There is an exciting new film festival launching this year in the beautiful Scottish Borders town of Peebles. Scotland International Film Festival Of Cinema, the sister festival to the prestigious Idyllwild Festival of Cinema in America. It will take place from the 19th to the 24th of April at The Eastgate Theatre and Cinema. The festival will also be held online due to the pandemic. We caught up with two of the team members behind this new venture Scottish actresses Mhairi Calvey (Festival Director) and Vivien Reid (Festival Producer and UK Chairperson).
Mhairi Calvey who played ‘Young Murron’ in Mel Gibson’s hit blockbuster ‘Braveheart‘ and who most recently went on to film ‘Robert The Bruce’ and Victorian drama ‘Fear The Invisible Man’ alongside fellow scot David Hayman which just won her Best Newcomer at The National Film Awards and Vivien Reid (Festival Producer and UK Chairperson) who starred, wrote and co-produced Award-Winning film ‘The Box’ and recently went on to perform as one of ‘The Furries’ in Lucy Kirkwood’s ‘Maryland’ at The Traverse Theatre. Vivien was recently mentored through Playwrights Studio Scotland by Stef Smith and will be starring alongside American TV star John Emmet Tracy and Mhairi Calvey in ‘The Tunnel’ which she also wrote.
indieactivity: So how did this all begin?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: The Scotland International Festival of Cinema was first put forth as an idea by American film and television director Stephen Savage and executive producer Trinity Houston, who founded the highly successful Idyllwild Cinema Festival in Southern California. That festival has endowed them with thirteen years of festival experience and know-how. Savage approached Mhairi Calvey with the idea of launching a sister festival to Idyllwild in Scotland. They meet up while in London and began exploring the possibilities of embarking on this new venture while putting together a team that could help make it a reality. With the valuable addition of Scottish screenwriter and producer Lesley Paterson (executive producer and co-writer of the Netflix Original movie, “All Quiet on the Western Front”), and Vivien Reid, who lives in Peebles, the roots of the Scotland International Festival of Cinema took hold and just two short years and a pandemic lockdown later that venture is now officially happening.
Why did you feel Scotland needed another film festival?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: The Scotland International Festival of Cinema (SIFC) is dedicated to providing a showcase for emerging talent in independent film. Our goal is to provide a forum in which up-and-coming filmmakers can connect with established industry professionals, to advance and promote their work, within an atmosphere supportive of independent cinema. Our collaboration with the Idyllwild Festival of Cinema also gives filmmakers the chance to connect with contacts across the pond. The Scotland International Festival of Cinema is an event catering to talented new filmmakers, affording them a chance to gain a foothold on terrain that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them. To launch their art while plugging them into the same networking pipelines enjoyed by more established film companies. In short, Scotland is here to support the film voices of tomorrow.
Why Peebles?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: When Vivien was over attending the Idyllwild Film Festival in March 2020 with her short film ‘The Box’, she got chatting with the director of the festival Stephen Savage. He shared his love for Scotland. He also mentioned that he had wanted to start up a Scottish Film Festival with Mhairi but did not know where would be the best location. It was important to Stephen that it should not be in a city but somewhere similar to Idyllwild. Vivien told him all about her hometown and why she thought Peebles was the perfect place to host a film festival. A town full of people connected and interested in the arts. It is also close to airports, train stations and easy to reach by bus or car. A beautiful historic town that the River Tweed runs through. A beautiful castle nearby, fantastic walks, wonderful independent local shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels which are all happily supporting the film festival.
So tell us about The Eastgate Theatre?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: We feel really lucky to have secured the Eastgate Theatre. It is a beautiful venue in the heart of Peebles. The Eastgate started life as a church in 1871 but was marked for closure until offered a new lease of life as a hub for the arts. The venue provides us with the highest quality equipment for screening films in its stunning cinema. It also has a cafe that will be a hub for filmmakers who want to network and has excellent accessibility for disabled customers. The Eastgate is also run by a brilliant team of people managed by Caroline Adam, Maggie MacKay the Marketing Manager, Press Officer Rich Rowe, and Clifford Carrie the Technical Manager who are looking forward to welcoming everyone with open arms. The venue’s a stone’s throw away from all the local hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops.
You have a very impressive Grand Jury?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: Yes, we are thrilled that everyone said yes to coming on board. The Grand Jury is a hugely important part of the festival and each member will bring something unique when judging the films. Mhairi is good friends with Scottish actor Angus McFadyen whose credits include ‘Equilibrium’, ‘We Bought a Zoo’, and ‘Superman and Lois’. Mhairi worked with Angus in ‘Braveheart’ and then later on in ‘Robert The Bruce’, he was really happy to come on board and support the festival and this started a snowball effect. Inspired by their work Vivien reached out to Carol Morley who directed ‘The Falling’ starring Florence Pugh and Maisie Williams. Carol is currently directing ‘Typist Artist Pirate King’ starring Kelly MacDonald. Edinburgh-based filmmaker Ruth Paxton who regularly directs hit Scottish TV series ‘River City’ and most recently directed ‘A Banquet’ starring Sienna Guillory. BAFTA award-winning Scottish Actress Shauna Macdonald star of ‘The Decent’ and ‘Star Wars – The Last Jedi’. Vivien is friends with American star of ‘Yellowstone’ TV series John Emmet Tracy and the rising star director John McPhail who did ‘Anna and The Apocalypse’ and is currently directing ‘Dear David’ starring Justin Long. Stephen Savage approached close friend and Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA-nominated actress Anne Archer who completed our Grand Jury team.
Could you tell us a bit more about the SIFC team?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: Stephen Savage is our Festival Producer and US Chairperson, Stephen is the Director of The Idyllwild International Film Festival and brings with him 13 years of festival experience. He is an international award-winning film and television director who is currently working with Anne Archer on Rock and Roll rom-com ‘Ulysses Coyote’ in the US. Then we have the power-house Trinity Houston our Executive Producer for Scotland, Trinity is also Idyllwild’s Executive Producer and business partner to Stephen, she has taken her enormous experience of movie and music distribution as an agent for the Los Angeles based Studio City Pictures and brought it into the festival. Trinity scouts and produces quality content for theatrical and streaming entities. Lastly, we have been very lucky to bring on board Lesley Paterson as the Festival Producer and International Chairperson. Lesley is an established Executive Producer and Screenwriter who is currently working on her Netflix production of ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ starring Daniel Bruhl. Her production company Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment has produced several feature films and shorts.
So you only have a few months to go until the festival begins how are you all feeling?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: We are extremely excited and very busy at the moment with the press, looking for the right sponsors and preparation. We have learned so much along the way and we all love a challenge. Our favorite part has been seeing the incredible films which have been submitted from around the world, the talent is mind-blowing. SIFC is not far away now so we are planning special events and Q&As for the festival. It is amazing what you can achieve when the right people come together even in the middle of a global pandemic!
What made you both decide to start a festival?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: Our love of film, it’s as simple as that! With lots of hard work and passion, we knew it was something we could achieve if we put our minds together. The process has been a fascinating one, difficult and challenging at times but the thought of filmmakers coming to Peebles to see their films up on the big screen and hopefully making some dreams come true is really special. Art, books, and films got people through the pandemic and cinema is a magical art form. What makes festivals so exciting is that it brings together so many types of genres and film making from animation to live-action and a chance for all those filmmakers to meet each other and celebrate one another’s work. As actors we have both been lucky to have been cast in independent film, it was our start and took us on incredible adventures so we both feel passionate about the teams behind those productions.
What’s been the hardest part of starting a festival?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: Being brave enough to try something new, is unknown territory for us both but we both believe that you need to do the things that you fear most. We have also had to put our business heads on and as creatives, this has resulted in finding new ways to problem solve and communicate. Dealing with the implications of Covid and working around it. It’s important to keep everyone safe. Now that we can see it all starting to take shape we are just really excited to see the event come to life and share it with like-minded people.
What are your hopes for the future?
Mhairi Calvey & Vivien Reid: We want SIFC to continue and grow for many years to come within the industry. We want to bring different genres of film to the festival and for the audiences to experience all types of storytelling and ways of filmmaking. We both want it to become a fun annual experience each year and connect filmmakers, actors, creatives, and audiences alike.
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