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National Library of Scotland

Biography of 'Scottish Screen Collection'

Publicly funded film collection

In April 1997, the Scottish Film Council, Scottish Screen Locations, Scottish Broadcast and Film Training and the Scottish Film Production Fund merged to form the non-departmental government body Scottish Screen. Creating a ‘one stop shop’ for the screen industries was important and built on the momentum of success stories such as Braveheart (1995), Rob Roy (1995) and Trainspotting (1996). Scottish Screen had an ambitious remit - concerned with cultural and educational access to screen heritage as well as the business and resourcing of film-making in Scotland.

As the parent body of the Scottish Screen Archive, Scottish Screen had an obligation to preserve films funded from the public purse, particularly relevant now distribution of Lottery funds was its responsibility. Although funding arrangements existed between its predecessor bodies and other organisations (eg. broadcasters), Scottish Screen also introduced a clause in production agreements that provided for a copy of the finished work to be deposited for archival preservation.

In 2007, the Scottish Screen Archive transferred to the National Library of Scotland, and with it, the responsibility to continue collecting film, video and born digital work. Scottish Screen transferred their former distribution collection and back catalogue to the Archive, much of which was earlier work not covered by the new arrangements. This diverse collection of modern Scottish film production now promises to grow in partnership with Creative Scotland from 2010 and far into Scotland’s digital future.

The collection contains creative and factual documentary, experimental artists film, video dance, animation, comedy, horror, drama …. They include films made by people of all ages, some featuring Scottish actors ‘before they were famous’, and there are plenty of lesser-known titles to explore, eg. THE EVANESCENT HERB GARDEN OF DEATH (1993)

Dating from the early 1980s onwards, such works have generally been made through a variety of funding and training initiatives. Scottish Screen and its predecessor bodies ran such schemes in collaboration with partners, ensuring vital broadcast and theatrical exposure for new filmmaking talent.

First Reels (1991 - 1999), in collaboration with Scottish Television, offered small financial incentives (£50 - £2000) but more importantly, hands-on experience and exposure. The scheme proved a springboard to greater things for talent such as Peter Mullan, David Tennant and Hannah Robinson, yet supported community groups (Pilton Video, Castlemilk Elderly Forum), individual animators, dancers, students and video artists. Prime Cuts (1996 - 1998) followed, encouraging innovative films on 16mm between 5 – 7 min, from documentary to experimental. Graduates of this scheme include acclaimed video dance artist, Katrina McPherson and directors Morag MacKinnon, Justin Molotnikov and Elly M. Taylor. Tartan Shorts (1993 - 1996), Tartan Smalls (2002 - 2005) and the Gaelic language Geur Ghearr (1996 - 1998) - schemes working with with BBC Scotland and Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig - led to short films shown on family television sets across the country, and those same titles distributed to festivals across the world. Amongst this collection is the Oscar-winning FRANZ KAFKA'S IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1993), This Scotland (2002 - 2005) and New Found Land (2000 - 2004) are examples of schemes co-funded by STV and Grampian that produced a variety of productions with longer running times of up to 25 min and a strong emphasis on quality documentary.

Around 2002, a slight shift away from shorts to predominantly Scottish-funded features as well as international co-productions is evident. These range from the hard-hitting 16 YEARS OF ALCOHOL (2003), to the lighthearted STONE OF DESTINY (2008). SEACHD - INACCESSIBLE PINNACLE (2007) is the first feature film in the language of Scottish Gaelic to achieve mainstream cinematic distribution. (The archive holds deposit copies on 35mm as well as HD). International co-productions include SKAGERRAK (2004) and animated THE THREE MUSKETEERS (DE TRE MUSKATERER) (2006).

Aside from the funded schemes, there is much to enjoy. Music video 4 Minute Wonders (2001 - 2003) feature Scottish bands and record labels (Soma, Chemikal Underground). Bridging the Gap (since 2004) remains an intelligent, creative force in Scottish film-making. Scottish Students on Screen (started c. 1999) material ranges from GUID MAN OF BALLENGEICH (2001), made by schoolchildren in Stirlingshire, to COLD TAPE (2000), shown at Tate Britain. Interviews, stills, scripts, and other supporting documentation relating to the films are all kept.

There are just under 700 titles recorded to date. As well as basic content information, much of which has been taken from secondary sources (title, release date, synopsis, director, producer, production company, sponsor), full cast and credits are transcribed directly from viewing the source material. For the first time, the full scope, range and amount of Scottish publicly funded film in the last three decades has been brought together in one searchable set of data – with open public access worldwide.

Due to rights and conditions of deposit, viewings are only offered on National Library of Scotland premises. Requests for a loan, to screen, duplicate or otherwise distribute material in the collection should be directed to Creative Scotland. Permission for such uses will only be given in consultation with rights holders.

This is a work in progress - a constantly evolving collection. The growth of the collection reflects the creativity and talent of those working the screen industries in Scotland. The collection continues to flourish, with new work produced under Creative Scotland and Screen Scotland.

Missing, believed lost?
Gaps in the collection have been identified, and it would be invaluable to find this material and preserve it in the national collection. Representation of earlier work, such as First Reels, is patchy (eg. an interview with the director of a film exists on Betacam SP tape, but the 16mm completed film is nowhere to be seen!) Some films are incomplete or in poor condition and there may still be surviving material somewhere.

Researcher: Ann Cameron

Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'

Title Release date Film reference Sound Colour Date film record added Date video added Asc Desc
	DANCING, SOME DAYS [7290] Add to my films The Hollywood musical is brought to a Glasgow street. Amidst the crush of city life, two street musicians provide the backdrop for a girl meets boy story, with a spark of purely Glasgow magic.		1996 sound col
	DANGEROUS GAME [7982] Add to my films In this brightly coloured animation, Prince Cosmos and Princess Solitaire, bored with their palace lifestyle, decide to go and stay on a desert island in a giant's timeshare. (Loosely inspired by James Bond and Shirley Bassey!)		1993 sound col
	DANSETTE [7291] Add to my films Three girls, a 7" record, a Dansette turntable and a looming dance competition. The surreal events of one dark night take on a strange significance for Alice.	Onsite only	2004 sound col
	DAPHNE [13932] Add to my films Hectic days and late nights. Londoner Daphne is caught up in the daily rush of her restaurant job, and a nightlife kaleidoscope of new faces. She is strong, funny, and acerbic but deep down she is not happy. Stuck in a rut, she can’t move forward. Then when she saves the life of a shop keeper, stabbed in a failed robbery, the impenetrable armour she wears to protect herself begins to crack and Daphne is forced to fight against the inevitability of a much needed change in her life.		2017 sound col
	DARKNESS IN THE AFTERNOON [7692] Add to my films A young girl's walk in the sunshine is interrupted by an encounter with an elderly and over-chivalrous stranger. It is an amusing incident which swiftly turns sinister, sweeping her into a world of chaos and menace. This is a psychological thriller with a savage twist which explores and illuminates a terrifying life experience endured by families and individuals in every part of the world.		1998 sound col
	DAYBREAK [5554] Add to my films Shauna MacDonald and Jean-Philippe Écoffey star in a low-budget digital video drama set over the course of a single night in Edinburgh's clubland.		2000 sound col
	DEAD EYE DICK [7597] Add to my films A black comedy about possessive love, attempted suicide and an accidental murder. The story of a man who fell to earth with a BANG!		1996 sound col
	DEAD SEA REELS [7947] Add to my films Dead Sea Reels is the story of a young man, who is unable to cope after his young daughter is killed in a road accident. He takes to the bottle and eventually ends up in hospital close to death. There he meets an elderly priest - a strange man with an even stranger story, who attempts to help him deal with his grief.	Onsite only	1996 sound col
	DEAR DAD [8053] Add to my films First time filmmaker Robin Haig attempts to reconcile the relationship with her father Niall, a Highland deerstalker, forcing him to acknowledge the rift that has developed between them.	Onsite only	2007 sound col
	DEAR FRANKIE [6835] Add to my films Lizzie has told her nine-year old son Frankie that his father is at sea. Then one day she discovers to her horror that the boat she has invented is docking in a nearby port. Desperate to protect Frankie from the truth, she hires a stranger for the day to be his dad. [synopsis from Scottish Screen Feature Films 2005 brochure]		2004 sound col
	DEATH IN THE KITCHEN! [7981] Add to my films In the light of the many food poisoning scares that affect us nowadays this "World in Action" spoof, both highly dramatic and extremely funny, tells the story of an everyday ordinary housewife who becomes a knife wielding maniac, ferociously dealing out death to the superannuated old bacteria who have been living on the fat of the land for far too long....		1993 sound col
	DEBT COLLECTOR, the [7881] Add to my films Drama. A dark contemporary thriller set in Edinburgh. Nickie Dryden (Billy Connolly) is an ex-convict and debt collector once jailed for murder. Now leading a respectable life, he is still tormented and humiliated by Keltie (Ken Stott), the policeman who succeeded in convicting him.		1999 sound col
	DEEP HIT OF MORNING SUN [8276] Add to my films Music video produced for '4 Minute Wonders' scheme, featuring the track 'Deep Hit of Morning Sun' by Primal Scream. A man with a bright 'sun head' seeks his soulmate as he walks around the city by night.		2003 sound col
	DESSERTS [7602] Add to my films Desserts is a black and humorous tale about the supernatural results of a man's greed.		1998 sound col
	DEVIL'S TATTOO, the [7880] Add to my films Ten environmental activists board an oil rig to protest against its reported destruction. They arrive in the evening and prepare to broadcast to the outside world. But things are not what they expect. They are surprised to find no maintenance crew. Then one of the group is bitten by a rat and later is found dead. And that night, another group member...	Onsite only	2001 sound col
	DIFFERENT PITCH, a [7845] Add to my films Documentary about the efforts of a football coach in the former Yugoslavia to maintain his team's spirit and cohesion in the face of the effects of civil war and inter-ethnic hatred.		2000 sound col
	DIFFICULT CASE, a [7634] Add to my films A remarkable story of hallucinatory voices that diagnosed a brain tumour and the Harley Street psychiatrist who was prepared to gamble his professional credibility and believe them.		2005 sound col
	DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE [8107] Add to my films Documentary. Follows the making of Danny Boyle's SHALLOW GRAVE. [synopsis from BFI database at http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/525235, last accessed 17/6/2009]		sound col
	DIGITAL BULLYING [7926] Add to my films A short infomercial telling us about the problem of Digital Bullying narrated by young people who have experienced digital bullying themselves. [Award Winner in the 'Other' category, Scottish Students on Screen, 2003.]		2002 sound col
	DIRT ROAD TO LAFAYETTE [13937] Add to my films Fifteen-year-old Murdo and his father, Tom, journey from Scotland to north Alabama to visit their America/Scots relatives after the death of his mother. Murdo is an accordion player but has not played since his mother passed. When he meets fellow accordionist Queen Monzee-ay she rekindles his interest in music and invites him to play a gig with her. The music becomes a wedge which drives itself between him and his father.	Onsite only	2018 sound col
	DIVINE [7946] Add to my films Life's not so good for ten-year-old Angeline. Her family ignore her in favour of her football-mad brother and school is not much better. There she is tormented by a pint-sized hard nut with a penchant for big dresses, and has caught the eye of the class Lothario. To find an escape, she looks for a bit of heavenly inspiration.		2002 sound col
	DOES GOD PLAY FOOTBALL? [7499] Add to my films Tommy is a seven year old boy without a dad who fills in the emotional gaps in his life by believing he is Jesus Christ.	Onsite only	2003 sound col
	DOG ALTOGETHER [7968] Add to my films Dog Altogether is the story of Joseph (Peter Mullan), a man who is plagued by a violence and rage that is driving him to self destruction. As he falls further into turmoil Joseph scours the landscape in search of a single grain of redemption that might restore hope to his fractured life.	Onsite only	2007 sound col
	DONALD CAMMELL: The Ultimate Performance [7844] Add to my films A documentary look at the frustrated life of Donald Cammell, who wrote and partly directed the film PERFORMANCE, which starred Mick Jagger and James Fox.		1998 sound col
	DONKEYS [13930] Add to my films Donkeys is a bittersweet, tragi-comic tale. When Alfred learns of his impending death he realises it's time to make amends with his estranged family. However, before things get better they get a whole lot worse and a blast from the past injects calamity, comedy and confusion into Alfred's efforts.		2009 sound col
	DONNA [7889] Add to my films A day in the life of an unappreciated little girl.	Onsite only	2001 sound col
	DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! [7292] Add to my films Don't Make Me Laugh is a painfully funny journey that follows established novelist and screenwriter Jack Dickson as he valiantly embarks on a series of workshops for wannabe stand-up comdians.	Onsite only	2004 sound col
	DOOMSDAY [7583] Add to my films "Mankind has an expiration date" To save humanity from an epidemic, an elite fighting unit must battle to find a cure in a post-apocalytic zone controlled by a society of murderous renegades. Loaded with ferocious fights and high-octane chases, Doomsday grabs you right from the start, and doesn't let go til its explosive end! [synopsis from official website at http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/doomsday/, last accessed 11/9/2013]		2008 sound col
	DOWN IN THE DUMPS [7985] Add to my films A bored housewife is outraged when her husband brings home two dead bodies he found in the local dump. When she attempts to dispose of them in a briefcase at a housewarming party everything definitely does not go to plan!		1995 sound col
	DUCK [7079] Add to my films On a day much like any other, Mick and Carmen, two hard-drinking lovers down on their luck, set out to satisfy their hunger. But food is not their only need. As the day progresses, tensions rise and their stormy relationship is put to the ultimate test.		1998 sound col
	DUMMY, the [7567] Add to my films Eddy Maplethorpe wants to escape his suburban life without anyone noticing. He builds a clockwork dummy that can care for his family and go to work for him, leaving him free to pursue the life he always dreamt of. Unfortunately, his dummy also develops a desire for a better life.		2003 sound col
	EAGLE EYE [7986] Add to my films Eagle Eye was made as a bricolage experiment after a trip to Mexico to watch The Day of the Dead celebrations. McIntosh filmed in Glasgow, Mexico, Brislington and Galway. She worked with Patrick Macklin, a graphic designer, to make a moving image version of a poem written in Mexico.	Onsite only	1997 sound col
	EAT ME [8506] Add to my films Nothing is quite what it seems in this series of punchy visual gags to leave you amused and repulsed in equal measures.		2006 sound col
	EDIE'S POV [8045] Add to my films A troubled transsexual becomes obsessed with her video camera, recording abuse against her, but it soon becomes a drug that only helps her avoid reality.		2006 sound col
	EGLATINE [13938] Add to my films An intimate and vivid account of a young girl’s real and fantastical adventure in a remote forest one evening.		2016 sound col
	EL TROMPETISTA: Cuatro Movimento para el Desolado Robo de su Instrumento [7993] Add to my films Played against a soundtrack of music in four movements, this film shows a man's emotional and physical reaction when his trumpet is stolen on the underground and his actions to get it back. [Spanish language, set in Santiago, Chile]		1994 sound col
	ELECTRIC BLUES [7293] Add to my films The story of a young couple who manage to re-charge their wilting relationship when Rod accidentally becomes an electrifying lover!	Onsite only	2004 sound col
	ELEPHANT BOY [7494] Add to my films A Scottish women's act of charity inadvertently sends a disabled Indian beggar boy on a difficult, spiritual journey from the streets of Mumbai to an ancient hilltop temple.	Onsite only	2004 sound col
	ETHEL MOORHEAD [7362] Add to my films Ethel Moorhead was one of the many active campaigners for the vote between 1912-1914. Her crimes against property and defiant stance towards the state created her notorious reputation. She was the first Scottish Suffragette to be force fed whilst on hunger-strike in Calton jail, Edinburgh. This film features dramatic reconstructions of her story. [Part of the Scottish Film Council & STV First Reels Scheme 1995]		1995 sound bwcol
	EVANESCENT HERB GARDEN OF DEATH, the [7948] Add to my films An aspiring rock band decide that the best way for them to get ahead is for one of them to die. The lead singer is chosen to die in a blaze. However when he reaches the afterlife there is a dispute over whether he sold his soul to the Devil. The lead singer is released on a technicality and returned. The style of the band drastically changed!		1993 sound bwcol
	EVERYBODY'S CHILD [13928] Add to my films Garry Fraser was born into a family of poverty, violence and alcohol addiction on Edinburgh’s notorious Muirhouse estate. In this documentary, Fraser, a filmmaker and recovered heroin addict, takes us to the heart of the poor, marginalized community he grew up in. This is an open and heart rending journey where Fraser faces some grim challenges before being able to move forward with his own life.		2012 sound col
	EXIDORE [7505] Add to my films Conceptual artist Ryan Exidore attempts the greatest performance of his life. Having been caught with a truck load of drugs he must use the art of spin to convince a high court jury that they were all for personal consumption.		2000 sound col
	ExNE - THE MOVIE [8398] Add to my films A musical extravaganza following a group of 60 budding young musicians taking part in the East by North East music initiative in Easterhouse, Glasgow.		2008 sound col
	EYES OF ORSON WELLES, the [13919] Add to my films Orson Welles trained as an artist before he become an actor and director, and continued to draw and paint throughout his career - character sketches, storyboards, set designs, pictures of the people and places that inspired him.		2018 sound col
	FAIRGROUND FEVER Line Tests [8024] Add to my films Mixture of mute line tests from the animated film 'Fairground Fever', including 'Horror Sequence' and 'Fair Arrives'. The film would seem to be about the fair coming to town and all the excitement and colour that brings. [Note - this is not the completed film]		1993 mute col
	FALL OF SHUG McCRACKEN, the [7568] Add to my films When Glasgow City Parks employee, Shug McCracken, gets caught stealing money from the takings for the public tennis courts he blames mice for the crime.	Onsite only	2002 sound col
	FAMILY [7856] Add to my films Pam Ferris stars as a former nurse still trying to come to terms with the past and her and her husband's inability to have a family of their own. Her relationship with a former patient with learning difficulties helps her find a way through.	Onsite only	2002 sound col
	FAMILY BUSINESS, a [7909] Add to my films A spoof study of a Scottish Asian entrepreneur who runs a marriage bureau using video instructions. The film examines the problems of traditional Asian values set in a British context.	Onsite only	1993 sound col
	FAMINE [7618] Add to my films A small fly is blamed for vicious cannibal attacks in Insect City. Can he untangle the web of deceit that has fallen over the city?	Onsite only	2006 sound col
	FANTASTIC CHICKEN [7835] Add to my films Music video produced for '4 Minute Wonders' scheme, featuring the track 'Fantastic Chicken' by Bendy Toy. Schoolchildren, dance and animation collide in this fun interpretation of the music.		2002 sound col