EURO SUCCESS FOR FIVE SCOTTISH INDIES

NEWS from Brussels this week confirms the continuing success of Scottish Screen¹s commitment to building a strong indigenous industry, with the announcement that five Scottish independent production companies have secured major awards under the new MEDIA Plus scheme.
All five companies are already supported in various ways by Scottish Screen from the Lottery Fund.
Taylored Production¹s success comes from MEDIA Plus¹s TV Broadcasting ,for the documentary feature ‘Through Hell & High Water’ which is also funded through Scottish Screen Lottery. This feature tells the story of an almost forgotten Second World War rescue in the freezing Arctic seas, bringing together some of the survivors for the first time in fifty years.
Monogram Wark Clements gains euros from the Development fund to allow it to develop a slate of projects. The company also recently received Company development finance from the Scottish Screen Lottery.
Mark Littlewood, Doug Eadie and Mike Alexander¹s Pelicula Films also receive development funding to allow them to develop their documentary feature ‘Homage to History George Orwell’. Pelicula is also developing ‘The Chieftain¹s Daughter’ with Scottish Screen lottery cash.
Amy Hardie's documentary ‘A Beginner¹s Guide to Dying’ which first came to light when it won a Creative Scotland Award in 2001, followed by a Lottery Award also gets money from the MEDIA Development, under its single documentary fund. These documentary takes a personal and surprising look at the rituals and taboos surrounding the end of our lives.
Gabriel Films who are developing a slate of projects under Scottish Screen¹s Company Development Scheme receive further Development funding under the MEDIA Plus single documentary scheme for ‘Sightseer: Views from the Edge of Europe’, looking at the lives of people living on the very edges of the continent in Norway, Ireland and Spain, their changing relationships to the land and their traditions.
Steve McIntyre, Chief Executive of Scottish Screen is delighted that Scotland's international profile is increasing year on year. “We now have a real number of substantial players on the UK scene and as these awards prove, on the international one too. One of the most important things Scottish Screen is able to do is nurture companies as they develop and build a real skills base within Scotland. These awards show that the work we do and the talent of these companies is also recognised in an international context.”
(GB)