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Excited to announce 1745 - A Short Film, had it's UK Premiere at the 71st edition of The Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017 AND received a 'Jury Special Mention' for the Best Short Film Award! 
 

After an amazing journey from idea to action, script to screen, 1745 - A Short Film, is ready to begin its journey out into the world, spreading its important and compelling untold story of Scotland's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

Entries to film festivals cost money, £40 - 80 a time just to apply; and if accepted, travel for young film-makers Morayo, Moyo and Gordon to represent the film and spread the word around the world, can be VERY EXPENSIVE.

Can you help? Even a little bit goes a long way!

Gordon J. Napier - Director & Co-Producer

Originally from the Highlands of Scotland Gordon has a Master of Fine Art in Film Directing at Edinburgh College of Art (part of The University of Edinburgh).  Gordon was awarded the highly coveted UK Prince William BAFTA & Warner Bros. Scholarship for his film work and is supported by both organisations through his professional development.  He’s also had varied film experience from working on big productions like Harry Potter and 007: Skyfall and on intimate charity documentaries in the Mongolian Gobi Desert. His focus is primarily on directing short fiction films which explore the human condition and the complexities of family relationships through the prism of the natural world.  Gordon has filmed extensively in the Highlands of Scotland and has a strong network of exceptionally talented low budget film makers we'll be collaborating with on 1745.

Morayo Akandé – Writer & 'Rebecca'

Morayo is a writer, actor, and director, who trained at the prestigious Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, USA. After graduating she was accepted into the BA Acting course at the acclaimed East 15 Acting School in London, UK. ‘1745’ is her debut writing credit; the feature film version is currently in development. Her recent acting credits include short film ‘1745’, the feature film ‘Burnt’ directed by John Wells, and US TV series ‘24: Live Another Day’.

John McKay - Producer

Scottish, writer, director and recently producer – movies include Crush with Andie Macdowell and Imelda Staunton, Piccadilly Jim with Sam Rockwell and Frances O’ Connor, and Not Another Happy Ending with Karen Gillan and Stanley Weber; tv includes lead direction on ‘Ordinary Lies’, ‘Life On Mars’, ‘Robin Hood’, ‘The Whistleblowers’ and ‘The Canterbury Tales’ (where he gave Billy Piper her first starring role), as well as single dramas ‘A Waste of Shame’ with Rupert Graves and Tom Sturridge (RTS nomination, Best Single Drama), ‘Reichenbach Falls’, and his film on the love affair between David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton ‘We’ll Take Manhattan’ - which he wrote, directed and exec produced - winning the Prix Europa for Best Drama.

"This story shines a light on an important part of Scottish and British history that we often forget - our nation's deep and shameful involvement in the slave trade. It's a passion project for talented film-makers Gordon and Julian - but for Moyo and Morayo, growing up in today's Scotland, it's also deeply personal."

Moyo Akande - Story Developer & 'Emma'

Moyo trained at the prestigious Arts Educational Schools in London. She has an extensive list of television credits in particular for the BBC including, ‘Bob Servant Independent’, ‘Taggart’ and ‘Lip Service’. Moyo has also worked in many theatre’s across Britain with Olivier and Tony award winning directors in companies including The Shakespeare’s Globe. Moyo recently completed filming with The Fast & The Furious director, Rob Cohen on the feature ‘Category 5’ where she will be playing one of the leading roles. She will also be appearing in a reboot of the classic British television comedy series ‘Porridge’ for BBC1.

Clive Russell - 'Master David Andrews'

Clive Russell is an actor best known for his roles as, ‘Lord Lovat’ in ‘Outlander’, ‘Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline’ in ‘Ripper Street’, ‘Angus O’Connor’ in ‘Happiness’ and ‘Blackfish Tully’ in HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’. Clive also has an extensive list of theatre credits, and has worked for prestigious companies such as, Out of Joint, Royal Court, Old Vic and the RSC. The 1745 team are really excited and lucky to welcome Clive aboard to delve into the role of ‘Master Andrews’, bringing this complex and haunted character to life.

Julian Schwanitz - Director of Photography

Julian is a BAFTA winning cinematographer and filmmaker based in central Scotland. Numerous films he shot have played in festivals worldwide and won awards at Clermont-Ferrand, IDFA, DOKLeipzig, Alcine or Glasgow  amongst others.  In 2011 his cinematography for the short film DISCO was awarded a BAFTA New Talent Award, in 2012 his documentary on Jocky Wilson, the multi award winning KIRKCALDY MAN earned him his second BAFTA and a nomination for a GRIERSON Award after scooping the Golden Dove for the best international short doc at DOKLeipzig. In 2013 the International Documentary Association awarded him with the IDA award for Cinematography for his camera work on PABLOs WINTER.

Ali Mitchell - Costume Designer

Ali Mitchell is a freelance costume designer with 20 years experience designing for film and television. Based in Edinburgh she works all over the world and has a personal interest in education and training, including past projects with Screen Academy Scotland & Edinburgh College of Art. Passionate about costume, film, storytelling and people, a personal area of interest is promoting hidden stories, such as that of the Tuskegee Airmen in her work for the movie ‘Red Tails’. As head of department she is committed to nurturing talent and building strong, craft based costume teams who can deliver creative and innovative design solutions to the highest standards - on a tight budget. A perfect fit with 1745. Her feature film credits include ‘The Rezort’, ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’, ‘Outpost’, ‘Eragon & The Last King of Scotland’ as well as Scottish BAFTA winning TV dramas, ‘Low Winter Sun’ and ‘Shoebox Zoo’

The great news is 1745 - a short film, had it's UK Premiere at the 71st edition of The Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017 AND received a 'Jury Special Mention' for the Best Short Film Award! 

However, entries to film festivals cost money - £40 - 80 a time just to apply; and if accepted, travel for young film-makers Morayo, Moyo and Gordon to represent the film and spread the word around the world, can be very expensive.

Please consider getting involved and contributing to this exciting and unique project and become a part of it!!!  If you can’t afford to contribute then you can still help us by using the Indiegogo share tools to share the project and our campaign on social media to help us spread the word!

It has been a wonderful to take this story from idea to action, script to screen and you can expect your perks and goodies very soon...! But our journey is not yet over. In many ways it has just begun:

We need your help to get this important and compelling film out to festivals and in for awards over the next year. BUT festival submission and travelling all over the world to represent the film is VERY EXPENSIVE as some of you out there will know! 

Your contributions will go directly into helping Morayo, Moyo and Gordon travel and attend major key festivals over the next year so they can represent 1745. Your help will provide these young emerging film makers with the tools and support they need. 

Here is a list of what some of your contributions will help pay for:

Festival submissions: We need to submit to 15 major film festivals throughout the year. Submission costs are around £40 - £80 a time to apply. 

Travel expenses: For transportation of our film makers travelling across the globe, we will need to pay for buses, train fares and flights to get them to their final destination.

Transportation: We will need to get our film makers back and forth from their homes in Scotland to attend festivals to represent 1745 in different countries across the globe. 

Accommodation: Not all festival invitations cover accommodation. We need to make sure our film makers have warm, safe and suitable accommodation wherever each festival will take them.

Catering: We need to feed our film makers as they travel across the globe. Working long hours and representing the film all over the world is hungry work.

Promotion: Making a good film is one thing, but getting people to notice it is another. Some funding for PR & Marketing will help get the film out there into major film festivals, open doors and create opportunities for us to share this important story, show people what we can do, and hopefully create employment opportunities to further the careers of those involved.

We’d like to give enormous and heartfelt thanks to all our supporters who contributed so generously to our previous Indiegogo Campaign which helped us raise an INCREDIBLE £8,923.00!!! We would never have been able to bring this important story to the big screen if it wasn't for all your continuing help and tremendous support! THANK YOU! You can expect your perks and goodies very soon...! 

 

Two sisters torn from their home in Nigeria and sold into slavery try to retake their freedom in a foreign and hostile land, attempting to elude their master in the perilous Scottish Highlands.  As they experience the dangerous and transformative power of nature their battle for survival intensifies, and they draw strength not only from within, but from each other and their shared spiritual roots in Africa. Yet can they ever be truly free..?

 

Scots proudly played their part in the abolition of the trade. But for a time we misted over our role as perpetrators of this barbarism. Many of Scottish industries, schools and churches were founded from the profits of African slavery.

Even Robert Burns was considering a position as a book-keeper in a plantation before poetry revived his fortunes. In 1796, Scots owned nearly 30 per cent of the estates in Jamaica and by 1817, a staggering 32 per cent of the slaves.  At any given time there were only about 70 or 80 slaves in Scotland but the country reaped the fruits of their labour in the colonies in the sugar, cotton and tobacco plantations.  Many Scots masters were considered among the most brutal, with life expectancy on their plantations averaging a mere four years.

Iain Whyte, author of Scotland and the Abolition of Slavery, insists we have at times ignored our guilty past.  “For many years Scotland’s historians harboured the illusion that our nation had little to do with the slave trade or plantation slavery. We swept it under the carpet. This was remarkable in the light of Glasgow’s wealth coming from tobacco, sugar and cotton, and Jamaica Streets being found in a number of Scottish towns and cities.  It is healthy we are now recognising Scotland was very much involved.”

 

It is free to share our campaign! Tell some friends, post it on Facebook, or tweet about it on Twitter! Every little helps in getting our special film out there into festivals across the world. There are people out there in a position to help us get our important story out there, help us find out who they are!

Thank you so much for all your help!