On June 4th we launched Screen Academy Scotland’s 10th anniversary year celebrations at Cineworld, Edinburgh with a packed out screening of Ten Years of Talent, a selection of some of the best award winning short films from our first ten years. Jointly hosted with BAFTA Scotland, we were delighted to welcome Local Hero, Cold Mountain and Mad Max:Fury Road producer Iain Smith OBE who introduced the programme of 6 films.
Iain Smith said “Screen Academy Scotland graduates have been nominated at the Oscars, won dozens of BAFTA awards and outshone literally thousands of their peers to compete in Cannes. They are now working across the film, television and the games sectors from script to screen.”
“All this has been made possible by the support of industry and by a relatively modest amount of public sector funding. However, compared to other national film schools that funding remains very meagre.”
“So it’s now high time that the Academy was put on a more secure footing, giving it the resources to be able to plan ahead and to fully integrate with developments such as the much-awaited Scottish film studio(s) and the growth of high end television drama that we’ve seen here recently. The talent is clearly here – let’s make sure we give them the time, the space and the tools to shine even more brightly.”
Also speaking were Professor Robin Macpherson, Director of Screen Academy Scotland (2005- 2015), Emma Davie Programme Leader on MA/MFA Film Directing, ECA and Alistair Scott, Programme Leader, Edinburgh Napier and the new Director of Screen Academy Scotland.
Alistair Scott and Emma Davie thanked outgoing Screen Academy Director Professor Robin MacPherson, whose 10-year tenure will end in July when he takes up a creative industries post with the University of the Highlands and Islands. Robin has said “We’ve achieved an enormous amount in Screen Academy Scotland’s first decade and I’m confident that, if the vital support of our public bodies is there, over the next few years both Scottish film and the Academy will reach new heights.”
The films that were screened were:
Maria’s Way (2009, 15min)
River Child (2006, 16min)
Patata Tortilla (2014, 17min)
Red Burqa (2008, 5min)
Mura (2012, 11min)
Karama Has no Walls (2012, 26min)
During the next 6 months, Ten Years of Talent will be touring cinemas across Scotland, starting with Xpo North on June 11th.