The Inaccessible Blog

An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)

"At the root of every meditation on philosophy and morality, there will be found a story."

Co as a tha thu agus ciamar a fhuair thu sas ann a Seachd? Where are you from and how did become involved with Seachd?

[Aonghas] Sgiathanach a th'unnam, as Uige, ged a tha mi nise fuireach anns na Criochan Albannach. Rinn mi eolas air Sim Mac a Mhuillear nuair a bha e ag obair air fiolm goirid steidhichte air oige fhein ann am Baile Dhun Leibhe (ann a Labhdaidh an Iar). As a choinneachadh sin thainig cothrom eadartheangachadh (agus beagan comhairleachaidh) a dheanamh air an fhiolm ghoirid aige, Foighidinn. Nuair a thainig fios bhon a BhBC gu robh sgriobhadairean a dhith airson sreath sgeulachdan, air fiolm, steidhichte air beul-aithris, cha b'e ruith ach leum dhomh! I'm a Skyeman, from Uig, though now living in the Scottish Borders. I met Simon Miller when he was working on a short film based on his childhood in Livingstone (West Lothian). From that encounter came the opportunity to translate (with a bit of consultation thrown in) his short film Patience. When I heard from the BBC that scriptwriters were sought for a series of filmed stories based on tradition, I had no hesitation!

Ciamar a dheilig thu ri sgeul an Eich-uisge?  How did you approach writing the Water-horse story?

[Aonghas] Sheallainn do dhuine sam bith an lochan an ceann   a Tuath an Eilein far an deach innse dhomh, 's mi direach na mo bhalach, gu robh each-uisge san doimhneachd. Theid gaoir tromham a dol seachad air fhathast. fiu's ged a tha geola bheag sinte air a bhruaich. Mar sin bha e furasada dhomh an sgeul a tha ann a seadh 'beo' nam mhacmeanmainn, a chur ann an dreach ur. Bhon a bha an sgeul ri bhi na seorsa de pharabal, bha an tionnadh a dhith a cheangladh i ri priomh-sgeul an fhiolm. I can still point out the small loch in North Skye where I was told, as a boy, that a Kelpie lived in the depths. It still sends a hint of a shiver through me to passit, even though a small dinghy is beached on its bank. But it was easy for me to re-invent a story that is still 'alive' in my imagination. As the story had to represent a kind of parable, it was then necesary to provide the twist that connected it with the central narrative of the film.

Bheil an smuain gu bheil cinema Gaidhlig ann a ciallachadh cail?  Does the idea of a Gaelic cinema mean anything?

[Aonghas] Carson nach biodh? Chan eil na h-eisimpleirean lionmhor, ach nuair a gheibh Gaidheal cothrom a dhol sas ann a fiolm, bho thaobh astaigh a dhualchas fhein, tachraidh miorbhaillean. Gun a bhi deanamh dimeas air gin dhen fheadhainn eile, dh'ainmichinn am fiolm goirid a rinn Domhnall Ruadh, steidhichte air an oran 'A Bhean Eudach', far an do dh'inns e an sgeul le lan-chumhachd is le gann facal a labhairt. Tha an sgeul ga h-inne fhein.  Why not? The examples are not numerous, but when Gaels get the opportunity to engage with film from within their own traditions, marvels can happen. Implying no criticism of any others, i'd cite Domhnall Ruadh's short film based on the folk-song 'The Jealous woman', told most powerfully, with a minimum of dialogue. The story tells itself.

An d'fhiach a bhi 'g aithris sgeulachdan?  Does storytelling matter?

[Aonghas] Chan eil creideamh anns an t-saoghal nach eil steidhichte air sgeulachdan. Aig bun gach meorachadh air feallsanachd is moraltachd, gheibhear sgeulachd.  There's no religion in the world that isn't based on storytelling. At the root of every meditation on philosophy and morality, there will be found a story. 

De an rud a b'fhearr mu bhi deanamh Seachd?  What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[Aonghas] Dhomhsa, bho nach b'urrainn dhomh bhi sas anns a chorr dhen deanamh, an sgriobhadh. Do sgriobhadair a tha cleachdte ri bhi ag obair na aonar, 's e rud fior thaitneach a th'ann a bhi a' co-obrachadh le sgriobhadairean eile.  For me, as further involvement in making Seachd wasn't possible, the writing. For a writer accustomed to working in isolation, it's a particularly satisfying experience to be able to work in co-operation with others.

De an rud bu mhiosa?  What was the worst thing?

[Aonghas] Nach b'urrainn dhomh a bhi sas anns an deanamh na bu mhodha, air sgath 's gu robh dleasdanasan eile a' gabhail buaidh air mo thide.  That I couldn't be more involved in the making of Seachd due to prior commitments elsewhere.

Previous interviews:

An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)

An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

The making of Seachd - Part 2: And then there were Seven

After the success of the short film, Foighidinn - The Crimson Snowdrop, the producer Christopher Young and the director Simon Miller, really wanted to find a way of making a Scottish Gaelic feature film.  It certainly seemed to be the right time to attempt to raise the money, but what kind of film should it be?

Of course, there is an expectation that a Scottish Gaelic film might be set in the past since it was most widely spoken in the early middle ages, but with 60,000 speakers of Scottish Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, neither Simon or Chris wanted to make a film that would ignore the present day Gaelic community which is so vibrant and so strong.

Ideas sometimes come from the strangest sources, but in this case the kernel of the idea came from a mum.  Simon's mum who said:  "Well, you've made one of the virtues (Foighidinn means "patrience" in Gaelic), why don't you make the other six?"

And from that kernel came the idea that the story-telling grandfather from Foighidinn should be revived and given more stories to tell to his grandchildren enlightening them about the seven Gaelic virtues.  In Gaelic the word for the number 7 is Seachd - a number which has enormous resonance in Gaelic story-telling culture.  And so the project had a working title, which we haven't bettered to this day!

In this series:

The making of Seachd - Part 1: In the beginning

http://www.seachd.com

Help spread the word by Seachd-ifying your page or site

Why not add a little bit of Seachd to your website, blog or MySpace page?  Well, we've created widgets, banners and links for you to do just that.

1 | Widgets

The Seachd slide show, music player, and blog have been designed in "web widget" form so you can grab the code and place a widget on your own page.  Just look for the "+ your site" link on http://www.seachd.com or http://www.myspace.com/seachd and click to get hold of the embed code.  The size of most of the widgets can be tailored to your own page, and we've provided helpful information on how to install them and customise them.  Look out for the forum and trailer widgets coming soon.

Widgets currently available:

Seachd slide show
+ your site | + gaelic

Seachd music player
+ your site | + gaelic

Seachd blog
+ your site

2 | Links and banners

We would love to exchange links with you!  If you run a website we'd love for you to provide a link to http://www.seachd.com so your friends or readers can find out about the film.  We've provided the code for you to place banners or links on your own page here: http://www.seachd.com/index_links.html - where you'll also find a directory of links to a wide variety of other sites that might be of interest.  We've also create some banners (flash banners coming soon!) the code of which we have also provided.

If you do link to us, please let us know your website address by emailing us at links@seachd.com and we'll put a link to your site in our links section.

Where to get the code

Standard text link
http://www.seachd.com/index_links.html

Graphical banners
http://www.seachd.com/index_links_banners.html

We look forward to linking up with you!

Mar sin leat, an dràsda!

In this series:

Help spread the word by bookmarking us

 

http://www.seachd.com

How to speak Gaelic - Lesson 1: The Gaelic alphabet

We thought it would be a wasted opportunity if we didn't try and teach our readers a little bit of Gaelic (if you aren't fluent already) ahead of the release of the film.  Now, don't get worried, Seachd film has subtitles, but perhaps you'd like to pick out a few Gaelic phrases here are there?

So, let's start with the Gaelic alphabet which has only 18 letters.  Of course, there are many more sounds than letters, and you need to combine letters to get all the sounds you need to speak like a proper Gael.

For example, the vowels a, e, i, o, u are pronounced "short" when written normally, but add a grave accent and à è ì ò ù are pronounced "long".  More than that, vowels are divided into two classes.  e and i are caol ("slender") and a, o, u are leathann ("broad"). So that when a consonant is preceded and/or followed by a slender vowel it is pronounced differently than when it is accompanied by a broad vowel.

There are 13 consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t.  When they're followed by an h then a consonant is pronounced differently (although l, n and r cannot be followed by an h).  The only letter than you can write double are l, n and r.

Got it?!!!!!!!!!

OK so the first lesson is already getting boring.  Let's just jump in with a trusty old phrase and see if we can learn that in today's lesson.

Here it is:

'S mise <<Your Name>>

Well, this isn't pronounced s-m-ee-ze!

An s by itself is pronounced s as in sat, so the first 'S is pronounced s.  So far so good!

The second s is preceded by an i and followed by an e both of which are caol ("slender") vowels which changes the s to sh as in shop.

The m is pronounced m.  The i is pronounced i as in tin.  The e is pronounced e as in ten.

Put it all together and 'S mise is pronounced  s-mi-sh-e.

Try it  and add your name afterwards.  Go on!

You've just said "My name is  .... whatever your name is"

I think we've done enough for today.  Until next time.

Mar sin leat, an dràsda! (Cheerio - for now!)

http://www.seachd.com

HI-ARTS - Putting Skye on the Movie Map

20th May 2007

ALLAN HUNTER caught up with the Gaelic film Seachd at the Cannes Film Festival

IT IS NOW possible to spend every single day of the year at a different film festival somewhere on the planet. It is a prospect that even the most enthusiastic journalist might dread.

The competition is fierce but Cannes remains the grande dame of such gatherings. It is the most important event of its kind in the world and any filmmaking nation that wants to be taken seriously has to be seen to be there.

The 60th Cannes festival has witnessed triumphs for the stark Rumanian abortion drama ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’, the French language adaptation of Jean-Dominque Bauby’s life-affirming memoir ‘The Diving Bell And The Butterfly’, the Coen brothers’ meaty version of the Cormac McCarthy Tex-Mex novel ‘No Country For Old Men’, featuring Scotland’s Kelly Macdonald in its ensemble cast, and Austrian drama ‘Import/Export’.

British hopes of success were dashed almost as soon as the programme was announced in April. Not a single British film is in competition for the Festival’s main prize, the coveted Palme D’Or. Stephen Frears, director of ‘The Queen’, may be the President of a prestigious international jury, but he is unlikely to be troubled by any conflicts of interest.

It has not been all bad news for British cinema, though, and one Scottish film has managed to restore a little national pride. Filmed on Skye during May and June of 2006, ‘Seachd – The Inaccessible Pinnacle’ had its world premiere at the Celtic Film Festival on the island in March.

It’s first international market screenings were at Cannes this week, where Skye-based producer Chris Young revealed that the film has now been acquired by British distributor Soda Pictures, and will open in British cinemas this autumn after a possible screening at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Britain is so dominated by Hollywood blockbusters that any British film struggles to be taken seriously as a big screen attraction. The achievement of the low-budget ‘Seachd’ is all the more remarkable because it will be the first ever Gaelic-language production to have achieved a British cinema release.

Supported by the Gaelic Media Service, the film was inspired by Young’s previous collaboration with director Simon Miller on the short film ‘Foighidinn (The Crimson Snowdrop)’. It is an involving human drama that also pays tribute to the strong storytelling traditions that have long been part of Gaelic culture.

Padruig Morrison stars as Aonghas, a nine year-old boy sent to live with his grandparents after the death of his parents in a climbing tragedy. His grandfather, expertly played by Aonghas Padraig Cambuel, attempts to beguile the lad with tall tales and magical stories.

The film unfolds in flashback as the older Aonghas rushes to visit his dying grandfather in hospital. The grandfather’s stories punctuate the narrative, providing moments of humour and wisdom as we are regaled with tales of magicians, feuds, shipwrecked gold from a Spanish Armada and a man who may have opened the world’s first chip shop.

‘Seachd’ is an ambitious film but there is little doubt that the star attraction is the rugged, natural beauty of Skye. The camerawork really does the island proud, capturing its many faces and different moods, from ominous skylines to blinding sunlight, lapping waves on deserted shores and the imposing majesty of the Cuillin Hills that play such a vital part in the story.

It is a journalistic cliché to suggest that a location can also function as an extra character in a film, but that is very much the case in the way that ‘Seachd’ uses Skye. The film already seems destined to travel the world with invitations arriving from a number of other European festivals.

It was almost all good news for Chris Young and Young Films at Cannes. The producer has been developing a script by writer John Milarky entitled ‘The Strangest Thing’. It is set in Scotland on Christmas Eve 1890, and follows events as a steam train plunges from a crippled bridge.

The souls of those killed ascend to heaven but one remains. An angel is sent to recover it but in encountering the kindness of strangers begins to wonder what it might be like to be human.

It is a project with the flavour of a Powell and Pressburger film like ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’ (1946), and more than a hint of the Frank Capra Yuletide classic ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ (1946) starring James Stewart.

Young has discovered this week that ‘The Strangest Thing’ has won the Hartley Merrill International Screenwriting Prize, which carries a $5,000 cash prize and the chance for Young and Milarky to head for Los Angeles and embark on the next step of bringing the project to the screen and finding the ideal director to make their vision a reality.

Young admits that ‘The Strangest Thing’ has become something of a pet project, and that his wish list of directors would include someone with the talent of a Tim Burton or a Martin Scorsese.

It is also his dream to see ‘The Strangest Thing’ made on Skye. His other plans include the intention to reunite with director Simon Miller for another project, also on Skye. It appears that ‘Seachd’ may be the start of something big for filmmaking on the island. Cannes might have to get used to the sound of the Scots on the Croisette.

© Allan Hunter, 2007

http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/may07-feature-seachd-cannes.html

http://www.seachd.com

YAHOO! NEWS - Virtually Cannes: the festival fans out online

Thought I'd add this article as it actually mentions Christopher Young's CANNES 2007 experience on this very blog!  You can find all of Chris' entries here: http://seachd.typepad.com/blog/cannes_2007/index.html

21st May 2007

CANNES, France (AFP) - The Cannes film festival, with its celebrities, soirees and stunts, can seem pretty unreal most of the time.

It should be no surprise then that it has carved out a significant virtual presence on the Internet, and this year more than ever.

Countless blogs, websites linked to the thousands of films and production companies, and a torrent of e-mails to and from festival-goers are making ethernet connections glow hot as the cinema event -- which turned 60 -- embraces the on-line world.

Leonardo DiCaprio, at the festival to show an eco-documentary he made, "The 11th Hour," was a high-profile proponent of the move.

He pointed journalists to a website for all the documentation on his film, taking a "green" stand on the Internet instead of handing out reams of information on paper, as the thousands of other filmmakers were doing.

The Iranian director of one of the films competing for Cannes's Palme d'Or prize, "Persepolis," was also online on the popular site MySpace (www.myspace.com/persepolislefilm) to drum up attention.

"We are offering cinema places everywhere in France so you can go to sneak previews of 'Persepolis'," Marjane Satrapi writes in French on the site.

"But shhh! The Cannes festival isn't finished yet, so these screenings are meant to be secret and private and are reserved just for you."

MySpace -- which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and thus affiliated to his movie studio holdings -- also took over part of the Cannes beach to host members of the site.

The festival's organisers themselves have made the world's top cinema event more accessible to the public on their site (www.festival-cannes.com), even giving a daily list of the celebrities who arrive in the Riviera resort each day.

Bloggers, of course, are all over the festival -- and those actually here are often getting by without the corporate expenses that keep most of the 15,000 attendees fuelled up on champagne.

"The bus ride from Nice and the long walk from my hotel to the Croisette are a clear reminder of my low budget status but the joy of Cannes is that when the lights go down it really is about the films and not the money," wrote British producer Christopher Young on his Internet journal (seachd.typepad.com/blog/).

Some French bloggers, having a get-together in a tented restaurant on an overpriced hotel-owned beach, didn't hold back on the cash, however, as they splashed out on a 150-euro- (200-dollar-)a-head dinner.

"We have one thing in common, and that's blogging, and now we're here to get to know each other," said one of them, Olivier Martin.

Cinema was, of course, high up on the discussion, but "it's really a bloggers' party, so we talk mainly about the Internet as well," he said.

Among them was a French director/actress looking to ride on the coat-tails of the blogosphere by talking up her short movie, "Poker Hand," to the bloggers and plugging her password-protected tie-in website (partie2poker.blogspot.com).

"I discovered the world of blogging like everybody, not so long ago, and the fact to be at Cannes together (with the bloggers), at an event that represents the image of cinema is for me something exceptional," said Esperence Pham Thai Lan, whose family is of Vietnamese origin.

"It's like there is an alliance forming between the two worlds, that of bloggers, and that of cinema."

And for cinephiles who can't make it in person to Cannes, the Internet is also offering a solution: the festival has been recreated in the popular virtual dimension of Second Life, an online 3D world peopled with avatars.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070521/tc_afp/entertainmentfilmfestivalcannesinternet_070521075212

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)

"We left no stone unturned"

Where are you from and how did you become an editor?

[Aonghas] I'm from the Isle of Lewis and studied television at the local college. Right from the outset cutting pictures together came naturally and I loved doing it. Plus, I never had enough patience for all the waiting around on location anyway!

How would you describe the creative editing process for Seachd?

[Aonghas] Exhaustive! We left no stone unturned in the search for the strongest structure and narrative that the material would deliver. As an editor I seek to draw on the greatest strengths of those involved in the process and transfer them as honestly and strongly as is possible into the finished piece. In the case of Seachd that meant, primarily, trying to composite Simon Miller's love of story and searing attention to detail with Chris Young's strong intuition for compelling narrative. We also received very strong feedback from Both Carole Sheridan and Ishbel Maclennan (executive producers) and Jim Sutherland the composer. It was immensely challenging to distill the various points of view and resolve them into what is hopefully a compelling piece.

On what equipment was Seachd edited?

[Aonghas] We cut Seachd on the latest iteration of Avid's Media Composer Adrenaline. Avid's media management is peerless, which is of great importance when handling the amount of material we had to work with in an efficient manner. Composer is also extremely robust, we lost no time whatsoever during the edit because of technical difficulties. This is in part down to the mature nature of the Avid product, but also of vital importance is the quality of the service provided to us by our re-seller; George Fox at Video Source.

What was it like working on your first feature film?  What did you learn?

[Aonghas] Cutting my first feature was without doubt a massive and steep learning curve.

Because a film of real substance (which I firmly believe Seachd to be) has to work on so many levels, there are a plethora of issues to be resolved. It's an extremely delicate process to try and balance the material so that it delivers as much as possible.

I feel that if going to see a film is going to be at all worthwhile the viewer should come away from it not just entertained but also challenged.

Of course some celebrated films achieve this effect by delivering a singular viewpoint very powerfully, but I've always preferred those that ask meaningful questions and provide the viewer with a framework in which they can come to their own conclusions. In that regard Seachd is the kind of film that I really love because it's core are some very fundamental questions about truth and our perception of it. How an individual answers those questions will depend (in part at least) on the perspective from which they approach the film but I hope that the central questions will be profound irrespective of the viewers viewpoint.

Why has it taken so long to get a Gaelic feature film into cinemas in the UK?

[Aonghas] Simply because, until now, we have had no-one with the talent, track record and experience that Chris Young brings to the party. 

Does storytelling matter?

[Aonghas] Being a Gael, there can be only one answer to that question! Storytelling matters a great deal. Stories enthrall, stimulate, educate and exhilarate. Gaeldom, of course, has an immensely rich storytelling tradition, which is at present in some danger of fading away. It's been my privilege to know some fantastic storytellers, many of whom taught me profound things through the talent that they were given.

What was the worst thing about making Seachd?

[Aonghas] Without question the worst thing was hardly seeing my family over such a long period of time. Simon has a capacity for work like no-one I've ever met before, I thought I'd done jobs that required big commitment before, Seachd was in another league.

Also, because our investment in the film was so great, serious setbacks were unusually difficult to deal with. This was especially true in the later stages of the project when time was very much against us.

At one point we had a viewing with our executives at the GFT in Glasgow, having spent the previous fortnight working harder than ever before, honing what we felt at that time was a greatly improved structure. During the meeting that followed the viewing it became obvious that Ishbel and Carole felt that we had dropped the ball in regard to some fairly important aspects of the story. When you're already physically and mentally drained the thought of going back to the cutting room to pull apart something you've crafted fo carefully is very hard to deal with. They were of course right, and the film is better for it but at the time it was utterly depressing!

What was the best thing?

[Aonghas] The people. It's nearly always the best thing about any job.

I only met with Chris and Simon a short while before principal photography began, I came away from the meeting greatly drawn to working with them but fearful as to whether or not they would trust a complete stranger with no film track record with such an important task. I was elated to be told later that day that they had chosen to do the film with us, over people with much more experience.

It was also great to work with our executives who brought so much to the film, and , of course, to work with a composer and musician of Jim's calibre was humbling and immensely rewarding. There were so many quality people involved, Ian Dodds the DoP, John Cobban the Sound Designer,Tony Rae and Paul Wright at Dragon DI,  it was a pleasure from start to finish.

How do you feel about the idea of allowing people to edit a scene from Seachd online?

[Aonghas] Are you trying to find a replacement for me??!!!

Previous interviews:

An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

Seachd online is up and running!

It's been a little while in the making but we're final out of "beta" (as they say online) but our web presence is officially launched.  That doesn't mean we're resting on our laurels - there's a lot more still to do - but we've put together the main elements and our digital doors are open.

I thought it would be worth giving you a taster for some of the changes and additions we'll be making over the next few weeks, as well as pointing out some of the good things you may not have discovered yet.

1 | Trailer and clips
We'll be posting clips from the film and various trailers on http://www.seachd.com and http://www.myspace.com/seachd in the next few weeks (as well as on http://www.youtube.com).  You'll be able to grab the code to place on your own site and we'd love you to do so.

2 | Edit your own scene from Seachd online
We've created an easy-to-use online movie editor for you to read a scene from the film (in English and Gaelic) and to actually edit your own scene online.  If you're interested in film-making or just want to get an insight into how film editing works (or even think you can improve on the film itself) we think you'll love it!

3 | Community wrapped into MySpace
We have decided to wrap our original community at http://seachd.ning.com into our MySpace community at http://www.myspace.com/seachd.  This is partly due to the great response we have had to the film on MySpace and partly since the .  Don't worry - we'll provide a of summary existing forum entries to MySpace shortly and we'll create a slide show of production stills for MySpace as well - so nothing will be lost.  If you're not already a member, you'll need to join MySpace to be part of the MySpace community in future.  We look forward to seeing you there (along with our 2,700+ other friends!)

It might also be worth pointing out some of the existing parts of http://www.seachd.com you might not have found or tried out yet.  Here are some of the highlights

1 | Design your own poster
We love the poster that Rory and Andy at http://www.keescott.co.uk have designed for the film, but perhaps you'd like to design your own.  You don't need any special training, it's very easy (and definitely fun).  All you need to do is to go to http://www.seachd.com/poster (wait a little while all the picture options load) and then you can create and print your own poster online by changing the background, choosing the images and logos you'd like and adding your own text.

2 | For kids (and also adults!)
Have you found the http://www.seachd.com/index_kids.html section yet?  There, you can go on a treasure hunt (with a prize that will almost certainly make you rich! rich! rich!), find out about the Gaelic history behind Seachd and dowload some pictures to colour in.

3 | Gaeldom and links
Are you interested in Gaelic culture?  If you are, we've provided a quick guide within the English language version of the site at http://www.seachd.com/index_gaeldom.html and you'll also find a comprehensive list of links to all things Scottish and Gaelic at http://www.seachd.com/index_links.html.

4 | Gaelic and English versions
We've created the site in both Gaelic and English (where ever possible).  You'll find that new components are sometimes launched in English first (we're working on getting hold of Gaelic coders!) but they'll always be translated into Gaelic shortly afterwards.

http://www.seachd.com 

CANNES 2007 - Producer, Christopher Young, in Cannes (Day 6)

OK - so my fears were realised at last nights screening.  A good turnout but no buyers attended. Some European festivals whom unfortunately we will probably have to decline as they are before Rome. I will check in with three specific buyers who said they would come but didn't.  Also present were 3 journos Times lady, Guardian, and Screen International.  Not sure now if that helps as I think everything probably hinges on getting Edinburgh right and likewise UK. Onwards and upwards. Christopher Young Producer

http://www.seachd.com

CANNES 2007 - Producer, Christopher Young, in Cannes (Day 5)

21st May 2007

Well the deal is now formally signed with Soda Pictures - over a very pleasant and very British cup of tea at the Grand Hotel, Edward Fletcher and I signed the Deal Memo.  So for the next 8 years the film in the UK and Eire belongs to Soda.

Another full day of meetings, but none have diminished my fear of a low turnout of buyers tonight.  In most cases buyers ask me for a screener and once again the importance of a competitive Festival screening with all the frills becomes clear.

Lots of good feedback out of Scotland on Sunday piece may help.

Stand by for 2200 tonight.

All will become clear tomorrow.

Or not - from past experience we may well get no immediate response.

What's great is that we can now  get stuck in to working on UK release.  Our first priority is to find a suitable Gaelic speaker as intern for Soda to spearhead PR on the film.  And start on the UK campaign.

More tomorrow.

Christopher Young
Producer

http://www.seachd.com