Screenplay is Shetland Arts' annual film festival, and it has been running since 2007. Co-curated by Mark Kermode and Linda Ruth Williams, the festival celebrates the best in film and television, bringing film professionals of national and international recognition to Shetland audiences. Previous guests have included Terence Davies, Jason Isaacs, Jim Broadbent, Julien Temple, Douglas MacKinnon and Sir Christopher Frayling, to name but some.
Screenplay is proud of its reputation as 'the friendly festival', and we work hard to ensure that guests, visitors and audiences all enjoy a truly authentic experience.
The festival is also about supporting new and emerging film makers, and giving a platform to local film makers of all ages. The annual 'Home Made' screening is always the most popular event, with a very supportive audience and a joyful (and somewhat anarchic) atmosphere. It was this sense of shared fun and of celebration that we wanted to bring as a 'hansel' - a gift - to other venues around the country as part of the London 2012 Festival experience.
The sixth Shetland Arts Film Festival, Screenplay 2012, will take place between 31st August and 9th September. This year we intend to show all of the films that will have been screened at venues around the country as part of the Hansel project in a series of marathon viewing sessions, as well as providing our usual varied programme of the best in UK and international film and television. We hope that some of the people who have taken part in Hansel of Film will come up to Shetland and enjoy the festival with us.
This year we will also be looking at Scandinavian film makers - and writers too, as Screenplay runs in tandem with Wordplay, Shetland Arts' annual book festival.
By September our new cinema and music venue Mareel will be open, and we intend the festival to be a key element in the opening celebrations.
We are still working on the programme, but keep an eye on our website for details in late spring/early summer. And if you can come up and join us.......we'd love to see you!
