Scotland’s leading forum for people working in film and TV has announced the selected candidates for two of its exclusive projects.
Marking the fifth year of its talent development work, the award-winning Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has also revealed the 2024/25 participants in its industry talent programmes.
Included in the announcement are the projects selected for the second edition of GFF’s innovative talent lab, Animatic. This major industry initiative supports Scotland-based creatives and studios in developing their animated feature film, series or short film ideas for an international audience. The chosen nine projects from Scottish-based creatives and studios will take part in a six-month training programme that includes sessions, one-to-one meetings and pitching workshops delivered by executives from leading animation and screen organisations including Aardman, Netflix, BBC, Paramount – Nickelodeon & Milkshake, Mackinnon & Saunders, Mifa, Jellyfish Pictures, Blink Industries, Screen Scotland, Wild Child Animation and My SMASH Media.
Animatic will conclude with a Live Pitch during Glasgow Film Festival Industry Focus 2025 where a panel of studio executives and industry experts will pick two projects to receive a cash award.
Animatic participants include British Animation Award-winning animator Iain Gardner who will be developing his family-friendly sitcom, Badger Beats, starring gay badgers Mustard & Ketchup whose love for music is infectious; and BAFTA and BIFA-nominated screenwriter Hannah Kelso who will be developing her adult animated comedy series Overlords, which follows a family of shapeshifting reptilians on a secret mission to enslave the human race.
Other selected participants include: animator and illustrator Ana Stefaniak’s series Flipside; animator and writer Abigail Lamb’s Scottish mystery series Lochs & Legends; animation filmmaker Eleanor Stewart’s pre-school stop-motion series Dolly Doctors; playwright and screenwriter Ross MacKay’s dark animated sci-fi comedy The Last Resort; animator and director Sammi Duong’s short film To Myself and the Forest of Tigers; animator, writer and director Wilma Smith’s intricate The Three Graces; and animator, writer and artist Steven Fraser’s queer love story short film Chosen.
Animatic is generously supported through Scottish Government Festivals EXPO Fund.
Facilitators of Animatic include Lauren Castro and Julio Bonet, Managers of Adult Animation Comedy from Netflix; Helen Argo, Executive Producer from Aardman; Sylvain Grain, Head of Talents at Mifa; James Stevenson Bretton, Founder and Managing Partner of Blink Industries; Lucy Ward and Lorna Reaoch, both from Jellyfish Pictures; Sarah Muller, Senior Head of Children’s Commissioning 7+ at BBC; Geoff Walker, Studio Director and Chris Bowden, Producer, both from MacKinnon & Saunders; and Joyce Miller, from Linden Animation Consulting.
It is exciting to see the Glasgow Film Festival leading the way in showcasing and developing Scotland’s filmmakers and animators.
This year’s record-breaking Animatic talent lab is a testament to the innovation within the industry in Scotland. With support from some of the world’s most prestigious studios, these creators are representing Scotland with distinction on the global stage and paving the way for the future of animation.
We’re pleased to be able to support initiatives like this through the Festivals EXPO Fund, enabling Scotland’s film and animation sectors to thrive and achieve further recognition for excellence.
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
Also announced are the participants of the fifth year of the New Talent Mentorship Scheme at GFF’s 2025 Industry Focus. GFF’s initiative, funded by the William Grant Foundation, is for emerging professionals working in film, high-end television and animation from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the industry including (but not limited to) individuals of the global majority, LGBTQIA+, low or no income backgrounds, and people with disabilities.
This year’s list of mentors – who will provide practical support and training to some of Scotland’s brightest new creative talents – include filmmaker Ben Wheatley (Free Fire), filmmaker Laura Carreira (On Falling) and filmmaker Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor).
Both the New Talent Mentorship Scheme and Animatic are just two of many opportunities within the Industry Programme that sits at the heart of Glasgow Film Festival, creating a bustling hub of activity not only during the festival dates but throughout the year.
Glasgow Film Festival’s Industry programme began in 2016 due to the number of filmmaking professionals attending the festival. Since then, GFF has grown to become the leading gathering for people working in the Scottish Film & TV industry at every stage in their career, from students to established professionals.
The 10th edition of GFF Industry Focus will run from Monday 3 to Thursday 6 March 2025, and the full programme will be announced in February 2025.
GFF is one of the leading film festivals in the UK and is run by Glasgow Film, a charity which also runs Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow Film Festival is made possible by support from Screen Scotland and Glasgow Life.
GFF25 will run from 26 February to 9 March, with the full programme announced in January.
