design and Creative Fund (UK).
The Yellow Affair previously sold the film to Rialto for Australia/New Zealand.
Showland: Behind the Scenes at the Fair broadcast last night to a positive reaction.
The opening sequence to Showland on BBC2 is the loveliest, most charming & intriguing start to a programme I have seen in a long time
— Mick McAvoy (@mickmcavoy) December 15, 2014The Herald led their arts and entertainment page with "Showland, where a proud way of life is dying."
"Narrated by Mitch Miller who was raised amongst the colourful caravans, trucks and stalls of the shows, he opted not to follow in his father's footsteps and forged a career as an artist instead. He has now made this poignant documentary to look back at the culture of the 'showmen' because, as the programme makes clear, their traditional way of life is under threat. The glitter, imagination and hard work which creates the Scottish fairground experience is being stamped out by petty bureaucracy and big business."
Read the full review here
Mitch Miller responded with his own thanks to the community on facebook. It's a reminder that when it comes to minority communities and the media there is a big responsibility.
"Well, it's been on...and the comments have all been very kind. And the ones I was worried about the most -those from showmen and women - have been the kindest. That means more than you can imagine; making your way in the wide world is all very well, but doing something your own can appreciate really matters. It was a privilege and an honour to be a part of it."
Here's a few (anonymised) samples of the community's reaction.
"You have really brought out the strength of spirit of the families and I see it in us settlers too! #proudhistory. Some great cameos to be spotted as well as the familiar faces and most of all, a great documentary."
"I loved the documentary, it was beautifully made and it was really great getting to see all of my families videos being used. I watched it with my grandparents/parents and brother. We all either laughed or cried at one point or another. It was very sentimental and personal and managed to show our community for how we really are! "
"It was brilliant to see a lot of old video clips & well spoken about funfair life, I feel so proud being a showman"
"Well done from a balanced viewpoint. Hopefully a hard but individual way of life doesn't disappear helped by Scottish red tape and Jobsworth hats!"
"Well done .The documentary was just what Showmen need to set the public right on who we are and where we come from and what we're all about . Nice to see a few old faces ."
Watch Showland: Behind the Scenes at the Fair on the BBC iplayer here
Behind Closed Doors is a series of three dramas by Clara Glynn.
Listen 1st-3rd December 14:15 on BBC Radio 4
Avalaible on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04sty1s
A Bad Night Out
The first in a series of three dramas following London barrister Rebecca Nyman. Following a drunken altercation in a town centre a man has been arrested and held in police custody overnight. But the events of that night are disputed and the case explores whether the police acted improperly and gave evidence that was not entirely accurate. Is there a case for paying compensation?
Excluded
The second in a series of three dramas following London barrister Rebecca Nyman. Thirteen year-old Cassius Young has been excluded from his Academy school in Croyden. He has been accused of bringing a knife onto the premises and persistently breaking school rules. This drama takes us into a 'School Exclusion Hearing' where the school governors hear testimony from Cassius, his mother, the headmaster and other staff. The school will decide whether the exclusion should be permanent. Rebecca represents Cassius at the hearing.
Catastrophic Injury
The last in a series of three dramas following London barrister Rebecca Nyman. Jane Gibson is fighting for compensation from an NHS Hospital, claiming that because of negligence by the midwife during childbirth her baby was born with Cerebral Palsy. Set in court, Rebecca Nyman is representing the hospital in what is an emotionally charged hearing for both sides. The compensation award is crucial for the mother to offset the additional costs she will have to ensure the best care for her son.
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
Huge congratulations from everyone at Hopscotch to Neville Kidd on his Emmy win. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Neville on many occassions over the years, and hope to again in the future! Neville won the award for Outstanding Cinematography For A Miniseries Or Movie for his brilliant work on 'Sherlock: His Last Vow’. We think Neville looks good with an Emmy, and not bad in his kilt!
In the last of the series of I Belong To Glasgow, Elaine C Smith takes to the streets of the city to give her view of Glasgow. She had one stipulation "I want to celebrate the women of Glasgow".
So gathering as many examples of brilliant women who have become part of Glasgow's fabric as possible, we took over the city centre big screens and broadcast their portraits to onlookers below. These are women who have made a difference in all walks of life from charity runners, community organisers and politicians to musicians, writers and artists.
Below is the list of names and achievements of the celebrated women, starting at the top left.
Hannah Frank- artist, Baroness Helena Kennedy- QC, Libby McArthur- actress, Nicola Sturgeon- Deputy First Minister, Maggie McIver- Founder of Barrowland, Eddie Reader- Musician, Cora Bissett- Director, Denise Mina- Writer, Ann Marie di Mambro- Writer, Roza Salih, Toni Henderson, Emma Clifford, Jennifer McCarron- Glasgow Girls Campaigners, Sue John- Glasgow Women's Library, Amy MacDonald- Musician, Professor Anna Dominiczak- Regius Professor of Medicine, Rachel Maclean- Artist, Katherine Grainger- Olympic Gold Medallist Rower, Samina Ansari- Amina The Muslim Women's Resource Centre, Dr Marion Gilchrist- First Female graduate of Medicine in Scotland, Rachel Thain-Gray - Mixing the Colours: Women Speaking About Sectarianism, Janice Galloway- Writer, Sally Magnusson- Broadcaster, Mary Barbour- First Female Councillor and Rent Strike Leader, Dr Mary Hepburn- Special Needs in Pregnancy Service, Margo Macdonald- MP, MSP, Professor Ailsa McKay- Feminist Economist, Ann Macbeth- Glasgow Girl Artist, May Nicholson- Pershal Trust, Govan, Kirsty Wark- Broadcaster, Jessie Campbell- Higher Education for Women Pioneer, Linda Thompson and Jan Macleod- Women's Support Project, Anne Wallace- Salt and Light Bus, Rachel Johnston- First Female Police Officer, Fatima Uygun- Save Govanhill Baths, Irene Graham- Women's Support Project, Rosie Kane- MSP, Dame Elish Angiolini- First Female Lord Advocate, Karyn McCluskey- Violence Reduction Unit.
We would like to thank all the participants for their kind permission for use of the images.
Our new series, I Belong to Glasgow, starts on the 27th June at 22:35 on BBC1 Scotland. Over the next four weeks our presenters, Karen Dunbar, Alex Norton, Sanjeev Kohli and Elaine C. Smith will show off the bits of the city they love as it prepares to host the Commonwealth Games.
First up is Karen Dunbar who takes us on an alternative tour of Glasgow, carrying on with drag queens, wrestling with Glasgow's deadly diet, digging in an allotment, playing the numbers at bingo and speaking her mind on a football phone in. On the way she celebrates a city reborn and like all good nights out, it ends in a singalong...
John Archer was invited to discuss BBC Scotland and the independent sector in Scotland at the Culture, Media and Sport committee yesterday, Tuesday 24th June. The inquiry is looking at evidence regarding the future of the BBC.
Also included on the panel were Ian Jones, S4C in Wales and Richard Williams of Northern Ireland Screen.
John started off discussion with commending the cultural impact of the BBC in Scotland, and pointing out room for improvement.
“We made a programme about the history of drama and productions in Scotland since television started 60 years ago. And in the 70s and 80s, particularly, there were distinctive network productions from Scotland, which told Scottish stories with writers like Peter McDougall. I think recently that’s weakened by importing drama production to Scotland possibly in order to meet quotas, which is an admirable aim, but it’s not making the most of what can be grown within Scotland. ”
You can watch the full panel discussion here, with the discussion on regions starting at 55 minutes in.
Open City Doc Fest has awarded its Best UK Film award to Iboga Nights, directed by David Graham Scott and produced by Hopscotch Films.
David said via twitter "I put three years of my heart and soul into it." The film relates the experiences of drug addicts trying to kick the habit with use of controversial drug Ibogaine, a process David has been through himself. The jury said: “with its spare yet telling portraits of people with desperate addictions, this compelling film brings the audience close to a very important issue.”
For more on the film check out the website Iboga Nights
Congratulate David on twitter @DGS120
Edinburgh International Film Festival held its inaugural Scottish Film Summit on June 18th. Hopscotch's John Archer was invited to attend.
“The Scottish film sector is facing a period of immense change, challenge and opportunity. The aim of the Summit is to provide a forum for the whole of the industry to come together to discuss the future Scotland’s film industry wants to build.
This is an opportunity to present the current views and concerns of the industry, and to look at how we build the Scottish industry post-Referendum.”
John was invited to share a vision of the Scottish Film industry in 2024, which got a great response.
Had an excellent day a #scotfilmsummit yesterday. I found John Archer of @HopscotchUK vision of the future particularly gladdening
— Grant Crockett (@NotDavyCrockett) June 19, 2014John Archer of @HopscotchUK is dreaming of future film production in Scotland, summing up #scotfilmsummit. #indyref http://t.co/42txLgOr2x
— Ben Kempas (@kempas) June 18, 2014Here is the text in full.
Let me tell you of a dream I had earlier this week. I woke in 2024, in a different Scotland and a very different film landscape. This is how it is in 2024. Film production in Scotland has stabilized after the heady year of 2020 when two different Scottish films won the Cannes Palme D’Or and the Oscar for Best Film. The five leading film companies, all very different, grew out of the great collaboration of 2015, when working as a co-operative, Scottish film companies benefitted from a huge injection of public support from Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise. Though controversial at the time, looking back it was just the boost that the industry needed.
Building on film’s position as being both cultural and industrial, IPS developed a collaborative and co-operative plan that was known variously as film’s Common Weal, and by the tag IPSo Facto – the very fact of it existing meant that it did good for all. The pooling of resources meant that any company of scale was able to draw upon legal, business and creative development support while freeing producers to do what they should be doing – produce. And the companies involved – ranging from low budget to high, fiction to documentary and animation – benefitted from their joint knowledge, drawing on each others experience and expertise.
Of course the timing was perfect. The ERDF fund for Scottish Film from 2015 provided a huge extra resource for production funding. Following Scotland’s decision for extra tax breaks for production in Scotland, combined with the attraction of new EIS funds, Scotland could draw on unprecedented production capital. This was a virtuous circle with the new studio providing the production space and an appetite for a throughput of new projects. Joining Eurimages in 2016 provided a shot in the arm for co-productions, as producers forged links all over Europe.
The locally produced Braveheart 2, set in the immediate future rather than the past, imagined a new vision for Scotland and gave its name to the new distribution model – with films being released in cinemas and on home screens via the Braveheart network. The buzz and excitement around new Scottish productions on their home turf was matched by a growing international following, with audiences around the world eagerly awaiting the new Scottish film.
The pool of writers available to producers had expanded greatly not only through the increased training courses dedicated to script production, but also thanks to the Swinney Charter, which meant that any creative writer living and working in Scotland lived tax free provided that at least 50% of their work was on qualifying Scottish productions – whether books, poetry, television or ,crucially, film.
Just exactly what is a Scottish Film has developed in many different ways since being defined at the 2014 film summit. But both legally and creatively it is now firmly established and best of all – recognised and loved by audiences all over the world.
Director David Graham Scott is following up his success with Detox or Die with an in-depth film on the effects of Ibogaine. We are happy to announce that the film will be shown as part of Open City Docs festival in London on June 19. For more details and tickets see here. Here's a taster view...