The Film
When a midnight domestic turns violent 12-year-old Reece and his father, Davy, find themselves stranded on the mean and marvellous streets of North Glasgow. On any normal night the journey would have all the makings of a rare adventure, but there's a serious problem - Davy is VERY drunk, and its up to Reece to get him home safely.
Our Story
When writer/director James Price and producer Dave Gillies (that's me, by the way!) first met at a filmmakers' networking event in Glasgow, we instantly hit it off. In many ways we're a bit of an odd couple - but the creative connection was there from the start and we knew we wanted to work together. Late last year the perfect opportunity presented itself when James sent me an early draft of what has become Boys Night. Visceral, authentic and deeply moving, even on the rough page, I knew Reece and Davy's (mis)adventure had great potential as a Scottish Film Talent Network (SFTN) New Talent short - so we immediately set to work preparing our submission.
I expect you can already guess where this is going, so let me cut to the chase: the competition was fierce and the workload was REALLY heavy, but on the magical wings of caffeine and pure obstinance (possibly some talent was involved) we made it through! As such, we can report with great pride that this film is benefitting from both the funding and development support of SFTN, themselves supported by National Lottery funding from Creative Scotland and BFI.NETWORK. We are genuinely honoured to be one of only a select few teams of Scottish filmmakers to have been been afforded this opportunity - and just try to stop us making the most of it!
(In case you haven't come across the organisation before, SFTN forms the Scottish element of the UK-wide BFI.NETWORK initiative, supporting Scotland-based writers, directors and producers with bold and exciting stories to tell to international audiences.)
Boys Night is a genuine labour of love for myself and James. Throughout the long development process we worked to refine and perfect the script, to drill down into what really matters to the audience and what really speaks to us as filmmakers. Now we are in pre-production we couldn't be happier or more excited by the quality of the people we have onboard our team or the creativity they are injecting into the project. The information we have been able to share here is only the tip of the iceberg, and there's so much more good stuff falling into place.
In short, we are making a truthful, honest, raw and very Glaswegian film. We won't shy away from the darker details, because honesty and authenticity mean everything to us. From grim experience we have learned that even in the darkest of moments there is humour and optimism to be found - and this is what you will see in our film. It's life, verrucas and all, and we will show it in all its glory.
We have been living with these characters for almost a year now - in James's case LITERALLY, for much of his life! They are so much more to us than ideas on a page; they feel like living, breathing people, and we can't wait to meet them onscreen.
Some (NSFW) words from James:
"Boys Night is essentially a love letter to my absolutely fucking mental parents - especially my wee legend of a Da. The film is about the special bond a father and son share and that time in every son's life when he realises the superman he's been looking up to is in fact just a normal, fallible human being. I know it will be an entertaining, thought-provoking journey for audiences to go on."
If you can donate anything, it would honestly mean the world to us. With your support we know that we will deliver a truly memorable piece of Scottish cinema.
-- Dave Gillies, Producer
Watch James's latest film, Chibbed, on iPlayer!
The Characters
REECE: An introspective 12-year-old from Springburn. The son of a loud and boisterous father, Reece is an altogether deeper, quieter, wiser soul. Despite their differences Reece idolises his Da, Davy, and is more than capable of emulating his cheeky patter on demand - whether it's to impress his father or simply to get through the day-to-day routine of school and growing up in North Glasgow.
DAVY: A patter merchant, full of bravado and bluster, though at his core lies a good heart. Davy made a name for himself in the late 90s and early noughties as a respected but low-level criminal in the North of Glasgow. The birth of his son, however, marked a turning point in his life, the catalyst for his reformation - although he often longs for the "good old days" of 1996. His dearest need in life is to be liked. As he repeatedly told Reece when he was growing up: "Ye cin either be a monster like ma Da or ye cin be a pal and I wanty be a pal."
The Cast
Cameron Jack as DAVY. Partick-born Cameron has been living in London for the past twenty years, where he's done everything from musical theatre to Emmerdale to appearing in The Dark Knight Rises as one of Bane's henchmen! But his heart remains in Glasgow, as they say, and he's delighted to be back in the city for Boys Night. If you can't wait for our film to be released, check Cameron out on Netflix in Calibre, the new thriller from Edinburgh filmmaker Matt Palmer.
Kirsty Strain as MARGARET, Reece's ma. A previous collaborator with both Dave and James, Kirsty is probably most recognisable from her appearances on TV series such as Burnistoun, River City and Outlander. Over the last few years, though, she's become an increasingly regular face on the Scottish independent film scene, appearing in features such as Anna and the Apocalypse, And Violet and Ribbons. Her debut short film as writer and director, Echoes That Remain, is currently on the festival circuit.
And introducing Kyle Gordon as REECE. Kyle is a second year pupil at St Andrew's RC Secondary School in Carntyne, where his love of acting was born. His true passion is football, though - he's currently playing for two teams!
The Creative Team
The Writer/Director: James Price, a self-taught screenwriter and filmmaker from Springburn in Glasgow. James is extremely passionate about telling authentic, raw stories which are usually based on true events in or around his life. His screenplay for Zam Salim's Dropping Off Michael earned him a BAFTA New Talent nomination. True to form, Boys Night is heavily based on a real experience from his childhood.
The Producer: Dave Gillies, a Glasgow-based producer of drama and documentary films. His most recent short, I Was Here, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival earlier in the year, and has since been nominated for the Scottish BAFTA for Best Short Film. Boys Night is the second film he has made with the support of Scottish Film Talent Network.
The Assistant Producer: Joanne Williamson, a graduate of the Met Film School who can usually be found in the camera department on big Hollywood films such as Angel Has Fallen and Mr Holmes. Joanne was a production assistant on two of Dave's previous films and steps up on Boys Night to join the production team proper.
The Director of Photography: Steve Cardno, a cinematographer based in Edinburgh. A prolific contributor to the Scottish indie filmmaking scene, Steve brings a unique creative eye to every film he works on. Two of the three films he shot last year are under consideration for a Scottish BAFTA - Dave's production I Was Here and another SFTN short, My Loneliness is Killing Me.
The Editor: Mark Fraser, who has cut every film James has written or directed. Like Joanne, Mark can often be found working in the camera department on big Hollywood films such as Outlaw King, but his real passion is for crafting fascinating stories in the edit suite. He brings a huge amount of experience to the Boys Night team, not to mention his uncanny ability to detect ghosts.
The Sound Designer: John Cobban, a BAFTA-winning sound designer with twenty years' experience working across the media. Something of a legend of sound design in Scotland and abroad, John is known as "the lad with the golden ears" - although his seemingly endless back catalogue of quality work speaks for itself! John is a co-owner of Arteus Post-Production, the Glasgow facility where we will be mixing our sound.
What We Need (and What You'll Get)
New Talent shorts are allocated a respectable budget through SFTN, but for some of the more ambitious films, such as ours, supplementary funding is necessary to achieve their full potential. Simply put, the budget we have isn't enough to make this film without cutting crucial creative corners - which we obviously don't want to do. We have something truly special on our hands here, and we don't want to have to compromise, so we're taking a leap of faith with this appeal.
Your support will allow us to put the entire starting budget on screen - giving us the very best elements to work with once we have wrapped. The money raised through this campaign, then, will be used to fund the lengthy post-production process: editing, colour correction, sound design and visual effects - basically everything that happens after James yells, "That's a wrap!"
In return we are offering what we hope are some pretty unique perks, such as screenwriting masterclasses, production support your own short film, a wild night out with the production team and the truly staggering offer James has made to be your friend for life (for the right price, naturally). Familiar options are also available, such as thank yous in the film's credits, invitations to the cast and crew screening and, of course, the opportunity to see the film long before its made public.
We recognise times are hard and not every sympathetic reader will be in a position to donate. If this applies to you, you can still help by raising awareness about our film and our campaign among your friends and family and - most importantly - by sharing our campaign and putting in a good word for us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or anywhere else you spot us through your social media portal of choice. It might not get you an invite to the wrap party but you'll have our undying gratitude for ever and always!
So that's that. Whether you are in a position to donate or not (but especially if you are, obvs), come join us on this incredible journey through the streets of Glasgow. We won't let you down.
TL;DR - a bunch of lovely people are making what they genuinely believe will be a phenomenal wee film, but they need YOUR support to make it so!
