Filmmaker Q&A: Alex Harron on Bend Don't Break & The Racer
Alex Harron is the filmmaker behind documentary Bend Don't Break (TF#7) and forthcoming short, The Racer, which follows motorcyclist Jodie Chalk on her quest to retain her status as female British number 1. We caught up with Alex to chat about the story behind Bend Don't Break and making the move from shorts to full-length documentaries. For the uninitiated, tell us a little bit about Bend Don't Break - how did you come to make a documentary about American Football in Scotlan
Filmmaker Q&A - Colin Bell & Gregor Barclay on Ribbons
Tartan Features #17 - improvised psychological thriller, Ribbons - got off to a shaky start earlier this year when the shoot schedule was thrown out the window following the Beast From the East. Starring Robert Jack (BBC's Gary: Tank Commander) and Ali Craig (Outlander, Trust Me and Shetland), Ribbons follows a small group of four very different characters trapped in a confined space - a windowless bunker that pushes relationships to breaking points, and minds to the brink of
Filmmaker Q&A: David Newbigging on Darkness Comes
Brand new to Amazon - and Tartan Features - Darkness Comes is David Newbigging's debut feature film. The film's production acted as a crash course in filmmaking for a group of young people local to the film's set in Greenock. We chatted to him about the making of the film and inclusion in the industry. Tell us a little bit about Darkness Comes - how did it come about? Darkness Comes was originally titled Dying Light. I worked for years in community arts companies and third se
Tartan Features #16 Darkness Comes Available Now on Amazon
What was your first time like? For Eddie it's going to be the most memorable night of his life. Waking up to find himself tied to the bed of the mysterious Suze may have been a fantasy, but torture and being initiated into an ancient cult has now become his nightmare. A nightmare which will change the course of Eddie's life, and all those he meets. Tartan Features is delighted to announce the release of TF #16, Darkness Comes, from BAFTA award-winning director David Newbiggi
Tartan 14- Far From the Apple Tree - DigitalFilmmaker Magazine Spread
The full transcript can be read below: Far From the Apple Tree Why will this project be of interest to readers of Digital FilmMaker? I think our team have managed to pull together a unique project. A drama feature that’s been partly shot on 35mm, for £15K, everyone was paid a little and we did it all in 9 days. What had you done project wise in the lead up to this? For 18 years I’d worked as a 2ndAC on film and latterly as a DIT, mostly on features. I’ve been lucky and have w
5 Years of Disrupting the Scottish Film Industry TF5 - Where Do We Go From Here?
5 Years of Disrupting the Scottish Film Industry.... We’ll be profiling some of our older films over the next few weeks while we announce some of the new. 2014-2016: TF5 - Where Do We Go From Here? A little preface... DIY does not equate to vanity publishing. DIY is an ideology, a belief -which need only be temporary- that YOU have an equal right to have your voice heard. If something is standing in your way, then you use whatever means are available to shout and make sure y
Tartan Features Changes to Year Zero Filmmaking
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
Five Years – And the changes seen in the Scottish Indie Film Community.
Five Years – And the changes seen in the Scottish Indie Film Community. Today is the Fifth anniversary of Tartan Features. Coincidentally, David Bowie sang a song called 5 years. Unfortunately that’s as far as any links to us go. If he’d been singing about dogs and micro-budget feature films then it would have been uncannily apt. Year Zero: Tartan Features Fifth Annual Semi-Report In the five years of Tartan Features we’ve observed – and learned a lot about the Scottish Film
Attitude and Ideas: Year Zero Tartan Features 2017 Review
Attitude and Ideas: Year Zero Tartan Features 2017 Review “Great art always comes from attitude and ideas” so said the Gang of Four. This is also true of film but with the important addition of tenacity. The Cambridge dictionary defines tenacity as ”the determination to continue what you are doing” Ideas alone are just not enough when making, promoting and distributing independent films on your own – something we learned when we started in 2013. Attitude is great if you have
A New Model For Micro Budget Film Distribution.
A New Model For Micro Budget Film Distribution. Short Circuit The Film Industry As has become fairly apparent to anyone reading our occasional musings we are more than a little enamoured by a niche area of the music industry, the 1970s/80s independent record scenes of the UK. A period where amateur musicians, non musicians, outsiders, weirdos and mavericks – all those outside the established music industry suddenly found a voice and created some of the most inspired records o
