2012 was a landmark year for GSFF. We introduced a second competition showcasing Scottish filmmakers, and we paid tribute to the late great Bill Douglas by naming the new International Short Film award in his honour. Special guests Ian Sellar, Alex Norton and Peter Jewell, all close friends and collaborators of Bill’s, celebrated his memory in a special event in which we screened his little known student short Come Dancing.
Along with Douglas, this year we honoured Scots filmmakers Margaret Tait and Frank Marshall. American experimental filmmaker Ben Russell projected his wonderful series of psychedelic works TRYPPS 1-7, and we took a look at the eruption of creativity flowing from Iceland.
I volunteered for GSFF back in 2012 where I came across the work of Ben Russell for the very first time. I remember ushering a delegate screening one morning which included Ben’s latest film at the time, River Rites. I admittedly was suffering from a bit of a hangover (very unlike me) and perhaps due to my mental state, I felt like I was experiencing an hallucinatory, almost religious experience in the cinema. This is of course, a regular trope of Ben’s work, and I’ve been fascinated by him ever since.
Morvern Cunningham, GSFF Volunteer 2012, GSFF Coordinator 2013-2015, GSFF Events Manager 2016, GSFF Event Producer 2017, co-founder of Leith Creative.
Award Winners
Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film
Fini – Jacob Secher Schulsinger | Denmark | 2010
GSFF Scottish Short Film Award
The Making of Longbird – Will Anderson | Scotland | 2011
International Audience Award
Tumult – Johnny Barrington | Scotland | 2011
Scottish Audience Award (Joint Winners)
Kirkcaldy Man – Julian Schwanitz | Scotland | 2011
Philippa & Nancy – Paul Whyte, Ciara Barry, Claire McInnes and Nora Smyth | 2011
International Jury
Åsa Garnert – Head of Communications, Swedish Film Institute
A L Kennedy – Author
Daniel Metz – Producer
Ian Sellar – Scottish filmmaker
Carsten Spicher – Head of German Competition, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Scottish Jury
Alex Norton – Actor
Dawn Sharpless – Founder & Creative Director, DAZZLE
Lorraine Wilson – Senior Arts Officer, Glasgow Life