16 Years till Summer set to tour Scotland for a month
A SCOTTISH documentary film struggling for exposure despite critical acclaim and a Bafta nomination is touring Scotland.
The film, ‘16 Years till Summer’ by director Lou McLoughlan, follows Uisdean, a man released from a life sentence to care for his dying father, seeking redemption and trying to rebuild his life in the Scottish Highlands.
But the film, which was nominated for a Bafta ‘best picture’ award has been unable to find a television broadcaster or much cinema exposure in Scotland, despite it being shown in 14 countries including by national broadcasters in Germany, Switzerland and Iceland. The film was funded by Scots tax payers through Creative Scotland and other public money reserves.
The barriers faced by the film in Scotland, despite its international and critical reception, are an example of the struggles of Scottish film makers to find domestic platforms for their work. Criticisms of the lack of support for Scottish artists made up a significant part of the input to the consultation in the recent review into BBC provision in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has also struggled to confirm its national film studio plan – which is without an agreed site after years of film industry lobbying.
16 Years till Summer’s tour promoters said: “16 Years Till Summer is a film about what gets sacrificed when people need to see the best in each other; about where we find truth.
“Filmed over four years, compelling storytelling and cinematic imagery blur the line between the fairy-tale of the heart and the rational judgement of society in a film that is a hybrid of heart and head; magic realism and documented tragedy. A story of redemption, interrupted, in the Highlands of Scotland.”
Background: The Bafta nominated Scottish film you won't get to see
The tour will feature showing of the film at the following venues:
17 November: MacRobert, Stirling
18 November: MacPhail Centre, Ullapool
18 November: Aros Centre, Portree
20 / 23 November: Edinburgh Filmhouse
23 November: Belmont Filmhouse
26 November: Oban Phoenix Cinema
30 November: GFT
1 December: GFT
TRAILER : 16 Years Till Summer (subtitled) from lou mcloughlan on Vimeo.
Picture courtesy of Glasgow Film Festival
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