Scottish filmmakers at ‘breaking point' amid lack of support

The National

3 days ago

The spin is that these Hollywood movies prove the film industry in Scotland is thriving – but this is fiercely disputed by independent filmmakers who work in the sector and are having to crowdfund to support their work.
They claim that rather than supporting and encouraging homegrown talent, too much public money is being spent on attracting big-budget films that do nothing to foster skills and creativity in the Scottish sector.
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The Sunday National spoke to Scottish independent filmmakers about the problem.
Award-winning writer, director and producer Fraser Coull (below) has a proven track record in film and TV but says he is at 'breaking point'.
His new short film, Faithful, is currently showing on STV Player and was screened at the San Diego Comic Con last week but he could not afford to attend to promote it further.
He was awarded £777 from Creative Scotland to go to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year, but said he had to 'jump through hoops' to get it.
Otherwise, he says, he has been 'banging his head against the wall' of Creative Scotland and Screen Scotland, formerly Scottish Screen, for 20 years.
'They did put a little bit of money into a short film I did, but when it comes to proper development funding – which I need to live and which I need to hire people and to develop longer, bigger projects – they just keep saying 'no',' he said.
'They keep saying I'm not experienced enough, but I've been doing this for 20 years, and I've had an award-winning web series, an award-winning short film, a documentary on BBC Alba and my feature film opened at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2012.
'I've done everything, but I'm genuinely at breaking point in terms of my career. I don't know what to do next.
'I've been crowdfunding since 2013 successfully but I can't crowdfund anymore because I can't keep going back to the same people for money so I can pay my cast and crew minimum wage.'
Although '99.9%' of the crew live in Scotland and it's Coull's Scottish production company that produced Faithful, he was turned down for Creative Scotland funding because director Lucy Linger is from England.
Sandy Henderson and Ian Gordon of SquareGo Films were refused Scottish Screen funding to travel to Cannes to promote their new Scottish/Gaelic film, The Gudeman, about the Highland Clearances, which features stunning Scottish scenery (below).
An application was made in March but they were told just 11 days before the festival that they had been unsuccessful. They'd already found cheap accommodation, so decided to go anyway and were rewarded by interest from a major distributor.
'One reason I was given for the refusal of the travel grant was that they give priority to projects that have already received Screen Scotland funding, which is a bit of a chicken and egg situation,' said Gordon.
'Prior to our trip to Cannes, they were quite helpful with tailored advice, and I appreciate that they took the time to help and show interest, but I never felt that there was a pathway for ongoing help.'
SquareGo Films relies on crowdfunding to develop its films, but says it is not sustainable.
'We are credible propositions – we have a good foundation and a good level of experience, but we find it almost impossible to get funding,' said Gordon. 'You can't make films with their support unless you've done it before with them. But how do you get the start?'
Henderson added: 'It pains me when they constantly harp on about the Scottish film industry. There isn't a Scottish film industry – there's a bunch of people struggling while they work full-time jobs. And then there's Hollywood.'
Robbie Davidson, also of SquareGo Films, has had to crowdfund twice to make his movie Dick Dynamite 1944, which was lauded in the UK Parliament because it involved a whole community in its production.
He said he had approached Screen Scotland and Creative Scotland at various points but got nowhere, even though it is 'very much a Scottish production'.
'Once the film was completed, I did manage to get my foot in the door and speak to someone, but it became very apparent very quickly that they were in no space to help me with my needs,' he said.
'I was passed from department to department – it almost felt as if it was intentional to put you off.
'It seems like the funding is either for people who already have money or already have awards.'
He added: 'It just feels like there's zero help for people on our level. It feels like they're only going to help English and American movies when they come.
'Ian and Sandy have been to Cannes and took it by storm. I've been to Hollywood and have sold out showings all over the world, yet we're all working other jobs to make a living.'
Mark Forbes, an independent filmmaker from Aberdeen who has been making award-winning films for 26 years, with five of them shown at 90 film festivals worldwide, was recently turned down for travel grants from both the British Council Film and Creative Scotland.
He wanted to attend the Galway Film Fleadh where his latest feature film documentary, Quiet On Set: The Class Division In The Film Industry? was receiving its world premiere, before being screened at West Lothian Film Festival.
'It's always been a battle with Creative Scotland and Screen Scotland,' said Forbes, who is currently based in London and has to take on zero-hours contract jobs outside the industry to support himself.
'I keep winning awards and getting into festivals so the lack of support from my own country is disappointing and frustrating. I do think there's a class ceiling, which is why the film that I made now is starting to get traction.
'I've got three feature films under my belt, but I'm having to film my fourth feature by myself again. I've been rejected a lot. Unless it fits their agenda, you don't get support. It's really sad. They seem to have a hidden agenda or tick box about who they want to support.'
Forbes believes the film industry in Scotland is in limbo while the sector in places like the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland thrives.
'There's definitely an excitement in Ireland for making films,' he said. 'There's a real buzz about it, so why can't it be like that in Scotland? It was bad enough when it was Scottish Screen but now it is Screen Scotland, it seems even more corporate.'
He said there was a lot of talent in Scotland, but with so many barriers to the funding process, it was in danger of dying out.
'It's an unfair, biased, classist system that's in place, and it just needs to change as it could be a thriving sector here with all the talent,' Forbes explained.
'They've got to invest in their own people like they do in Ireland.
'Funding bodies think they need to commit hundreds of thousands of pounds for a film, but even small things would make a difference. I've got two pieces of broken equipment that I'm desperate to replace, and getting funding for those would
be amazing.'
Maureen Hascoet has set up a Scottish Screenwriters Festival and a Scottish producers' network in order to bring people in the industry together and believes that the strategy of Screen Scotland and Creative Scotland is all wrong.
'It seems they just want to attract big-budget movies here, but that money does not trickle down, whereas if you film in Ireland, you have to have a certain percentage of local crew,' she said.
'The writers' strike in LA almost brought the industry here to its knees, and it still has not recovered completely, so what does that tell you about sustainability?
'Screen Scotland always seems so gated – the starting position seems to be about why they can't help you. There is definitely a cultural element to shift – a mindset of negativity, which is the opposite of creativity.'
Creative Scotland said the majority of its production funding remains focused on films and TV programmes from Scotland.
'Recent projects from Scotland developed and produced with Screen Scotland's support include Only Child, Mayflies and Dinosaur for BBC Scotland, An t-Eilean (The Island) for BBC Alba, Summerwater for Channel 4, The Rig for Amazon Prime and the feature films The Outrun, Aftersun, My Old School, Janey, On Falling, California Schemin' and Tornado,' said a spokesperson.
'Screen Scotland recently doubled its investment in new film talent from Scotland to £1.2 million with the creation of Talent Builder – a bold new programme of integrated initiatives designed to develop the next generation of Scottish filmmaking talent and increase creative origination from Scotland.
'Designed to support Scotland-based writers, directors and producers working in film, Talent Builder offers a clear and comprehensive pathway from early-stage through to the completion of a first feature film script. Talent Builder more than doubles the number of funded short film opportunities available across Scotland.
'Talent Builder sits alongside our Film Development and Production Fund, a £4m fund per annum that directly invests in films from Scotland-based producers, directors and writers, and the £2.5m Broadcast Content Fund for television projects from Scottish production companies.'