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National Library of Scotland

Biography of 'Films of Scotland Committee'

Production and distribution organisation

The Films of Scotland collection comprises some 150 documentary films which chart the changing face of Britain from 1955 to 1982, produced under the auspices of the second Films of Scotland Committee established under the aegis of the Scottish Council for
Development and Industry.

Films of Scotland was born in the 1930s when Scotland hosted the 1938 Empire Exhibition. Walter Elliot, Scottish Secretary, was keen to see a series of films produced for screening to the millions of visitors expected, films that would reflect the upsurge of national feeling at the time. His decision to use the medium of film for this purpose arose from admiration of John Grierson’s pioneering documentary films DRIFTERS and NIGHT MAIL. Elliot formed a committee - Films of Scotland - whose purpose was to promote Scotland both nationally and internationally, depicting all aspects of Scottish life – social, cultural and industrial. Grierson was appointed as adviser for the production of a series of seven films that as a group would reflect the spectrum of modern Scotland and its people in a vivid and meaningful way and would form the centrepiece of the film programme for the Exhibition. The Committee stood down in 1939 having done their job.

At its re-establishment in 1954 membership of the Committee represented all branches of the film industry, tourism and local and national administration and manufacturing.

The collection represents one of the most coherent local and national film collections in the UK. Arguably it offers a different model for film studies from the usual sources and opens up the possibility of fresh material for a critique of the post-war British documentary. Grierson was a leading member of the second Committee producing several treatments for them, as well as his autobiographical film I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER (1968 ). The collection includes the little known early work of British film makers who moved from documentary into feature film such as Bill Forsyth, screen writing credits for novelists such as William McIlvanney and Alasdair Gray and music composed by Muir Mathieson and John Maxwell Geddes.

The extensive written archive of administrative records, production files, scripts, stills, marketing materials and programme booklets offer a discrete set of data on the infrastructure and distribution methods of a UK film agency, with evidence of audience and industry reception to the works both domestically and internationally in an era of transition from cinema-going to television viewing. These records can be consulted at the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive.

Researcher: Janet McBain

Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'

Title Release date Film reference Sound Colour Date film record added Date video added Asc Desc
	TOPLINER: The Manufacture of Industrial Refractories [2985] Add to my films The story of John G. Stein & Co., manufacturer of industrial refractories.		1968 sound bwcol
	TOUCH OF SCOTLAND, a [3270] Add to my films Glimpses of the diversions offered in the country and towns throughout Scotland.		1964 sound col
	TOWN CALLED AYR, a [2261] Add to my films The town of Ayr with the World Pipe Band Championships and the Ayr races.		1974 sound col
	TRAVELPASS - IT'S JUST THE TICKET [2915] Add to my films A promotional film for the Highland Board's "Rover" ticket.		1973 sound col
	TREE IS PLANTED, a [3091] Add to my films A look at the work of the Forestry Commission. (9 mins)		1957 sound bw
	VIEW FROM THE BASS, a [2913] Add to my films The county of East Lothian, in particular the town of North Berwick and its links with Robert Louis Stevenson. Includes shot of Berwick Law and group of Boy Scouts in kilts climbing it.		1963 sound col
	WALKABOUT EDINBURGH [3069] Add to my films Art gallery director Richard DeMarco explores the streets and closes of Edinburgh.		1970 sound col
	WATER OF LIFE, the [2251] Add to my films Production processes at William Grant's Glenfiddich distillery.		1972 sound col
	WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE [2253] Add to my films This film looks at the world problems of water shortage, and specifically at the position of Scotland, where the natural supply of water is immense and more than sufficient to meet the demands made on it. [synopsis from SCFL catalogue]		1967 sound col
	WAY THE MONEY GOES, the [1096] Add to my films The story, through the eyes of an English tourist, of the "travelling bank" in the Hebrides and West Highlands.		1960 sound col
	WEALTH OF A NATION [1062] Add to my films One of a group of seven documentaries made for screening at the 1938 Empire Exhibition, the film compares and contrasts the old and new industries of Scotland.		1938 sound bw
	WEAVE ME A RAINBOW [2245] Add to my films A feature on the Scottish woollen industry for the National Association of Scottish Woollen Manufacturers.		1962 sound col
	WHY SCOTLAND, WHY EAST KILBRIDE [0955] Add to my films Dramatised account of a tour by two businessmen (one English, the other American) of the New Town of East Kilbride.		1972 sound col
	WORKING TOGETHER [2984] Add to my films The work of the Edinburgh Committee for the Co-ordination of Services for the Disabled. Includes shots of Scouts with disabilities at camp.		1968 sound col
	YOUNG IN HEART [1480] Add to my films The development and production of the Hillman Imp car at the Linwood industrial plant.		1963 sound col
	ZOO YEAR [2796] Add to my films The story of a year at the Royal Scottish Zoological Society's park in Edinburgh.		1965 sound col