Scottish screen stars

For a country of just over five million inhabitants, the number of movie stars Scotland has produced remains truly remarkable. You only have to look at international award nominations to get a flavour of how Scotland's latest crop are making waves.

From Sir Sean Connery and Tom Conti through to today's new breed of big screen prodigies such as Gerard Butler, Scots have clocked up a steady stream of box office successes. As 35,000 people took their seats for the Glasgow Film Festival, actors and actresses who started out in Scotland were making their mark thousands of miles away in Hollywood.

Los Angeles industry insiders, for example, were tipping Nairn-born Tilda Swinton for a second Oscar in March for her sensitive portrayal of Julia, a party girl caught up in a kidnap drama in the 2008 Californian film of the same name.

The 49-year-old highlander won her first Academy Award in 2008 for her supporting performance as Karen Crowder in the 2007 movie, Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney.

Arrival of a New Generation

Former Glasgow University law student Butler, too, has been enjoying critical acclaim in America for his crafted depiction of Clyde Shelton in Law Abiding Citizen, released last year.

A towering performance as Spartan King Leonidas in the 2006 Warner Bros smash, 300, paved the way for high profile roles for the Paisley-born actor.

His good looks and the persistent speculation about his off-screen romances have kept him in the global spotlight as one of Hollywoods most talked about stars.

Another shining light in this new generation of Scottish screen darlings, following the likes of Ewan McGregor, Dougray Scott, Robert Carlyle and Kelly MacDonald, is James McAvoy.

The Glasgow-born actor has enjoyed a stratospheric rise since appearing in the Oscar-winning 2006 film, The Last King of Scotland, which depicted the deeds of former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin.

Since then, the BAFTA Rising Star has enjoyed several leading parts, starring alongside Angelina Jolie in the 2008 film, Wanted, which was nominated for two Academy Awards.

A national passion

Why has a small nation produced so many with the X-Factor when it comes to film acting? Celia Stevenson of Scottish Screen, the national development agency, believes it is because Scotland is a nation which has always had a love affair with the movies.

"There is a higher incidence of movie watching here than in any other part of the UK," she explains.

Scots love to go to the cinema and they love to see good films. It is natural, therefore, that young people watch and think it is what they want to do. The Scottish Youth Theatre, for example, has produced so many talents. Some recent examples are David Tennant (of Doctor Who fame) and Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings)."

Success Behind the Scenes

Thankfully, Scotland's influence in the glamorous world of film has many facets. It is not just Scotland's actors and actresses getting their names in lights. Scots behind the camera are building excellent reputations, too.

A man whose star is most certainly on the rise is A-list director, Kevin Macdonald. Grandson of renowned English/Hungarian director, Emeric Pressburger, Glasgow-born Macdonald's impact in the movie world has been staggering.

His first documentary, One day in September (2000) about the Munich Olympic massacre won an Oscar. He then went to the BAFTAs and won Best British Film for Touching the Void. The Last King of Scotland was Macdonald's first hit feature film, earning him international recognition.

He has returned to Scotland to shoot his latest picture, The Eagle of the Ninth an epic story set in Roman Britain in 140 AD. "I see it as a Western set in Scotland, where the landscape is the dominant value," he says. The film is released in July 2010.

Made in Scotland

One of the most significant advances in the growth of Scotland as a film nation has been the increase in the number of films made or produced in Scotland.

Commentators have recently predicted that Glasgow, in particular, will become a rival to London as one of the best places to make a film outside of America.

One of the reasons for this emergence is the establishment of FilmCity Glasgow, a stable which has already produced excellent films such as the award winning, Red Road.

FilmCity was the brainchild of Gillian Berrie, principal of Glasgow-based company, Sigma Films. After seeing first hand how a similar project in Copenhagen had transformed the Scandinavian industry, Berrie won the backing of Glasgow City Council and Scottish Enterprise for her vision.

Govan Town Hall was renovated at a cost of 3.5 million and is now a nerve centre for film production. Eighteen firms are based there, including four casting agencies. It houses Scotland's first Dolby theatre, filming studios, production offices, art floors and picture and sound post-production offices to rival any in Europe.

While Scotland previously enjoyed a reputation as a great place to shoot a movie, it now has the facilities to see the digital film making process through from start to finish.

"With FilmCity, you can shoot the film, you can edit it, you can put the sound on, you can basically do everything that is necessary and that is a big attraction. Companies can also come to Scotland in summer and shoot for 16 hours, which has a positive effect when it comes to budget," says Stevenson of Scottish Screen.

Glasgow's reward

From FilmCity's base, Sigma made Red Road winner of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival Jury award and five BAFTA Scotland prizes.

The company also created Hallam Foe, starring Jamie Bell of Billy Elliot fame a story of a teenage loner who courts trouble and love by spying on people. The movie won six nominations at the 2007 British Independent Film awards and Silver Bear for best music at the Berlin Film Festival.

Glasgow, too, is becoming a popular location for movie makers shooting hard hitting storylines set in New York! This surprise development is illustrated in the film which closed the 2010 Glasgow Film Festival the world premiere of Legacy.

British/Nigerian Director Tomas Ikimi shot lead man Idris Elba's Brooklyn-based scenes in Glasgow. Glasgow City Chambers was mocked up as a court house. Motel action sequences were also shot in FilmCity's studio in Govan.

"The brickwork in Glasgow the same as you would see in the older parts of Manhattan, in Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue. The biggest difficulty we had was with taxi cabs, the way people are dressed and the street markings," said Ikimi, who studied at University in New York.

Ikimi and his team got round the street marking problems with screens and paint. More independent companies are gearing up to do the same. That can only be good for Glasgow and Scotland, forcing its reputation even higher.

Glasgow Film Festival takes place annually in February.