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'
NIGHT SWEEPER, the [7593]Add to my filmsOn a dark Glasgow night, Mick - a council driver - is desperately trying to catch the highlights of a crunch Scotland football match. As Mick struggles with the reception, the world conspires against him... |
1998 sound col |
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NIGHT SWIMMER [5969]Add to my filmsNow that they have moved from Malaysia to Scotland, Emily and Kenneth don't have sex anymore. But Emily's experiences in the changing rooms of the local swimming pool are about to change everything. |
2000 sound col |
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NIGHTWINDOWS [7818]Add to my filmsAnimated film that turns the viewer into a floating voyeur, snatching brief but compelling glimpses of peoples' private worlds beyond the window frame. No dialogue, and with a jazz score by John Zorn. |
2001 sound col |
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NITRATE WON'T WAIT [8196]Add to my filmsWoman trying to find out about her natural parents from her new found unhelpful uncle. She finds out some family secrets and a piece of decaying nitrate film. [cutting copy, no credits] |
Onsite only |
1996 sound bwcol |
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NO COKE [8235]Add to my filmsAn argument over a sign, a bottle and a coin at a Norwegian hotel between the receptionist and a visiting English tourist. |
2007 sound col |
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NO MAN'S LAND [7679]Add to my filmsChristmas is a battlefield for Rory and his divorcing parents in this beautiful and elegantly told story. |
2004 sound col |
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NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO THERE YOU ARE [7885]Add to my filmsExperimental documentary on the children of navy personnel - a study of packing and unpacking, movement, loss and memory. Archive footage and artistic imagery features throughout. |
1999 sound bwcol |
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NO ONE SEES BLACK [7683]Add to my filmsA man lies dying - you see pictures. A short film about the final few seconds. |
1998 sound col |
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NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING [13901]Add to my filmsNot Another Happy Ending is a romantic drama about a young writer who is attempting to get her first novel published. [Synopsis taken from the BBFC, https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/not-another-happy-ending-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0znzk0odk, last accessed 04/11/2021] |
2013 sound col |
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NOTHING TO DECLARE [13915]Add to my filmsA carefree backpacker returns home to find his family dead and horribly mutated. Things go from catastrophically bad to exponentially worse as he discovers that his own death is now imminent, and that the worst is yet to come. |
2017 sound col |
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NOW IT'S GONE [7522]Add to my filmsA portrayal of the work done by George Parsonage and Glasgow's Humane Society, told through the eyes of Andrea McGurk, who lost her brother to the River Clyde two years ago. |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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OFFSIDE DREAMS [7675]Add to my filmsA Scottish street soccer team embark on an emotional journey to Austria (Graz) to play in the first ever Homeless People's World Cup. |
2004 sound col |
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OH LUCKY MAN [7611]Add to my filmsIn a large country manor house, George indulges in the act of decadence. He seems content, yet do we really know who George is? Why is this man so lucky? |
Onsite only |
2006 sound col |
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ON THE LINE [7830]Add to my filmsMusic video produced for '4 Minute Wonders' scheme, featuring the track 'On The Line' by Radar Brothers. The consequences, in glorious technicolor, of being stuck on 'call waiting' for far far too long...... |
2002 sound col |
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ONE NIGHT IN EMERGENCY [8609]Add to my filmsOne Night In Emergency marks the television debut of critically-acclaimed playwright, Gregory Burke. Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey and Gregory’s own experiences, this hard-hitting drama charts one man’s journey through the wards of an overrun, inner-city hospital. |
2009 sound col |
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ONE STAR [8608]Add to my filmsOne Star is an animated sitcom pilot set in the worst B&B in space. One Star. It's Scotland Jimmy but not as we know it. |
Onsite only |
2009 sound col |
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ONE TRUE PATH [7682]Add to my filmsIn the wake of increased hostility to Muslims post 9/11, more and more people are converting to Islam. One True Path investigates why someone would want to choose a path that rejects the freedoms of Western democracy. |
Onsite only |
2004 sound col |
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OOMPIE KA DOOMPIE [7619]Add to my filmsThe hybrid animated journey of a Scottish family leaving a grim 70s Glasgow to experience new life in Johannesburg during apartheid, and coming home again with new notions of Africa. |
Onsite only |
2006 sound col |
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ORPHANS [7916]Add to my filmsA funny and moving story of family rivalries and loyalties. After the death of their mother, a group of siblings go missing through the night in Glasgow. As a violent storm tears through the city, the brothers and their sister are torn apart during a long, dark night of mishaps and misunderstandings. |
1999 sound col |
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ORWELL: Against the Tide [8110]Add to my filmsBesides the events of Orwell's life and the universal impact of his work, the film looks at the connections between Orwell's ideas and his continuing contribution to the world today. As Orwell developed into one of the most significant writers of modern times we look beyond the public persona, to uncover the heart, humour and humanity of the authentic Orwell. |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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OTTICA ZERO [8054]Add to my filmsSoon after her ‘big break’, Italian actress Nadya Cazan disappeared. Ottica Zero follows Nadya from her rejection of the monetary-based system to find an alternative way of living. It is a journey which takes us from Rome to Venus, where social innovator and futurist, Jacques Fresco, proposes a solution. |
Onsite only |
2007 sound bwcol |
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OUDOILLE OVILLE = KARELIAN COWGIRLS [8270]Add to my filmsAt the start of the bitter Winter War, the Soviet Red Army invaded Finnish-Karelia forcing thousands of civilians deep into Finland. Teenagers Annikki, Inkeri and Hikka left their families to drive cattle through deep snow and hostile lands. A lifetime later they look back on their adventures. |
Onsite only |
2008 sound col |
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OUR EYE [6167]Add to my filmsExperimental in nature, this video is based around the 8mm film collection of the film maker's father. It takes that film, bends it around a bit, adding contemporary film taken 30 - 40 years later of the same subject matter, whilst the commentary muses on the passing of time and experience. Sound and visual effects are also used to enhance the film. |
2000 sound bwcol |
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OUT OF THE COLD [7656]Add to my filmsOut Of The Cold is the story of Patrick, a ten year old boy growing up in a small fishing village and his fall from innocence into experience. |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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OUTPOST II: BLACK SUN [13929]Add to my filmsThe year is 1945, the closing stages of WW2, and a German scientist by the name of Klausener is working on a frightening new technology that has the power to create an immortal Nazi army. Flash forward to present day, and a NATO task force is hurriedly deployed to Eastern Europe, where a sinister enemy appears to be mercilessly killing everything in its path. But this is no ordinary foe. |
2012 sound col |
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OUTPOST III: RISE OF SPETSNAZ [13909]Add to my films1944 - Deep behind the German Eastern Front. After a successful raid on a Nazi convoy, Sergeant Dolokhov and his Russian Commandos uncover shocking research that could change the tide of the war, but before they can get to safety, they are captured by the Nazi's. Inside the Nazi facility, the Russians discover an invincible army of undead Nazi soldiers. The Russian warriors must battle their way through a horde of aborted experiments to escape the brutal facility - before the Nazis can perfect their research and unleash their zombie army across Europe. |
2013 sound col |
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OVER LAND AND SEA [7928]Add to my filmsThe last lighthouse keeper in Scotland returning home to his family. |
2000 sound col |
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PALE STAR [13893]Add to my filmsPale Star is about the possessiveness of love, and how that possession peels back to expose power and control until we can see, in its dark heart, not love but murder. |
2016 sound col |
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PAN-FRIED [7549]Add to my filmsDavie is about to embark on his working life. Today is his first day at the local knackery. |
1998 sound bw |
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PAPER CUTS [7620]Add to my filmsObsessed with a paper effigy of his loving wife an introverted stationer lives in a fantasy world of staples and photocopies. But when the doll leaves him torn and bleeding and his real wife starts asking awkward questions he must make a choice between flesh and paper. |
Onsite only |
2006 sound bw |
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PARK [8006]Add to my filmsA Monty-Pythonesque animation telling the wacky tale of a statue in the local park called Seymour Highup, and what happens when his head falls off, and a supergranny steps in! Makes use of cut out and hand-drawn animation techniques. |
Onsite only |
1993 sound bwcol |
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PARK IN NEED, a [21386]Add to my filmsA plea to save the local park by children from the Upper Auchintore Save the Children Club. [Third in Programme 1 of films by Children and Young people as part of Scottish Students on Screen, 2002.] |
2002 sound col |
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PARROT ROOM, the [8190]Add to my filmsThe Parrot Room tells the story of Bruno. He is a man constantly haunted by the images of his desires and so he has adopted a strategy of life, experiencing only through fantasy and the experience of others. Throughout the film, Bruno creates an empty space of simulations where the pain of his unresolved desires can't reach him. |
2000 sound col |
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PASSING GLORY [7914]Add to my filmsWhen Spanish Civil War veteran Jessie McFarlane dies, the funeral is a mockery of her life and beliefs. Caught in a family divided by politics and religion Jessie's granddaughter, Sadie, makes a stand. |
Onsite only |
1986 sound col |
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PEN, the [8001]Add to my filmsWhen circumstances decide to get awkward, it can enlist the unlikeliest allies. take the humble pen, used millions of times everyday and never given a second through until, of course, you don’t have one and you absolutely need to write something. |
Onsite only |
1995 sound col |
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PEOPLE I'VE SEEN [8189]Add to my filmsA documentary studying how the public respond to being on camera, filmed on a trip to Glasgow [mostly on the underground] |
2001 sound col |
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PERFECT [7661]Add to my filmsA quirky and darkly comic fable, in which a newly-redundant estate agent takes his revenge on the world in a most unexpected way. |
2003 sound col |
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PERFECTLY FRANK [7660]Add to my filmsThe moving tale of architect Frank Gehry’s desire to create a very special building in memory of a dear friend – the eponymous Maggie’s Centre, a cancer support centre in Dundee, Scotland. |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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PERPETUAL TWILIGHT OF GREGOR BLACK, the [7603]Add to my filmsAn atmospheric and surreal tale of married life: a husband, a wife and a pair of shoes. |
2004 sound bw |
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PETER IN RADIOLAND [8112]Add to my filmsPeter is on sick leave and spends most of his time contemplating his past. Little makes sense to him anymore. Comforted by his analogue radios, Peter is left yearning for the old days. This film shares with us a common fear of change portrayed through Peter’s struggle to find his place in the modern world. |
2009 sound col |
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PIG STORY [7659]Add to my filmsAfter nine years of insomnia a man decides enough is enough. He goes to meet the very things which help him get to sleep at night - three flying pigs. But will this lead to a permanent cure? |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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PIKADERO [13879]Add to my filmsUnable to fly the nest due to the economic crisis that grips Spain, a penniless, young couple have trouble consummating their fledgling relationship in their parents' homes. As they become increasingly desperate to make love and with no money to afford a hotel, they are forced to look for local public hotspots used for sex, known as picaderos. However, things are never as easy as they seem and their relationship is quickly tested as they try to break free from the shackles of a crumbling economy. |
2015 sound col |
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PILGRIMAGE [8399]Add to my filmsA short expressionistic documentary about a call to prayer at the annual Hajj. |
2008 sound col |
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PIOBAIREAN BHORNAIS = PIPERS OF BORNISH [7858]Add to my filmsA young boy receives the gift of piping from a sinister fairy in this traditional Scottish Gaelic animated tale, complete with 21st century bagpipe soundtrack. |
Onsite only |
2003 sound col |
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PLAYSTATION MADNESS [7900]Add to my filmsA light-hearted observation of the emotions involved playing football on a playstation. |
2002 sound col |
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PLAYTIME [8088]Add to my filmsI was commissioned to make this video to help promote a band called Dynamo Dresden. The narrative free approach used still photography, DV and Super 8mm film to create the idea of nostalgia and distant memories. |
2002 sound col |
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PLEASE STOP [7799]Add to my filmsOn 6th April 1993, three men set out on a journey... Martin Morrison, Miles Tubb and Iain Riddick. This is a documentary about seven days on the motorways between Glasgow and London. Topics discussed by fellow hitch-hikers and drivers were politics, the state of Britain today, crime, and racism. |
1993 sound col |
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POACHED [7594]Add to my filmsThe story of a young salmon poacher who comes to terms with his desire to leave his problematic family and homeland. Set in the rural community of the Scottish Borders. |
1999 sound col |
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POET ON A PLANE [7671]Add to my filmsThe story of Liz Niven, writer in residence at Inverness Airport as she embarks on a poetic journey through the Highlands and Islands bringing poetry to the unlikeliest of places. |
Onsite only |
2004 sound col |
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POLLPHAIL [8122]Add to my filmsCreative documentary painting a startling portrait of a village in limbo, through the eyes of two men who share an obsession with a strange place. Director Matthew Lloyd explores the imagined future for the village, combining unusual use of archive with stunning photography and a haunting soundscape. |
2009 sound col |