An Oasis

Scottish Film

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Trainspotting, the film that marked a turning point in the career of Ewan MacGregor, is probably one of the best known Scottish Films but it comes from a stable of classics spanning decades which include Chariots of Fire, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The 39 Steps, Whisky Galore! and more recently Local Hero, Shallow Grave, Rob Roy, Mrs. Brown, Braveheart and Sweet Sixteen.

One of the most talked about problems facing Scottish filmmakers though is the lack of a studio anywhere in Scotland. The Sean Connery backed plan to bring a Sony film studio to Edinburgh seems to have faded to black while the so called Gleneagles Film Studio partnership has run into a bit of bother with its name, the name being assoicated with a well known hotel nearby.

Of course there are those who say that a massive film studio would project the wrong image arguing that it would stand empty most of the time. Perhaps the recent news of Scottish TV attempting a film venture ostensibly to fill the vacuum left by the demise of Film Four is more promising. This is one of those marketing/spin statements that are blatantly exaggerated, but it is a serious step to make more movies.

Rather than investing public money in a white elephant film studio perhaps the right approach is to support the indigenous industry by encouraging new work through bodies like Scottish Screen or the Glasgow Film Office who underpin in various ways the work which is already going on. Make it easier for people to make films and if there is a demand for a studio, and the demand makes it commerically viable, then the studios will come.

Posted by Paul at May 1, 2003 03:30 AM |