Scottish films enjoy success in first year of new scheme

'Afterlife' and 'Blinded', two features developed and produced under New Found Films, an evolution of the New Found Land half-hour drama scheme, have found that the scheme provides rich rewards for both commissioners and producers.
Afterlife, produced by Gabriel Films, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August where it won the 'Audience Award'. Since then interest in the film has gathered pace and Afterlife was screened at the London Film Festival. Acclaimed by critics and public alike, the film also attracted interest from America with an invitation from the American Film Institute International Film Festival in Los Angeles, which saw Afterlife premiere in the States last month.
Following this successful screening in LA, Afterlife has been chosen to appear at the prestigious Palm Springs Film Festival in January, one of the largest festivals of its kind in America.
The second New Found Film, Blinded, was produced by Oscar Films. Recently completed, Blinded has successfully undergone a small number of test screenings where reaction from the audience has been extremely positive. It is expected that Blinded will enjoy festival and cinema success in 2004.
Steve McIntyre of Scottish Screen said: "New found films has proved a very worthwhile feature scheme, allowing new producers to take that dramatic step up from short films to making a full length movies. Scottish Screen and our partners in the productions are delighted at the quality of work that has been produced and we look forward to the next two features which will be produced under New Found Films in 2005."
New Found Films is a digital feature scheme, launched by Scottish Television and Grampian Television in collaboration with Scottish Screen.
(GB)