Dunfermline Media City showcase is a success

Organised by the Dunfermline Regeneration Trust (DRT), the event was billed as half Ted Talk, half careers fair.

DRT chair Derek Glen said: “The aim is to establish Dunfermline as a centre of excellence for supporting Scotland’s film and media industry, so that production companies don’t need to bring crew and staff with them from elsewhere when they want to shoot here.

Film Scotland's Gail Robertson discussed the new SQA accredited Film and Screen curriculum for Scotland. (Image: Ian Moir) “Its origins come from one of our trustees Jean Hall Muir being involved in TV from a scriptwriting perspective.

“That coupled with our wish for Dunfermline to have an ambitious and inclusive future driven vision for how we capitalise on city status got us thinking about positioning Dunfermline in this way.

“Thursday night’s event was about putting a stake in the ground and recognising the really solid activities that are already happening in Dunfermline in filmmaking, television, and across the creative digital arts.”

Thursday’s speeches were varied in nature. Some talked about Dunfermline’s future such as Nashville producer Loucas George who outlined how the city can make itself more attractive to film companies.

Others discussed routes into the media industry, including the local videographer Ryan Scott who told the audience how he managed to carve out his own professional path.

Mr Glen embraced hosting duty. (Image: Ian Moir) Leader of the employability team at Fife Council Kirsty Martin described the “squiggly line” that creatives often take into the industry, a theme that became apparent as the night went on.

Mr Glen said: “Part of our vision includes beefing up the education offering that we have in the city.

“There are lot of very helpful courses offered by Fife College ranging from things like video production and animation, but it’s also about supporting roles that are essential to the film industry, be that electricians, costume designers or accountants.

The Press's own content editor Ally McRoberts delivered a speech about journalism. (Image: Ian Moir)“We want to bring the college together with the high schools, primary schools, and Screen Scotland, who are in the process of rolling out their new film and screen curriculum for Scotland, so that we can have a conveyor belt if you like of youngsters learning about the skills needed for this ambition. 

"The aim is to attract external investment by bringing film companies to the city and making use of empty and underused buildings, but we also want the community angle to be paramount, so we’re looking to develop a network of both community use production spaces and places where short films can be showcased.

“The fire station is a good example of that, and we’ve got a studio that we’re setting up there at the moment where we’ll be doing film production and acting courses.”

DRT trustees Derek Glen and Fiona Simpson (Image: Ian Moir)