The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has revealed a host of movies with Scottish connections set to play at its 70th anniversary edition, with one coming all the way from Lincoln!
The festival will see the world premiere of ‘Natalie’, a short film directed by Dr Mikey Murray, from the Lincoln School of Film and Media, and exec produced by his partner Angela Waddell who also works at the University.
The film, which stars renowned actress Kate Dickie, well-known for her portrayal of Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones, is in competition at the festival in the Best Short Film category.
In the film, Natalie, a determined woman in her forties returns to the village of her troubled childhood for her father’s funeral. Compelled by the prejudice her family has shown towards her and painful memories of her upbringing, she confronts her past in order to be at peace with her future.
The pair were inspired to create the film to expose some of the casual prejudices they witnessed growing up in ‘small-town’ Scotland, and returned to Dr Murray’s hometown of Carnoustie in North East Scotland to shoot the film. They were joined by LSFM graduate, Tara Clements, who took on the role of Production Assistant.
The Lincoln connection continued when the group returned to the University, drawing on the expertise of several members of academic staff to complete the film. Chris Hainstock took care of post-production sound on the film, while Jon Holmes graded the film and Jack Shelbourn shot additional pick-up cinematography. The original music to the film was written and performed by David McSherry.
Dr Murray has previously won four awards for his films, including the New Talent Scottish BAFTA Award for Best First Time Writer in 2008. He has also been selected for this year’s ‘Talent Lab’ at the EIFF, a coveted four-day industry networking event for ‘up-and-coming’ filmmakers.
For more information visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6596938/