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The Making of a Scottish National Cinema Through Short Fiction Films 1930-2016 Zach Finch University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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The Making of a Scottish National Cinema Through Short Fiction Films 1930-2016 Zach Finch University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2017 A’ Oor Ain: the Making of a Scottish National Cinema Through Short Fiction Films 1930-2016 Zach Finch University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Finch, Zach, "A’ Oor Ain: the Making of a Scottish National Cinema Through Short Fiction Films 1930-2016" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1469. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1469 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A’ OOR AIN: THE MAKING OF A SCOTTISH NATIONAL CINEMA THROUGH SHORT FICTION FILMS 1930-2016 by Zach Finch A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2017 ABSTRACT A’ OOR AIN: THE MAKING OF A SCOTTISH NATIONAL CINEMA THROUGH SHORT FICTION FILMS 1930-2016 by Zach Finch The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017 Under the Supervision of Professor Tami Williams This dissertation tells a story of Scottish national cinema through Scotland’s short fiction films from 1930 to 2016. As a small nation within the United Kingdom, Scotland’s film culture has played a subordinate role in relation to England’s, and has struggled for decades to create its own thriving film industry. However, in the mid-1990s, critics and scholars began to talk of a uniquely Scottish national cinema, rather than the traditional and all-encompassing “British cinema,” because of the success of films like Shallow Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996). In spite of some key successes, the sustainable production of feature films has eluded Scotland, and as a result many have doubted the existence of a Scottish national cinema. I propose that instead of defining Scotland’s film culture exclusively by its feature-length productions, we should think of it in a way that includes its rich short fiction film tradition. Short fiction films are often overlooked within the discipline of Film Studies because of the commercial and cultural dominance of the feature. The short’s relative obscurity and its limited accessibility impede analysis, as scholars must work harder simply to view the films. Nonetheless, short films are vital to national cinemas because they incubate film movements, allow filmmakers to take risks, and provide opportunities for marginalized people to make films. For example, Lynne Ramsay’s “Small Deaths” is a clear forerunner of independent Scottish ii films of the 1990s. “Chick’s Day” by Enrico Cocozza deals with issues like juvenile crime and poverty. Additionally, Margaret Tait’s numerous short films explore the subjectivities of Scottish women during the mid-twentieth century. Many others reveal the diversity and richness of Scottish film culture. This work’s introduction and four chapters explain a number of functions of the short film heretofore unexplored in the scholarship, and work through several case studies of Scottish short films which illustrate those functions. The conclusion considers some recent developments and implications for both short films in general and Scotland’s filmmaking culture and industry. iii © Copyright by Zach Finch, 2017 All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................ii Copyright .........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................vii CHAPTER I. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................1 Chapter Summaries ..................................................................................13 II. The History and Functions of Short Fiction Films, and the Revision of National Cinema Canons..........................................................................................................................................18 The Rise of the Feature (and the Fall of the Short) ..................................18 The Industry Changes Again, and Short Films are Pushed to the Fringes......................................................................................................26 The State of Short Film Studies ...............................................................29 Functions of the Short Film .....................................................................43 Revising National Cinema Canons ..........................................................53 Scottish Short Fiction Films.....................................................................63 III. Short Film Traditions, 1930-1979..........................................................................................67 Early Filmmaking in Scotland .................................................................67 “Hell Unltd.” ............................................................................................73 Post-War Amateurs and Artists ...............................................................83 Enrico Cocozza ........................................................................................84 “Chick’s Day” ..........................................................................................88 “Twilight” ................................................................................................94 Margaret Tait ...........................................................................................99 “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo” ...............................................102 Amateur Filmmaking Clubs .....................................................................107 “Winner Takes All” .................................................................................112 Film Schools and Bill Douglas in the 1970s ............................................117 Bill Douglas .............................................................................................120 “Come Dancing” ......................................................................................126 IV. (Re)Inventing a Scottish Cinema, 1980-1997 .......................................................................134 Setting the Scene ......................................................................................135 The Developments of 1982 ......................................................................139 The Scottish Film Training Trust .............................................................141 “The Host” ...............................................................................................145 Amateur Filmmaking Clubs in the 1980s ................................................150 “Portfolio to Trouble” ..............................................................................154 The 1990s: Breakthroughs and a New Scottish Cinema ..........................159 v “Initiation” ...............................................................................................164 “An Iobairt (The Sacrifice)” ....................................................................170 Into a New Century ..................................................................................176 V. Scottish Short Filmmaking Today, 1998-2016 .......................................................................178 Devolution and Entrepreneurship ............................................................178 Short Films as Part of the National Cinema Project ................................185 “Duck” .....................................................................................................187 A Scottish Film School ............................................................................193 Scottish Amateur Filmmaking Clubs in the Twenty-First Century .........198 “The Quiet Man”......................................................................................202 Entrepreneurial Filmmakers and Short Films Today in Scotland ............206 A Conversation with Lucy Brydon, Independent Filmmaker ..................208 “Babe” ......................................................................................................213 VI. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................223 The 99 Percent .........................................................................................223 Bingeing ...................................................................................................224 The Worst Case Scenario .........................................................................225 A Scottish Film Studio .............................................................................226 Final Thoughts .........................................................................................227 VII. References ............................................................................................................................228 VIII. Appendices ..........................................................................................................................235 Appendix A: Scottish
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