The ninth annual Scottish Youth Film Festival took place in Perth on 30 September 2023. 280 young people from across Scotland joined the Scottish Youth Film Foundation team for an inspiring day of workshops, discussions and screenings with a variety of industry guests from across the world of Scottish film and screen, including directors Raisah Ahmed and Andrew Cumming, and SYFF patrons Sara Vickers and Andy Rothney.
SYFF patrons Andrew Rothney (Matrix Resurrections, The Undeclared War) and Sara Vickers (Watchmen, Outlander, Blood of my Blood) lead an interactive acting workshop, courtesy of Tom Duffin
There were practical demos of sound effects from Krotos, a talk from animation director Will Adams of Wild Child about his work, a hands-on session on special effects from Gibbet FX, animation sessions, as well as an all-day screen acting workshop.
Films by young filmmakers from across the length and breadth of Scotland were screened, and the annual awards ceremony was once more the highlight of the day, with nominees from as far afield as Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway in the room to soak up the excitement.
The winning films were:
Age 12 and under category
- Animation: William Wallace
- Documentary: A Trip to Rathlin Island
- Live Action: ‘Cleachd i no caill I” (Use it or Lose it)
- Best Film: ‘Cleachd i no caill I” (Use it or Lose it)
Age 13-19 category
- Animation: Board Games
- Documentary: Socks - A Sockumentary
- Live Action: Boy meets Bear meets Dracula
- Best Film: Board Games
AMES Award, sponsored by Screen Scotland
- Higher: The Dunmore Project
- National 5: All they found was the camera