New Talent Mentorship Scheme Mentors also announced, including BAFTA winning director of Aftersun Charlotte Wells and Bad Sisters writer Ailbhe Keogan
The selected candidates for Glasgow Film Festival’s inaugural animation talent development project Animatic have been announced today. Animatic is a major new industry initiative supporting Scotland-based creatives and studios in developing their animated feature film or series ideas for an international audience.
Selected Animatic participants will take part in a three-month programme of workshops curated to aid project development and pitching skills before presenting their projects to studio executives from a world leading animation studio and industry experts. Animatic is supported through Scottish Government Festivals EXPO Fund.
During GFF’s Industry Focus in March 2024, My SMASH Media - one of the scheme’s partners - will host final pitching workshops where candidates will learn from a team of experts on how to maximise their chances of success and receive performance feedback from leading industry professionals about how they would fare in a real-life pitching scenario.
The animatic scheme candidates: Zoe Bullock, Selina Wagner, Paula Poveda-Urrutia, Sinead Kirwan, Will Adams. Images courtesy of Glasgow Film Festival.
The candidates for the first ever Animatic are Glasgow-based writer and performer Zoë Bullock developing Gracie and the Start of the End of the World (Again), an adult animation series about jellyfish dictatorship, interspecies romance and how to build a new civilisation without repeating the mistakes of the old one; Edinburgh’s Sinead Kirwan presenting Rabbit, an animated feature documentary about female solidarity and resistance during Nazi oppression; Orkney-born Selina Wagner showcasing Tirrick, a coming-of-age fantasy drama feature following a 12-year-old girl finding her place in an isolated community; BAFTA-winning animator Will Adams developing his dystopian animated sitcom for young adults Smart Devices and East Lothian-based animator Paula Poveda-Urrutia with Mo, children’s comedy series following a prehistoric human as they explore the world around them.
Alongside Animatic is the New Talent Mentorship Scheme at GFF Industry Focus. GFF’s initiative, funded by the William Grant Foundation, is for emerging professionals working in film, high-end television and animation from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the industry including (but not limited to) individuals of the global majority, LGBTQIA+, low or no income backgrounds, and people with disabilities.
The full list of 2024 mentors - who will provide practical support and training to some of Scotland’s brightest new creative talents - have been announced today.
They are BAFTA winning director of Aftersun Charlotte Wells; development producer and assistant director on blockbusters including Avengers: Endgame Mark Rossi; Ailbhe Keogan, writer on the Emmy-nominated Bad Sisters; BAFTA Scotland-winning director of Limbo Ben Sharrock; British-Pakistani screenwriter and director of Cake Asim Abbasi; BAFTA winning producer and MD of Edinburgh’s LS Productions Sarah Drummond; New Voice Award nominated filmmaker Louis Paxton and BAFTA winning Glasgow short film maker Michael Lee Richardson.
Both the New Talent Mentorship Scheme and Animatic are just two of many opportunities within the Industry Programme that sits at the heart of the festival, creating a bustling hub of activity not only during the festival dates but throughout the year.
Glasgow Film Festival’s Industry programme began in 2016 due to the number of filmmaking professionals attending the festival. Since then, GFF has grown to become the leading gathering for people working in the Scottish Film & TV industry at every stage in their career, from students to established professionals.
The ninth edition of the GFF Industry Focus will run from 4 - 7 March. Earlybird passes are on sale now until Friday 23 January with standard rate passes available until Wednesday 14 February.
The Industry Focus 2024 programme will be announced in February 2024.
GFF is one of the leading film festivals in the UK and is run by Glasgow Film, a charity which also runs Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow Film Festival is made possible by support from Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding and Glasgow Life.
GFF24 will run from 28 February to 10 March, with the full programme announced on 24 January.
Background
Information on My SMASH Media
Founded by independent feature producers Fiona Gillies and Christine Hartland, who joined forces with tech expert Mahesh Ramachandra, My SMASH Media disrupts the traditional landscape by exposing new talent to the market. SMASH provides creators with Pitch Builder and Pitch Protector formats so they can safely share and track their pitches and enables decision-makers to find projects that match their brief and help them connect with new audiences.
The Animatic and The New Talent Mentorship Scheme funders
Scottish Government Festivals EXPO Fund
Established in 2007 by the Scottish Government, the Expo Fund's aim is to build innovation across the festivals and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists contributing to the festivals.
The fund aims to support projects, programming or productions presented as part of a Festival which promote Scottish artists / companies in new work or contexts and provide meaningful opportunities for these artists or creatives to develop their international profile or careers.
The William Grant Foundation
The William Grant Foundation is a non-profit association established to support charitable causes in Scotland. Its work is funded by William Grant and Sons Ltd.
About GFF
Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is firmly established as a key event in the UK's cultural calendar. Launched in 2005, GFF has grown greatly in significance and is now a key launching pad for films and one of the top film festivals in the UK. GFF continues to grow and develop its international reputation. Held annually, it presents a unique programme of feature film premieres, special events, live and interactive experiences, and an Industry Focus programme for filmmakers at every stage of their career.
GFF was named the Big Screen Event of the Year at Screen International’s Big Screen Awards in November 2022 for achieving a record high of 73% audience capacity at its first in-person edition post-Covid.
Previous GFF guests include Richard Gere, Alan Rickman, John C. Reilly, Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, Richard Dreyfuss, Karen Gillan, Jessie Buckley, Sir. Michael Palin, Josh O'Connor, Ben Wheatley, Armando Iannucci, Jack O’Connell, Dexter Fletcher, Peter Mullan, George Sluizier, Peter Capaldi, Ty West, Richard Ayoade, David Dastmalchian, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Major funders
Screen Scotland
Screen Scotland drives development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and TV industry, through funding and strategic support. Screen Scotland is part of Creative Scotland and delivers these services and support with funding from Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Find out more at screen.scot and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
About the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund
The BFI Audience Projects Fund will invest £15m of National Lottery funding over three years to support ambitious, audience-facing activity of national scale that celebrates and showcases independent UK and international film and XR work. It will support projects that seek to expand access and encourage greater enjoyment of cinema by connecting audiences that are representative of the UK population with great films - in venues, at events and online.
About the BFI
The BFI is a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK's lead organisation for film and the moving image.
Our mission is:
- To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
- To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world's largest film and television archive
- To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals - delivered online and in venue
- To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding
- To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK's screen industries
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Tim Richards.
Glasgow Life
Glasgow Life is a charity working for the benefit of the people of Glasgow. We believe everyone deserves a great Glasgow life and we find innovative ways to make this happen across the city’s diverse communities.
Our programmes, experiences and events range from grassroots community activities to large-scale cultural, artistic and sporting events which present Glasgow on an international stage. Our work is designed to promote inclusion, happiness and health, as well as support the city’s visitor economy, in order to enhance Glasgow’s mental, physical and economic wellbeing.
For more information, visit www.glasgowlife.org.uk.
Media contacts
For more information or interviews, please contact Rebecca Garvey, GFF Press Coordinator: [email protected]