Video: Film and Glasgow for the Future

Recently there have been several tidbits of news regarding the film industry in Scotland, notably the growing importance of Glasgow as a centre for the industry. Following on the heels of the much hyped Gerry Butler as Ambassador for the GFO, but with little detail on what exactly this actually meant and what would tangibly be done, it seems last week the Evening Times gave us a glimpse of the future. The future, one year ahead that is as the paper stated "‘Glasgow: Cinema City’ project, is currently being developed by the organisers of Glasgow Film Festival and will be launched at next year’s event.It will promote the city’s calendar of film events and historic movie links and sell Glasgow to visitors as “a city in love with the silver screen”.VisitScotland regional director David Adams McGilp said: “The Cinema City project is an inspired idea, uniting Glasgow’s heritage as a film-going city with its more recent reputation for cultural richness and its success establishing a popular, audience-focused film festival. We are delighted to support it.”

While we may have to wait a year to see all of this put into motion, in the meantime promotions are out there right now, including the most recent brochure from Scottish Screen which highlights many of the wonderful facilities Glasgow has to offer for filmmakers, including FILM CITY GLASGOW. Founded by the superb and Sigma Films' own Gillian Berrie, for those who have not yet seen this video, you can hear straight from Tiernan Kelly, head man at FCG here :)))



Also of interest is this clip from one of the occupants at FCG, Savalas Sound which has done so much work on Sigma Films among others.


While waiting a whole year to see this campaign begin in earnest, it's been quite encouraging to see David Mackenzie's Last Word hyped a bit of late. Many publications and blogs (including Screen Daily etc) are mentioning Last Word as a candidate for Cannes. While I personally think its a great fit, I also hope it gets to screen at Edinburgh this year too, but more importantly I just want it to sell and show on screens in the UK , US and well EVERYWHERE lol :D Poor Ewan, who has recently concluded his latest gauntlet for the ghost, was asked by a few actual thinking journalists about other films including Last Word, one reply which went as follows:

It was also nice working with David MacKenzie last year in Scotland on The Last Word, which was really low budget. Then I came back to L.A. and made a film with Mike Mills called Beginners, and that was super, super low budget. Those two films were in a way as rewarding as anything I’ve ever done. Sometimes, because there’s no budget, your filmmaking has to become much cleverer because you can’t spend a day shooting a scene from every angle. You have to shoot five scenes in a day, so the filmmaking becomes much more exciting. You have to get much more creative with the filmmaking, and that ends up on screen. There’s an energy that it produces that I really like. There are no rules to it. I’m really lucky that I’m able to dance in and out of both really.

Independent: After London, Glasgow is Leading UK Film-making Hub

The Independent has a new article online tonight, highlighting the filmmaking being done in Glasgow, Scotland. With mentions of the awesome FILM CITY GLASGOW, founded by Gillian Berrie and home to Sigma Films, the piece notes the many films being done in Scotland and notably Glasgow, including the upcoming Sigma production of David Mackenzie's Last Word and more. Quotage of note:
The city's adaptability is a key ingredient in its remarkable recent success as it emerges as Britain's second film-making hub, after London. Kevin Macdonald's saga of the Roman army north of the border, The Eagle of the Ninth, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland, was filmed last year in Glasgow, as well as in more rural parts of Scotland. The natural beauty of the country has, of course, long been beneficial to the Scottish film industry, attracting production of blockbusters such as Highlander and Braveheart. But Glasgow has now moved beyond that, offering good quality studio and post-production facilities.

Film City also has four casting agencies under its roof, one devoted to supplying actors of ethnic minority backgrounds. "It's not just the tartan and chocolate box stuff anymore. Glasgow is quite a gritty, urban, cool city now," says Tiernan Kelly, Film City's general manager, highlighting recent international recognition of the city's achievements in music and art. "This all adds to the cachet of Glasgow, that it's a good place to work."

Film City, a £3.5m redevelopment of the old town hall building, includes several film and television production companies, including KEO, the team behind Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage on Channel 4. Also being made in Glasgow is the romantic drama The Last Word, directed by David Mackenzie and starring Ewan McGregor. It is a co-production involving Sigma Films, based in the same building. Meanwhile another Romans in Scotland movie, The Centurion, starring yet another actor from The Wire, Dominic West, was shot largely in the Highlands and is due for release at the end of this year.

There is also discussion of Valhalla Rising which was based at Film City too. While not the same, late last year there was much ado about the hiring of Mr. Butler as spokesperson to help effort awareness of the fantastic Scottish film industry; just hope this piece is one of many many we can see in the coming days and months.
You can learn more about Film City Glasgow at their official site here, and Sigma Films here.

Scottish Screen Feature on Tiernan Kelly and Film City Glasgow

So here is another long over due post: a Scottish Screen interview with Tiernan Kelly and a feature on Film City Glasgow.

Shortly after the official launch of FCG, home to Sigma Films and more, SS released the latest issue of their digital "Roughcuts" magazine, which contained a new interview with the man who runs things at FCG (the former Govan Town Hall in Glasgow, Scotland), as well as some new photos of the various halls, companies such as Savalas sound, and some people hard work (think the door to the Sigma offices maybe? dunno) Right, well you can read the interview here and wee bit more here, as well as see the pics here, here and here, up on my flickr.
Way to go Tiernan and Film City Glasgow!

New Interview with Tiernan Kelly of Film City Glasgow (Updated)

Long time readers of this blog will know that I am not only a fan of the movies and works of Sigma Films, but also the people and place around them, namely that of Film City Glasgow. Once a building left to ages past, its been restored and bestowed with new purpose and vigor, and is now the site -in my opinion-of the most prolific flourishing film company in Scotland. There is a new article now online this week, highlighting the efforts ongoing in Glasgow to create a large digital complex, a place where film, television and all sorts of digital communications are gathered along the river Clyde. In the article below, you can learn more about Film City Glasgow, home to Sigma Films, Serious Facilities, Savalas Sound and other outstanding media companies in Scotland. They speak with Tiernan Kelly who runs things at Film City Glasgow, (also seen in my dearly treasured photo above or here via my flickr). You can learn more about Film City Glasgow at the official website or join the Facebook group. Quotes of interest from the article are as follows:

A five minute walk along the Clyde brings you to Film City Glasgow, a major redevelopment of the old Govan Town Hall building, incorporating a filming studio, post production facilities, permanent and short-term production office space, a café and an art workshop. Film City Glasgow is already home to Sigma Films, Savalas Sound Studios, Serious Facilities, plus one of Europe’s only Dolby Premier mixing theatres. The facility has recently added KEO Films (the award-winning production company behind Channel 4’s “River Cottage” series) to its list of permanent tenants.

“Film City is a great example of indigenous ideas and talent being supported by local strategic partners on an ambitious level,” said Film City’s Operations Manager, Tiernan Kelly. “The project got off the ground when Gillian Berrie of Sigma Films, frustrated by the lack of facilities available in Glasgow, looked to the Danish Film industry for inspiration, most significantly, to Filmbyen, a media hub created by Zentropa Films in decommissioned army barracks just outside Copenhagen.”

With the assistance of Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the European Regional Development Fund £3.5 million was raised to redevelop the town hall into a state of the art production facility.

Kelly said: “Most of the major productions filmed in Scotland in the last few years – films such as ‘Red Road’ and ‘Sword of Destiny’ – have filmed or had production office here at Film City. We actually have a film called ‘Legacy’ in production at the moment, which you’ll definitely hear more about in months to come. The very existence of a facility such as Film City in Glasgow engenders confidence, belief and, in turn, investment in the indigenous industry.”

Kelly points to the fact that both the post-production companies based at Film City Glasgow – Savalas Sound and Serious Facilities - are now preferred suppliers to BBC Scotland as evidence of the close collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas taking place between companies based at the DMQ.

UPDATE: Sunday Herald has more tonight on Film City Glasgow being used as base for new film "Legacy" starring the two from THE WIRE. The piece notes that the city is standing in for Brooklyn. Having spent and still do spend much time in Brooklyn, I have heard this about Glasgow time and time again; cant wait to find out myself (just hope the Thai food and the tea shops are as good :P)

Footage of Film City Glasgow on New Franz Ferdinand DVD

It was a dark and snowy night, when this hapless blogger realised that yet again she had failed, after having just learned of footage of FILM CITY GLASGOW and Franz Ferdinand freely available for weeks now on Youtube.

A sad state of affairs indeed, as said blogger knew full well last month that there was a DVD on the special box set of Franz Ferdinand's TONIGHT, containing a 40 minuted Documentary on the making of the CD, parts of which were shot at Film City Glasgow. However said blogger, being of varying states of mental capacity, multiple states of work induced stress, crimped cash flow, travelitus, a fair bit of drunkenness, and otherwise disgraceful states of oblivion best left for sitcom characters, proved unworthy of her journalism career and long held hard core fan on the lookout skills, and completely ignored Youtube...Youtube, better known as the last hope for all fans...However once scouring the promised land, blogger hit the mirage in the desert was thus was delivered from her state of ignorance (and spared the $60.00 to buy aforementioned box set) when alerted to a lovely acoustic rendition of Katherine Kiss me (which apparently also was part of a BBC broadcast over the holidays, but as blogger has zero access to those shows being blocked here in the US the point is moot)

*flushes head in toilet*

Right, CHECK IT OUT: Footage galore and lovely chatter from the fabulous four lads of Franz on recording at Film City Glasgow. FILM CITY GLASGOW, for those just joining in,
is home to the TRIFECTA OF S...SIGMA FILMS, Serious Facilities and Savalas Sound amoung many other great companies/tennants/cool folk in the developing Digital quarter of Glasgow. Film City Glasgow is run by Tiernan Kelly.

ENJOY the band, solo Nick and more....soooo beautiful, I love these clips; thanks ever so much for uploading this music and FCG footage guys!

Super Sweeet News Indeed! Franz Ferdinand Confirms Recording New CD at Film City Glasgow!

ALL CAP WOOHOO JUBILATION AND GREAT JOY! News on Franz Ferdinand. News on this blog too, in the same piece! say whhat?:D
SweetonSigma makes the Evening Times....well, of sorts, as one of my most favorite bands makes the Evening Times in an article about their new CD and recording in Film City Glasgow! What an awesome thing to see today, thank you Graeme Murray!

In this article, members of FRANZ FERDINAND confirm what Ive been on about for months lol, that they did in fact record their upcoming new CD tonight in the lovely old Govan town hall or what is now the home of FILM CITY GLASGOW! YES!! Confirming what I posted here last April (including pics of the band recording), the article reads :

Franz Ferdinand stayed at home, recruited top producer Dan Carey and recorded their new album in an eerie and disused part of Govan Town Hall.The Glasgow band - Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy, Nick McCarthy and Paul Thomson - were given free rein of an old part of the building and rented the theatre space and concrete bunker beneath the town hall's stage.

Frontman Alex, who is a regular at Dennistoun cafe Tibo and also worked as a delivery driver at Mother India's Cafe in Argyle Street, was thrilled when they stumbled on the Victorian building, complete with flock wallpaper and psychedelic carpets. He said: "The great thing about being in a band is that it's like being in the ultimate gang, and every gang needs its headquarters. A building like this is an inspiration, it's a place where you can hide from the world and create your thing. It's definitely had a big impact on the record."...

!!!!!!!!!!!!

More comments on the lovely old building which houses Film City Glasgow follow:

The band, who met at Glasgow School of Art, began rehearsing at the town hall, which also houses movie suite Film City, early last year...A mixing desk was installed in the theatre and the band swung a microphone from the 50ft-high rafters to capture the album's unique sound.Guitarist Nick said: "We recorded the album in our new building, a beautiful old town hall with a theatre and long shining corridors and rooms.We started rehearsing there early last year and soon realised we should record the album there as well."It has a certain magic and scariness about it."

Even Better, the article then contains mentions of SIGMA FILMS and a very brief quote from TIERNAN KELLY

Film City, which occupies most of the building, has been responsible for some of the most successful Scottish film output.Sigma Films, based at the movie hub, has created a string of movies, including Young Adam, Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself, Hallam Foe, Dear Frankie and Red Road.Tiernan Kelly, operations manager at Film City, which rented the disused part of the hall to the band, said: "They have been using the building pretty much outwith office hours. They've got their own entrance and come and go as they please."

On the side bar of the article, there is a pic of the building with a link to THIS BLOG and the clips of the band recording there. zomg so unexpected, so coool and very happy that the band gave that interview, FCG and Sigma and most the building are recognised in this manner! woot!

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand will be released Monday, January 26 (check out the trailers for it here via their official youtube channel, pre-order UK Domino, Amazon) and I can NOT wait! I adore their music so much, and to say Im thrilled to bits about all of this would be a gross understatement to say the least. One day I hope to get to meet Nick Alex Bob and Paul, but in the meantime, I feel like getting high... ;) wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Snapshot: A moment of sheer and sweet Sigma joy

Have you ever had one of those unexpected moments, when things before that have been taking a turn for the bad, when you feel like walls are closing in, you cant breathe, and there is nothing but dark and gloom surrounding you. Then suddenly there is a thing, an event, a moment where it all seems to turn on a dime, how one perhaps tiny gesture can make such a HUGE difference, that it leaves you smiling like crazy, leaping with joy, and speechless at the wonder of it all.

If you've ever gotten a gift or had a moment like that, then you will full well understand what it was like for me the other night when I checked my email and saw a photo. Taken in one moment of time, one photo can say so much and mean so much to someone else, its really true. One single photo with lovely beautiful handsome faces, ones who I would ordinarily never know of or meet and would probably walk right by me without ever speaking to, ones with stories and pasts and thoughts and life journeys far different from mine, and yet in this photo are people I genuinely respect admire (and in some cases flat out adore) Such are the people below, those of Sigma Films.


Tiernan Kelly who runs Film City Glasgow, Anna Duffield, Gillian Berrie, Alastair Mackenzie, David Mackenize, Colin Kennedy and Brian Coffey

Dear people of Sigma films,
It's like the best birthday, best holiday, best present in the world getting this photo, I just cherish this. I am so so thrilled, so happy to know about your work, so happy to share my thoughts on all your excellence via this blog, just plain...happy. That you would think of goofy me, take the time out to snap this pic and send this is just above and beyond, freaking cool lol, and frankly a hell of a very nice nice thing. Class acts all around, and I love this so very much!

I LOVE YOU SIGMA, and these talented cool interesting and fantastic people,with their lovely smiling faces (and woot note the HEART AND THE DOG in the background, MUCH LOVE AND ADMIRATION FOR YOU!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
CHEERS!!!
Sue