WS: Notes is interesting in that you'd never previously directed or written a short before. You were working as a camera assistant, so how did the film come about? To be honest I was really lost at the time, I never knew where I was going, what I was doing, I'd thought about becoming a stand up comedian, an actor, an A/D, props, production. I wasn't enjoying my time in the camera department, not because of the people, I LOVED who I was working with. I felt like I had all t

‘Funding is a limitation, and for short filmmakers it’s not a necessary limitation' Whaam! Shorts 3 is 'Stalactites' by Alison Piper Stalactites is the fantastic debut short by Alison Piper. It was turned down for traditional public funding which would lead many filmmakers to give up. Instead, this lack of funding inspired Alison to become more determined to make the film. The following Q+A with Alison reveals the whole story - from rejection to inspiration and eventually fe

Talking Film – Duncan Nicoll Duncan Nicoll is a film-maker from Dundee, whose short film Crowman premiered at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival, and which has been screened at various film festivals around the world. Set in a brutal rural landscape following an unspecified disaster, Crowman focuses on the relationship between a father and son in a world that sees them as outcasts. The broodingly bleak dystopia depicted by Nicoll channels a very British form of fu

This weekend as part of Hull Year as city of Culture 2017, Mind on the Run celebrates the work of composer Basil Kirchin through a series of concerts and film screenings that will feature artists including Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, St Etienne's Bob Stanley and Sean O'Hagen of the High Llamas. Basil Kirchin was a British composer who was described by Brian Eno as 'a founding father of ambient. Having started out as a teenage drummer with his father Ivor Kirchin's Big Band, wh

From the Archives. June 2016 “Death to Tartan Features” - Why Scottish Independent Film-Makers will win and Tartan Features will have to die. Actually, you – Scottish Independent Film-Makers - have already won! “Won what?” You say. “A new voice.” Say we. “If a genuine cause exists but is not capable of attracting sufficient support, it must be amended until it does. If a good cause exists but has lost its appeal for one reason or another, it must be revived. If

From The Archives May 2016 As you may have noticed, our name has changed slightly. Well, there are a few reasons why we've done this. For the past few months we've been using TF in our posts rather than Tartan Features, which we aim to keep so it's not been a quick decision. We strongly feel that Scotland has a flourishing independent film community with a serious talent that's waiting to be discovered. And in order to best show this we need to have a more international outlo