Screen Scotland

⌛ There's still time to put in applications for the following opportunities: Move Summit are offering bursaries, which include a full access ticket and travel up to £100, for those who would otherwise be unable to purchase a ticket to MOVE Summit 2025. Bursaries will be awarded after the deadline to applicants who satisfy the criteria and at the discretion of the MOVE Summit organising team. The deadline to apply is Sunday 5 January 2025. 💡 https://lnkd.in/e_E2nQ7V In collaboration with DOC SOCIETY, the British Film Institute (BFI) has launched an application call for UK immersive documentary producers and producer/creators with active projects in development to take part in a Group Attendance to CPH:DOX in Copenhagen between 23 and 27 March 2025. Applications are now open with a closing date of Tuesday 7 January 2025. 💡 https://lnkd.in/eKF9hF8B Inside Out's International Financing Forum is the first and only 2SLGBTQ+ finance forum of its kind in the world. In 2025, they are looking for Canadian & International Narrative Feature Film Projects with budgets $2.5m+ (USD) to make their market premiere. Producers and/or creative teams will preferably have one feature under their belt already at the time of forum application. The deadline for submissions is Friday 31 January 2025. 💡 https://lnkd.in/ew759DY5

The Rig is back - series 2 is premiering globally on Prime Video on 2 January 2025! We caught up with Martin Compston, who plays Fulmer in the supernatural thriller, about the new series and how it feels to be back filming in Scotland. The Rig Series 2 was filmed at FirstStage Studios in Edinburgh, and accessed £61,161 through Screen Scotland’s Skills Fund to support its training programme led by Screen NETs, enabling trainees to gain vital experience working on a live High-End TV production. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/epEwckUY 📷 Images courtesy of Prime Video / Jamie Simpson

We're thrilled that A Bear Named Wojtek has been shortlisted for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards®! The 28-minute film tells the true story of a bear, adopted by Polish soldiers during the Second World War, that played a legendary role at the battle of Monte Cassino before they end up as Polish refugees in Scotland after the war. The director, Iain Gardner, an Edinburgh resident, was inspired by the fact that Wojtek the bear spent the last years of its life at Edinburgh Zoo and researched the details of Wojtek’s incredible journey. A Bear Named Wojtek won Best Long Form Animation at the British Animation Awards and Best Animation at the Venice TV Awards among others. The final five nominees will be announced on 17 January 2025, with the awards ceremony taking place on 2 March 2025. A Bear Named Wojtek is a Wojtek Animation Limited production, co-produced by Animation Garden Ltd, Filmograf and The Illuminated Film Company. Internationally, the series is being represented by Illuminated Films. Find out more about the Screen Scotland-supported film at https://lnkd.in/egndSmhF

Starring Colin Firth and Catherine McCormack, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth follows the true life story of Jim Swire and his wife Jane in their quest for justice for the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, which included their daughter Flora: https://lnkd.in/etRc_H9K In December 1988, the transatlantic flight from London to New York was destroyed by a bomb 38 minutes after take-off while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The film accessed £400,000 through Screen Scotland’s Production Growth Fund, with filming taking place in February 2024, in the Friars Brae area of Linlithgow. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth will premiere on Thursday 2 January 2025 on SKY One. 📷 Stills courtesy of SKY

✨ Call out for delivery partners! ✨ We're looking for delivery partners to work with us to deliver four new film development initiatives, which are designed to expand opportunities for filmmakers in Scotland to make short films or develop their first feature film. The programmes are designed to support Scotland-based film writers, directors and producers, from early stage through to those on the cusp of making their first feature film. The package includes the return of First Feature, and new short film production programmes across Scotland (following the closure of Short Circuit in 2024). For the first time, budgets of up to £90,000 per film will be made available for filmmakers based in Scotland to make creatively ambitious, shorts with the intention of garnering critical success. 💡 Applications for the four initiatives close Monday 20 January 2025, with interviews taking place in February 2025. Find out more about each of the programmes, including timelines, application details and budgets at https://lnkd.in/ejz4bB55

One of Scotland’s most promising filmmakers, Parker Dawes, has landed his first TV commission with Dà Sgadan - Two Peas in a Pod, due to air on BBC ALBA this Christmas.  Following numerous successes in the Gaelic short-film competition FilmG, 17-year-old Parker has written and directed the new production, commissioned by BBC ALBA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Kids Drama Exchange: https://lnkd.in/eaizqpu6 Alongside the EBU, Parker has had the chance to work with Emmy and BAFTA winning cinematographer, Neville Kidd – whose work includes The Umbrella Academy, Sherlock and Outlander – on the fictional short film. Aimed at a 6-9 year old audience, Dà Sgadan - Two Peas in a Pod follows mechanic Polly, who is fed up having to look after her pesky little sister, Pèigi. When a local gang offers her the chance to join them, Polly eagerly accepts - but what begins as a fun adventure soon takes a dark turn when Polly betrays her sister to gain the gang's favour. As gang leader Donnie Dan reveals his true colours, Polly must decide which path to take. The film has been produced by Channel X Hopscotch for BBC ALBA and is funded by MG ALBA and Screen Scotland. Parker was supported by award-winning producer Carolynne Sinclair Kidd and Lana Pheutan as co-writer. 📷 Parker directing the cast; Mara & Jessica play Polly and Peigi; the gang; Gaelic Trainees (l-r) Hannah Hunter, Sandy Morrison, Kayleigh Bell

The BBC has announced the full cast line-up, alongside a first-look at the brand-new series, of An t-Eilean (The Island), the UK’s first-ever high-end Gaelic drama series: https://lnkd.in/eFYEDRcf A tense, twisting story of lies, loss and long-buried secrets, the murder mystery is set against the elemental backdrop of the Western Isles of Scotland. An t-Eilean (The Island), which combines Gaelic dialogue with English, will air in early 2025 on BBC ALBA, BBC iPlayer and BBC Four. Sorcha Groundsell (His Dark Materials, Shetland, The Innocents) leads the cast as Kat Crichton, a young Family Liaison Officer, assigned to investigate the brutal murder of the wife of a local tycoon at a remote island mansion. She stars alongside Sagar Radia (Industry) who plays her boss, DCI Ahmed Halim. The murder investigation unravels on the island of Lewis and Harris, from where Kat mysteriously fled ten years previously. An t-Eilean (The Island) is funded by MG ALBA, All3Media International and Screen Scotland. An t-Eilean (The Island) is a Black Camel Pictures production for BBC ALBA, and BBC iPlayer, in association with All3Media International. Written by Nicholas Osborne and Patsi Mackenzie, and directed by Tom Sullivan. 📷 Credit Black Camel Pictures / BBC Alba / John Maher

It's less than a month until the new series of The Rig launches on Prime Video: the highly-anticipated-thriller will premiere globally on Prime Video on 2 January 2025: https://lnkd.in/e9nf6X89 The cast, including Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Emily Hampshire, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale and Mark Addy, were reunited at a special screening yesterday morning at The Everyman in Edinburgh, during which the launch date was announced. The six-part UK Original series filmed at First Stage Studios in Edinburgh, and accessed £61,161 through Screen Scotland’s Skills Fund to support its training programme led by Screen NETs, enabling trainees to gain vital experience working on a live High-End TV production. The second series of The Rig sees the surviving crew of the Kinloch Bravo arrive at a new secret offshore facility called the Stac, nestled deep in the extraordinary and deadly landscapes of the Arctic Circle. Here, the trapped crew must deal with the emotional and physical fallout of the devastating tsunami that destroyed the Bravo, and contend with swirling conspiracies, corporate conflicts, and new threats from the dark depths of the world’s ocean. You can also watch the new trailer at https://lnkd.in/eYREezKt 📷 Image courtesy Prime Video / Jamie Simpson

In 2025/26, Creative Scotland’s draft Grant-in-Aid budget from the Scottish Government will be £80m, up from £51.4m in the previous year. Included in this is an additional £20m, specifically for use in supporting the Multi-Year Funding programme and an additional £2m to support delivery of Screen Scotland’s strategy. ⬇️ Read the full statement below, and learn more about the strategy: https://lnkd.in/em3WbH4M

Here's your first look at the cast of Gifted, a new action-adventure series for children aged 8 to 12, adapted from Marilyn Kaye’s popular novels by award-winning screenwriter Emma Reeves! ✨ https://lnkd.in/dT5DfgNH Set in modern-day Edinburgh, Gifted tells the story of a diverse group of young Scottish teens who discover they each have unique superpowers, from telekinesis to invisibility and mind reading. The Screen Scotland-supported series filmed in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and is set to premiere on BBC iPlayer in the UK at the end of 2025, with an international rollout planned for Spring 2026. The drama series is an international co-production between Glasgow-based producer Black Camel Pictures and Paris-based French producer Media Valley. The show has been commissioned by CBBC in association with NDR/ARD via One Gate Media in Germany, with additional support from Screen Scotland. Studio 100 International will handle global distribution. 📷 Image courtesy of BBC