Edinburgh Napier students Andrew Bilbie, Shannon Coll, Andrew Weir, Kirstin Macdougall and Alannah Beaton, made a Gaelic film which has now won two national awards.

Gàidheal gu Luath was filmed at the Sighthill Campus and it won the Best Comedy award and the People’s Choice award at the ninth annual FilmG awards. This is a prestigious celebration of Gaelic screen talent which took place last week at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow.

This year’s competition theme was Stri/Endeavour and it has inspired a range of fun and engaging films with 105 entered across the various categories.

Gàidheal gu Luath | Alannah Pheutan from FilmGAlba on Vimeo.

Alannah Beaton, who is originally from the Isle of Skye, is delighted that her work has been recognised. She said: “We had a wonderful time making the film and to win two awards was just a bonus. It brilliant for me to work with Andrew and Andrew on this project because although they don’t speak the language they are so passionate about it. We are excited to keep making Gaelic films and will support and encourage anybody else who sets out to do so.”

Donna Soto-Morettini, senior lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “”It’s great to see students from both of our Acting courses working together with other undergraduates to explore the medium of short film so successfully, and really gratifying to hear about the awards.  We do our best to encourage students to seek out opportunities for themselves, even while in residence, and we hope that Edinburgh Napier’s emphasis on practical industry skills has been an inspiration for them to ‘kick-start’ their careers even before graduating.”

Edinburgh Napier offers a wide range of acting for stage and screen, film and TV-orientated courses as part of its School of Arts and Creative Industries. It is also a partner in Screen Academy Scotland, a collaboration between the University and Edinburgh College of Art which is dedicated to fostering the future of film makers.

Website | + posts

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.