From 7 – 21 March, the Frontline Club and the Scottish Documentary Institute are teaming up to present New Scottish Documentary, a series showcasing some of the boldest and most innovative new works produced in Scotland. Featuring one screening per week, we’ll be celebrating the richness of Scottish nonfiction filmmaking, including discussions with veteran documentary-makers and up-and-coming directors to watch.

Scotland on Screen is an evening of short films produced with assistance from the Scottish Documentary Institute and showcasing the diverse beauty of the Scottish landscape, immersing viewers in breathtaking scenes and remarkable stories from communities across the country.

The lineup:

THE PERFECT FIT
Director: Tali Yankelevich
2011 / 10 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/the-perfect-fit

In a Scottish ballet shoe factory, a group of men demonstrate the labour of love involved in hand-crafting the perfect pair of shoes. The Perfect Fit looks at professional ballet through the eyes of a shoemaker who pounds his soul out making each pair perfect, trying to ease the burden on the dancers’ feet.

DIRECTED BY TWEEDIE
Director: Duncan Cowles
2011 / 17 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/directed-by-tweedie

Making a film when you’re 87 is less than convenient. As granddad ‘Tweedie’ reluctantly takes up his new role as a filmmaker, we’re invited to examine the difficulties of communication between the generations, whilst exploring that unspoken contract that binds children to their grandparents.

CAILLEACH
Director: Rosie Reed Hillman
2014 / 14 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/cailleach

Morag is 86. She lives alone at the end of a track looking out to sea on her croft on the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, with her three cats and twelve sheep. Morag was born in this house and has lived here her whole life, following five generations of the family who came before her. Cailleach is a portrait of Morag and her simple and peaceful life as she contemplates her next chapter – and shares her unique sense of independence and the connection she has to her wild island home.

THE REGISTRARS
Director: Jane McAllister
2013 / 29 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/the-registrars

An intimate insight into the busiest Register House in Scotland. Life, death and love pause and flow through marbled halls and infinite paperwork. Dedicated staff transition from grief to joy throughout the day as the people’s stories resonate with their own lives.

POUTERS
Director: Paul Fegan
2012 / 17 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/pouters

A modern day story of undying commitment, rivalry, family and friendship interwoven by an underground and idiosyncratic Scottish sport. Rab and Danny, rivals for over 25 years with huge pride at stake, battle it out on the wing to become the reigning ‘Doo Fleein’ (pigeon flying) champion.

From 7 – 21 March, the Frontline Club and the Scottish Documentary Institute are teaming up to present New Scottish Documentary, a series showcasing some of the the boldest and most innovative new works produced in Scotland.  Featuring one screening per week, we’ll be celebrating the richness of Scottish nonfiction filmmaking, including discussions with veteran documentary makers and up-and-coming directors to watch.  The programme includes Scotland on Screen, an evening of short films produced with assistance from the Scottish Documentary Institute and showcasing the diverse beauty of the Scottish landscape.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Lou McLoughlan.

This remarkable BAFTA nominated film from the new Scottish school of documentary filmmaking follows a convicted murderer over four years as he struggles to grapple with rebuilding his reputation in a remote Highland village while caring for his father. Though the film controversially gives the protagonist space to protest his innocence, an incredible four years of footage investigate his character – and the shattered hopes his pattern of recidivism leaves behind him.

16 Years Till Summer represents part of an exciting new wave of documentary filmmaking sweeping international festivals from Scotland; as such, it’s as bold in it’s subject matter as it is sceptical of finding ‘truth’ only in traditional forms of documentary film language. Prepare to have your preconceptions challenged.

Lou McLoughlan was one of BAFTA’s 2011 Brits to Watch, an initiative showcasing new British talent to the international industry. Her short, Caring For Calum, won two BAFTAs in the Scotland New Talent awards. 16 Years Till Summer is her newest feature. The film had its world premiere at Visions du Reel 2015, and was selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest‘s 2015 ‘Best of British’ documentary series.

Directed by: Lou McLoughlan
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2015
Runtime: 80′

These short documentaries masterfully capture artistic works on screen while celebrating the imaginative minds behind them.

From a Scottish shipyard welder turned poet to Japanese interactive artist On Megumi Akiyoshi, these short documentaries will introduce you to convention-breaking creatives, their fascinating work spaces, and their sources of inspiration.

Full lineup to be announced soon.

MINING POEMS OR ODES
Director: Callum Rice
2015 / 11 min / United Kingdom
www.scottishdocinstitute.com/films/mining-poems-or-odes/

Robert, an ex-shipyard welder from Govan in Scotland, reflects on how his life experiences have influenced his new found compulsion to write.

YO: LET’S MAKE A BOOK OF THIS
Director: Kristina Budelis and Myles Kane
2013 / 7 min / United States

A few years ago, Yolanda Cuomo, a New York-based artist and graphic designer, learned that she had to vacate her Chelsea studio of twenty-five years. The studio, in an old carriage house in Manhattan, has been the site of artistic collaborations for decades, with artists and photographers from Richard Avedon to Laurie Simmons and Sylvia Plachy, and a team of designers, including Bonnie Briant and Kristi Norgaard.

THE 100 YEARS SHOW
Director: Alison Klayman
2015 / 29 min / United States
www.alisonklayman.com

Carmen Herrera is one of the oldest working artists today. She was a pioneering abstract painter in the ’40s and ’50s, but only recently found the recognition that eluded her for most of her career as she approaches her 100th birthday.

ON BLOOMING ART
Director: Cathryne Czubek
2014 / 6 min / United States

Multi-media artist ON Megumi Akiyoshi transforms the mundane of everyday life. Born in Japan and based in New York City, ON frequently brings her eclectic, and wearable, ON Gallery to the street to interact with the average passerby.

THE REINVENTION OF NORMAL
Director: Liam Saint-Pierre
2015 / 8 min / United Kingdom
http://www.liamsaintpierre.com/

The film follows Dominic Wilcox, an artist / inventor / designer, on his quest for new ideas….Taking the normal and turning it into something unique.

“Wherever you go in the world, democracy has been corrupted by individuals with a lot of power”, said Anthony Baxter by way of an introduction to a screening of his latest film, A Dangerous Game, at the Frontline Club on Monday 12 January.

The documentary, which follows on from Baxter’s first international success You’ve Been Trumped, depicts the devastating impact of luxury golf resort developments on local communities around the world. The film travels to locations as diverse as the historic site of Dubrovnik, Croatia, and the Scottish seaside town of Balmedie, to explore how tycoons influence authorities to concede to their lucrative plans, despite opposition from the residents who are most affected.

“The spirit in that city [Dubrovnik, Croatia] against this development is huge, and that would not have happened if it had not been for these people doing that referendum, and there is no doubt that the project is stalled at the moment”, the director stated, on the subject of the activists leading the fight against powerful developers in Dubrovnik.

Baxter first started to investigate the consequences of large-scale resort developments after American tycoon Donald Trump began construction on a golf course in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland, just 40 miles from the filmmaker’s home town. He commented, “I felt the story had not been covered in a way that represented the people on the ground, and also the environmental aspect”.

Baxter related to the audience the many difficulties he encountered while making the film, including his arrest whilst filming in Scotland. Despite obtaining access to relevant police documents under the Freedom of Information Act, the director remains in the dark regarding the reason for his arrest. He said, “the official line is that their officers were met by a challenging, difficult and unusual situation when they found this interviewer with a local resident in her property, and they felt the need to arrest us”.

In response to an audience question, Baxter said that this was not the only obstacle that he and his team had faced during the project, as Donald Trump’s lawyers had threatened to sue the BBC before they broadcast You’ve Been Trumped. Fortunately the BBC ignored threats of legal action, airing Baxter‘s previous film to a highly positive reception.

The role of former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond was also explored during the Q&A. Baxter highlighted that the golf resort under development by Trump was within Salmond’s constituency – “he drives past this site everyday” – and yet he had never visited the local community. Despite the success of You’ve Been Trumped, which highlighted the corrupt and greedy actions of Trump and fellow tycoons, Salmond is yet to demonstrate his support for this local Scottish community who have been irrevocably affected by the golf course development.

On the subject of the complicity of Scottish authorities, Baxter said: “We did not have any direct evidence of corruption of the Scottish government, but they were certainly, as David Milne, one of the local residents, says, blinded by the bling and by the promises”.

A Dangerous Game has screened at a number of film festivals worldwide, including Vancouver International Film Festival, Moscow International Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film has already demonstrated its impact: shortly after its release, UNESCO demanded that the Croatian government put a halt to all construction work until further investigations into the potential impact on Dubrovnik’s World Heritage Site have been carried out.

For more information on A Dangerous Game, including upcoming UK screening dates, click here.

Following the success of You’ve Been Trumped, director Anthony Baxter goes on a journey to other global golfing hot spots where rapacious developers are building massive luxury resorts with little thought for the local environment or population.

From the historic site of Dubrovnik to the ancient sand dunes and rolling green hills of the seaside town of Balmedie, these tycoons bully local residents, influence governments, ignore local referendums and even meddle in national environmental policies to acquire their latest trophies.

Through in-depth interviews with different players involved and footage showing the damage caused, Baxter reveals just how devastating these golf courses can be to the surrounding countryside and water tables.

Directed by Anthony Baxter
Duration: 89′
Year: 2014

On March 14, the audience at the Frontline Club travelled around the globe through five short films. All documentaries were related to current affairs, but the styles of storytelling ranged from comedy and animation, to the more classical approach.

Documentary programmer Wotienke Vermeer introduced the selection:

“Something I always try to demonstrate with the short films is that not every story is fit to be told in 52 or 90 minutes. We’re very much used to these lengths in documentary. Some films, like the last one tonight (The Only Flower), is enough to be told in six minutes.”

The first film, You Can’t Always Get What You Want by Scott Calonico, showed recently declassified White House tapes from when Lyndon B. Johnson was President. The humorous nine-minute film demonstrated his struggles with daily issues in the Oval Office, including misunderstandings with telephone operators, what he deemed to be a lack of “attractive Negros” in governmental positions, as well as limited dessert options at the White House. Director Scott Calonico also made the short film Mondo Ford, about former President Gerald Ford and his implication in the assassination of JFK.

Vladimir Putin in Deep Concentration, by directors Dana O’Keefe and Sasha Kliment, observed different manifestations of non-verbal communication in one of the world’s most powerful men. It examined the mystery behind Putin’s implacably blank face and his way of walking, and highlighted how Russians have no choice but to allow his ambitions to take over the country.

The longest film of the night, Cutting Loose by Finlay Pretsell and Adrian McDowall, showed the dreams and desires of contenders in a yearly hairdressing competition in Scottish prisons. The audience discovered how hairdressing is helping many of Scotland’s most dangerous inmates come to terms with their crimes and preparing them for life beyond prison bars.

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With Ink Ribbon Fingerprints, Pavel Braila gave a tribute to the typewriter, from its invention in the 1860’s to the closing of the last factory producing the machines in 2011. It demonstrated the typewriter’s close relationship with the industry of war and its key role in women’s emancipation.

The final short of the evening, The Only Flower by director César Pérez, followed botanist Steven Hemsley as he discovered how artificial flowers are replacing real ones throughout Beijing. As Hemsley analysed the fake plants as if they were new species, he demonstrated how people get used to the artificial aspects in their lives, comparing it with Beijing’s old quarter which was transformed into imitations to house fashion-brand shops.

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