The Scotsman have published a great article about Martin Smith and his upcoming feature Shows. The feature is based on Martin Smith’s short Seagulls, which was produced through DigiCult and Hopscotch’s Scottish Shorts initiative and had its world premiere at Berlin Film Festival last month.

Shows tells the story of a teenage showman and his dream of escaping life on the road. DigiCult’s Paul Welsh is producing the feature through sister company Edge City Films. In the Scotsman article, Smith highlights the issues faced by showmen and his reasons for making a short and feature on the same subject and characters.

To read the article in full, please visit The Scotsman’s website

Following two months of hard graft on their story, script and project ideas, Eva Riley and Tom Chick have been commissioned  by DigiCult and Creative Scotland to produce their first funded shorts with the company.

Eva’s naturalistic piece ‘Sweetheart’ tells the story of two sisters struggling with their inter-dependency and competing sexuality. And Tom’s lyrical re-telling of the traditional tale ‘Death In A Nut’ draws inspiration from the films of Bill Douglas, deftly exploring a son’s struggle with a stranger who comes to visit his ailing mother.

Congratulations to both these film-makers and commiserations to the remainder of the short film talent pool. Everyone worked hard throughout the development process: Ryan Adams, Antonia Bain, Hugh Farrell, Sam Firth, Neil Hepburn and Mark Rossi. DigiCult wishes you every success with your future film projects.

Alongside Zack Copping’s ‘Foxy and Marina‘ (in post production), ‘Sweetheart’ and ‘Death in A Nut’ complete DigiCult’s short film slate for 2011.

Foxy and Marina wrapped last Thursday night and the vibes were good. VJ Emlyn Firth mashed-up our production stills to the Latin sounds provided by Doctor Belle. Food was eaten and a few drinks were drunk. We’ll take a few weeks too recover our wits then push on with the edit. Well done to Writer/Director Zack Copping – he matured as the days intensified – and thank you to the cast and crew of the film. It’s going to be special.

DigiCult’s Foxy And Marina (Writer/Director Zach Copping) shoots this week. Here’s a sneak preview of the action and a glimpse of the set in Glasgow’s West End.

A lyrical romance set in the not-so-romantic world of heroin addiction, this original story follows a young boy from Skye as he flirts with the idea of giving-up and returning home to the islands. Killing time on his last day in the city, Foxy (Lorne MacFadyen) visits his dealer where he meets Marina (Pollyanna McIntosh) and falls in love …

Running at 25 minutes, Foxy and Marina is Zach’s second short film. His HoD’s include David Liddell (DoP), Stephen Carney (1st AD), Natalie Astridge (Designer), Layla Mall (Costume) and Tahira Herold (Make-Up). Zach’s first short Cotopaxi – a GMAC DigiCult production in 2005 – was BAFTA Scotland nominated for Best Short and competed for the Silver Bear at Berlinale. You can watch the film on BBC Film Network.

All Stills by Chris Baron

Funded by Creative Scotland and UK Film Council, Zak Copping’s long short ‘Foxy and Marina’ shoots this weekend in Glasgow (Saturday 2nd April, 6 days). A lyrical romance set in the not-so-romantic world of heroin addiction, this original story follows a young boy from Skye as he flirts with the idea of giving-up and returning home to the islands. Killing time on his last day in the city, Foxy (Lorne MacFadyen) visits his dealer where he meets Marina (Pollyanna McIntosh) and falls in love …

Lorne MacFadyen (Foxy, ‘Foxy and Marina’)

Pollyanna McIntosh (Marina, ‘Foxy and Marina’)

‘Foxy and Marina’ was originally developed as one of UK Film Council’s Digital Nation shorts in 2o1o.

The film is being produced by Paul Welsh and Pip Farnese for DigiCult.

A big thank you to the exceptionally talented people behind ‘Fixing Luka’, DigiCult’s most recent stop-frame animation (Scottish Digital Shorts 2010). Two nominations for BAFTA in Scotland’s New Talent Awards (March 2011) secured one great win for the team – Pete MacDonald for Best Original Score – and many great tributes from the floor for Jessica Ashman (writer-director-animator) and Anna Odell (producer) after the film was nominated for Best Animation. DigiCult also wants to congratulate all the nominees and prize-winners recognised by BAFTA in Scotland this month. Well done one and all.