The Scottish Short Film Festival
The Scottish Short Film Festival is an independent film festival which has taken place annually in Scotland since 2012. From 2012 to 2017, the festival was known as The Raptor Filmz Short Scottish Film Festival until the event was rebranded in 2018.
History and format
The festival was set up in 2012 by Scottish filmmaker Chris Young who is the company director of Raptor Filmz Ltd in West Lothian. The aim of the festival is to promote short Scottish films with a view of potentially setting up a distribution deal with filmmakers. The first festival took place in Glasgow at the Grosvenor Cinema and was hosted by Scottish actor David Anderson. With a desire to bring the festival closer to home, the festival was moved to the Howden Park Centre in Livingston where the date of the festival was also moved to January 2014 rather than December 2013. In 2015, the festival found a new home at the Bathgate Regal Community Theatre which is operated by Scottish actor Scott Kyle. Speaking of the Regal, festival curator Chris Young said:The festival consists of awards for films and individual prizes. The awards are selected by jury with an audience choice award being decided by visitors of the festival. Jury members in the past have included actor Declan Michael Laird and film editor Chris Quick. In 2018, it was announced that Ross Miller, the film critic for The National newspaper would join the judging panel.
On 30 July 2017, it was announced that the festival would return in 2018 but under the new name of The Scottish Short Film Festival. The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow was due to host the 2018 festival but due to the fire at the Glasgow School of Art, the venue was forced to close. It was announced on the festival's Twitter account that the Crowne Plaza Glasgow would take over as host.
Festival award winners
List of winners and nominees of the festival.2012 winners
2014 winners
2015 winners
2016 winners
2017 winners
- The Golden Raptor Award - Portrait of the Artwork as a Young Man - Chris Gerrard
- Judges 1st Prize - Writer's Block
- Judges 2nd Prize - Enora
- Audience Choice Award - Dying To Forgive
- Audience Choice Award - Weekend Away
| Award | Winner | Nominees |
| Best Director | Vito Milazzo - Writer's Block | Stuart Gilmartin - Smile Sami Khadraoui, Benoît Monney - Enora Matt Hielsberg, Nicci Thompson - We Sit We Drink No Guns Vito Milazzo - Writer's Block |
| Best Actor | Sean Biggerstaff - Enora | Richard Hughson - Ragnor Sean Biggerstaff - Enora Gary Lind - Dying To Forgive Mark Wood - Writer's Block |
| Best Actress | Briony Monroe - Eggshells | Christine Clare - Fuel Rachel Mcphail - Weekend Away Nicolette McKeown - Smile Briony Monroe - Eggshells |
| Best Script | Sami Khadraoui, Benoît Monney - Enora | Stephen Mercer - Ragnor Sami Khadraoui, Benoît Monney - Enora Vito Milazzo - Writer's Block |
| Best Music | Julien Painot - Enora | Eamonn Watt - The Old Croft Vincent Breant - Ragnar Owen Devlin - Splinter Julien Painot - Enora David Cicero - Writer's Block |
| Best Sound | Logan Byers, Bradly Clark - We Sit We Drink No Guns | Björn Cornelius, Laurent Vonlanthen - Enora Logan Byers, Bradly Clark - We Sit We Drink No Guns Sean Gill - Writer's Block |
| Best Costume/Make up | Juliette Sedlacek - We Sit We Drink No Guns | Léonard Berney - Enora Juliette Sedlacek - We Sit We Drink No Guns |
| Most Creative/Original | The Old Croft | The Old Croft Portrait of the Artwork as a Young Man Splinter Enora |
2018 winners
- The Golden Raptor Award - Carved - Daniel Caradec
- Judges 1st Prize - Lethe - Eric Romero
- Judges 2nd Prize - To The Sea - Mark Westbrook & R. Paul Wilson
- Audience Choice Award - Drone - Robert Duncan
- Rising Star Award - To The Sea - Gregor Selkirk
- Golden Bawhair - The She Wolves Of Wall Street - Tamsin Amantea-Collins
| Award | Winner | Nominees |
| Best Director | Kevin Pickering - Close To The Bone | R. Paul Wilson - To The Sea Eric Romero - Lethe Kevin Pickering - Close To The Bone |
| Best Actor | David Scott - Close To The Bone | Alec Westwood - Butterfly Paul Comrie - To The Sea David Scott - Close To The Bone |
| Best Actress | Kirsty Findlay - Lethe | Kirsty Findlay - Lethe Megan Thomas - Practice Michelle Donnelly - A Calm Sea Sways |
| Best Script | Farewells | Lethe Farewells The Pitch Clementine |
| Best Cinematography | Close To The Bone | To The Sea Escape Close To The Bone |
| Best Editing | Close To The Bone | Life of a Ten Pound Note Close To The Bone Teeth |
| Best Documentary | Teeth | Inhale A Thin Place Teeth We Are Here |
| Best Sound/Music | Close To The Bone | Butterfly Playback Close To The Bone |
| Best Costume/Make up | Escape | Lethe Mia : A Rapture 2.0 Production Wolves in Winter Escape |
| Most Creative/Original | Life Of A Ten Pound Note | Life Of A Ten Pound Note Lose Like A Human Farewells Carved |
2019 winners
- The Golden Raptor Award - Remember Me - Katie Low
- Judges 1st Prize - Turning Tide - Andrew Muir
- Judges 2nd Prize - Spaceship - Conor McMahon
- Judges 3rd Prize - Mess - Graham Robertson
- Main Event Audience Choice Award - Spaceship - Conor McMahon
- Matinee Audience Award - Turning The Tables - Jay Rowan Tanner
- Golden Raptor Award - Remember Me - Katie Low
| Award | Winner | Nominees |
| Best Director | Andrew Muir - Turning Tide | Andrew Muir - Turning Tide Paul Diffley - Free Flow Alex Cormack - Lost Brothers Charlotte Daniel - Carmen |
| Best Lead Actor | Malcolm Cumming - Spaceship | Alec Westwood - Remember Me Malcolm Cumming - Spaceship Graham Robertson - Mess Ronan Doyle - Lost Brothers |
| Best Lead Actress | Kate Donnelly - Regrets | Jenny Clifford - Hearts Sharnee Tones - Emma Diane Brooks - Crackpot Kate Donnelly - Regrets |
| Best Script | Lost Brothers | Carmen Lost Brothers Remember Me Revenant Relocation Officers |
| Best Cinematography | Turning Tide | Mountain Free Flow Turning Tide Emma |
| Best Editing | Close To The Bone | Life of a Ten Pound Note Close To The Bone Teeth |
| Best Documentary | Where Eagles Dare | A Little Revival Where Eagles Dare We See The World Differently |
| Thomas Haywood Award for Best Use Of Scottish Landscape | Where Eagles Dare | Free Flow Where Eagles Dare |
| Acting Coach Scotland Rising Star Award | Ronan Doyle - Escape | Patrick McLaughlan - Turning Tide Graham Robertson - Mess Ronan Doyle - Lost Brothers |