A filmmaker from Achmore on the Isle of Lewis is celebrating after being nominated for a prestigious UK-wide film award.
Niall Morison Macrae and colleague Tabita Knoblauch are in the running for the Best Postgraduate Factual prize, at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Awards.
They’ve been recognised for their documentary And So It Was – their final project, made for their MA Filmmaking course at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS)
The emotional short film tells the story of Norah Morison, in the village of Achmore. Norah – the longest-serving post office worker in Scottish history – reflects on what’s to come in her remaining years, following the loss of her sister.
Niall said: “Both Tabita and I are honoured and a little bit shocked, if I’m honest!
"To be nominated for a film so personal – a film about my gran, my family, our grief and the village that I grew up in – is incredibly touching.
“I often thought that the audience for this film wouldn’t extend beyond myself, the island or Scotland at most but this nomination is the first sign that perhaps that isn’t the case; it adds a whole new dimension to what it means to all of us, and I’m delighted that this film is starting to resonate with other people.”
Their achievement follows a string of similar successes for MA Filmmaking students at UWS.
Ryan Pollock’s graduation film, Bluebird, was selected for the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) of Art and Architecture’s 197th annual exhibition. He also recently lifted the RSA’s prestigious Latimer Award.
Meanwhile, student Dhillon Clarke has been selected as one of only 12 Grierson DocLab trainees.
Grierson DocLab, run in partnership with the UK’s leading factual content production companies, with support from The Rank Foundation, provides 18-25-year-olds aspiring to enter the industry, with a hands-on training and mentoring programme.
Professor Nick Higgins, MA Filmmaking Programme Leader and Director of the UWS Creative Media Academy, added: “I am incredibly proud of these students. Their achievements are much deserved, and come on the back of hard work and a real dedication to their craft.
“Their successes are further endorsements of the MA Filmmaking course, which has become a consistent source of talent for the Scottish and wider-UK film industries, who routinely make a serious impact."