Calling First-Time Film-Makers

Tuesday 3rd October
7-8.30 pm
Gracefield Arts Centre

Have you ever wanted to make a film but don't know how to go about it?

Do you have an idea for a film but don't have the resources to make it yourself?

Come along to Gracefield and find out how you can make a short film in your region...

Dumfries & Galloway Screen Commission is bringing Scottish film-makers and producers to the region in a unique trawl for new talent. They'll be highlighting a number of schemes on offer to first-time writers and production teams, to encourage applicants from every corner of Scotland to take part.

These schemes are open only to non-students and over-18s, and no previous experience is necessary. Film-makers are looking in the first instance for short scripts with cracking ideas. Training and development will be offered to any writers, scripts or ideas that are taken further in this Scotland-wide initiative. Successful scriptwriters will be teamed up with professional production teams to make a high-quality broadcast product.

It's the first time GMAC has ventured forth outside the central belt to look for new talent - so this really is a rare chance to come forward, put your questions, and make crucial contact with film industry experts. Come along to Gracefield on 3rd to hear what it's all about!

And for more information on screenwriting, Screen Commissioner Mark Geddes has compiled an insider's guide full of valuable tips to download here.

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Press release from GMAC:

Glasgow Media Access Centre – GMAC for short - has a history of nurturing, training and developing emerging film talent in Scotland.

This year, 2006-2007, GMAC will continue to support Scottish filmmakers with their short film initiatives called Cineworks and DigiCult.

Cineworks is looking for scripts from new writers and will commission ideas in the genres of animation, documentary and narrative fiction.

DigiCult is looking for ideas from new directors and writers who want to make innovative and experimental fiction films.

Both Cineworks and DigiCult are also looking for new producers.

Karen O’Hare, GMAC Short Film Coordinator, said,
“GMAC is looking for new filmmakers from across Scotland. We are looking for new stories from people who are traditionally under represented on screen in Scotland. GMAC actively encourages filmmakers to take risks both in storytelling and style so we hope to produce some radical and challenging films in 2007!”

Filmmakers will receive training and support from GMAC - hosted in their local area - to realise their films ideas.

The commissioned films will premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2007.

GMAC will be hosting a short film event at the Gracefield Art Centre, Dumfries on Tuesday 3rd October, from 7-8.30pm to promote this opportunity for local filmmakers.

There will be a chance to see some of last year’s Cineworks and DigiCult films and to meet the filmmakers who made them.

The GMAC Shorts team will also be in attendance to explain how you can apply to make a film with GMAC.

Don’t miss this opportunity to find out how you can become a new Cineworks or DigiCult filmmaker!

For more information on this event or interview requests please contact:
Mark Geddes, Screen Commissioner, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Gracefield Arts Centre, 28 Edinburgh Rd, Dumfries, DG1 1JQ
Tel: 01387 263666
Email: markg@dumgal.gov.uk
Web: www.sw-scotland-screen.com

Love Lyrics Wanted! Valentine's Competition

Valentine's Day Competition

The Feral Choir, led by local songwriter Ali Burns, are looking for poetry and prose pieces on the theme of love, to form part of a Valentine’s performance consisting of music, song and spoken word to be performed at venues in February next year.

Due to the nature of the performance poems should be no more than 20 lines and prose pieces should be no more than 200 words.

Closing date for entries is Friday 8th December 2006

Entries will be selected by a panel

The Feral Choir have built a reputation for innovative performances, for their work in bringing a contemporary slant to traditional songs, and for integrating spoken word with music. The featured soloist for the performance is Polly Bolton, formerly with the Albion Band.

Send entries to the DGCommunity Writers' Forum

Poetry Reading with John Hudson & Chrys Salt

Saturday October 7th
7pm
Whitehouse Gallery
47 St. Mary Street, Kirkcudbright
with John Hudson and Chrys Salt

Award-winning poets Chrys and John (right) have worked together for over ten years and have drawn crowds to performances across Britain. They have performed in major festivals across the UK, in Europe and the USA.

Of John: "He enjoys a robust and playful verse, wrestling with language and thought, pushing it towards new boundaries, always experimenting, always entertaining" Douglas Lipton, Galloway Standard
Of Chrys: "I was beguiled and delighted by the clear, unfacile fluency of her writing voice... her work will become widely known and loved, popular because it speaks out of past forms in a language so finely tuned it appears natural' Julia Casterton, Ambit

John and Chrys will be followed by the usual Bakehouse floor spots. The Fickle Tupperware Bowl of Fate comes to The Whitehouse!

Contact: 01557 330223 (The Whitehouse Gallery) or The Bakehouse 01557 814196 or chryssalt2@aol.com Tickets £6.50 (includes a glass of champagne)

National Poetry Day: Fiction Mix

Thursday 5th October
2pm - 4pm
Lochthorn Library
with Elspeth Murray and Richard Medrington

National Poetry Day Special Event:
'Novel Approach: Poetry for Fiction Readers'

Keeping with our tradition of special events for National Poetry Day, DGAA, in association with Dumfries and Galloway Library Service and the Scottish Poetry Library, presents 'Novel Approach'. Sometimes readers fancy trying poetry but don't know where to start. We've put together a list of twelve novels popular with book groups and paired them with poetry collections that, at the heart of them, share something with the novels. Elspeth Murray and Richard Medrington, popular poets and performers, have put together a special event where they'll read passages from the novels and match them with poems. If you want to try poetry but don't know where to start, this is the event for you. And if you already love poetry, it's a fresh approach. And, of course, it wouldn't be National Poetry day without the ever-popular Andrew Forster quiz!

Further info: andrew@dgaa.net 01387 253383.

Words Open Doors in Polmaddy

Sunday 1 October
10.30am - 12 noon
Polmaddy Settlement
1.30pm - 3.30pm
Kirroughtree Visitor Centre
with Vivien Jones and Jackie Galley

A creative writing workshop in a deserted fermtoun settlement, as part of the 2006 Doors Open Days in Dumfries and Galloway. Polmaddy was a settlement that flourished before the “improvements” and clearances of the 1800s, when farming in the region began to move away from traditional agriculture towards large-scale sheep and cattle farming. This place, which once supported a large number of people around communally organised fields, is now an evocative group of ruins: an inn, workshops, barns and a mill, the stones of cottages. Through the workshop you can explore among the ruins of Polmaddy, developing your own creative response to this landscape and its story.

To book your free places on either the morning or afternoon sessions, or both, please phone Solway Heritage on 01387 247543.

Artist's Book Workshop in Wanlockhead

Saturday 30th September
11am - 3pm
Wanlockhead Community Centre
with Liz Niven and Hugh Bryden

Writing and Book-making Workshop with poet-performer Liz Niven and poet-artist Hugh Bryden. Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Miners' Library by creating a text and making an individual handcrafted book.

Tickets £7.00 from Liz Niven 01387 251621 or ln@lizniven.com

Writing Workshop: Succeeding as a Poet

Monday November 13th
11am-1pm
Room 127 (Drama Studio)
Glasgow University Crichton Campus, Dumfries
with Helena Nelson

Crichton Writers Workshop
‘Succeeding as a Poet’: From Private to Public

A workshop on 'building a profile' for developing writers. Helena Nelson, who runs HappenStance Press will outline some do's and don'ts, and help sort out in practical discussion what is and isn't an asset on your CV- and even whether you really need one. Then Andrew Philip, whose poetry chapbook Tonguefire was published by HappenStance last year, will share some of his experience, and read some of his poems.

Contact: Andy Forster on 01387 253383 or e-mail andrew@dgaa.net

Drama Writing Workshops with Bernard Kops

Mon 30-Tues 31 October
10am-1pm
The Bakehouse, Gatehouse of Fleet

A two-day workshop with distinguished stage, radio and TV dramatist Bernard Kops (Dreams of Anne Frank, The Hamlet of Stepney Green). In these workshops the playwright explores all the necessary elements that are needed to write a successful play. In the first instance the writer will concentrate on a unique study of the three essential twins at the foundation of playwriting. Dialogue and Character; Structure and Style; Story and Theme. The workshops will also look at the through line of everything, the critical exploration of the text and subtext, and the subtle interplay between the two; the right and left hand hemispheres of the brain; the separation of the disciplines; the emotional and creative side of oneself, plus the editorial and analytical process, and the input at a later stage that pulls the whole complex study into a unity. The work produced through all these stages will be demonstrated through readings.

Ring 01557 814196 or email chryssalt2@aol.comor bookings@thebakehouse.info.
Cost £30. 12 places available. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Poetry in the Wilds Writing Workshop

Saturday 21st October
10am-3pm
Caerlaverock Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre
with Jackie Galley

Poetry in the Wilds Writing Workshop
Modern Science and Old Stories
The acclaimed Poetry in the Woods series steps into new territory this Poetry in the Wilds workshop with ecologist and poet Jackie Galley. Caerlaverock attracts skeins of geese and swans to spend their winter in our region. Along with their wildlife heritage they have a rich cultural heritage in the folklore that explained their arrival in autumn and their return migration in spring. We will look at the modern science and old stories associated with these birds and develop our own interpretations.

Please bring a packed lunch, warm clothing and stout footwear.
Booking through Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net. Cost £3.

Words & Music: The Lutar & The Mistress

Wednesday 27th September
7.30pm
Bladnoch Distillery

and

Sunday 8th October
6pm
Comlongan Castle

The Swallow Theatre presents...
The Galloway Consort:‘The Lutar & The Mistress’ A dramatised musical account of life at court in 16th century Scotland. Actors from The Swallow Theatre and musicians from The Galloway Consort have teamed up again to present a new work for the GaelForce Festival.

Full details in the GaelForce, Wigtown Book Festival and St Ninian Festival brochures.
Tel : 01461 700396 Tickets £5.00 on the door.

Poetry in the Wilds: Land or Sea?

Tuesday 26th September
10am-3pm
Wigtown County Buildings
with Jackie Galley

The acclaimed Poetry in the Woods series steps into new territory in a Poetry in the Wilds workshop with ecologist and poet Jackie Galley, in the stunning surroundings of Wigtown Bay. Wigtown Bay is just a few minutes walk from the County Buildings, but it is a different world, one of wide open skies and muddy estuaries. With the help of the local ranger we will walk along the dividing line between land and sea and use the experience to influence our poetry. Please bring a packed lunch, warm clothing and stout footwear.

Booking through Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383 or andrew@dgaa.net. Cost £3.

Wigtown Poetry Competition Launch 2006

Saturday 23rd September
3pm
Bladnoch Distillery
with Jackie Kay and Rody Gorman

After its runaway success in 2005, Wigtown Poetry Competition launches its second year with judges Jackie Kay and Rody Gorman (Gaelic category). Hear from this year's judges what they look for in a poem, and hear them read from their own work into the bargain. There's also a chance to pick the new anthology featuring last year's winning and commended poems, produced in association with the Galloway Gazette.

Event free, with refreshments. Contact: Andrew Forster 01387 253383

Wigtown Festival Readers' Day

Friday 22 September
10am to 4pm
County Buildings, Wigtown

with Aline Templeton and Lisa Chaney

The annual Library Service/Wigtown Festival Readers' Day returns with a chance to engage with authors over books we've all read.
Crime writer Aline Templeton (right) will be discussing her first Marjory Fleming thriller 'Cold in the Earth', set in Galloway during the foot and mouth epidemic. Acclaimed biographer Lisa Chaney will talk about and read from 'Hide and Seek with Angels', her biography of JM Barrie. The day will also be scattered with group discussions, presentations from Readers' Groups and the usual giveaways.

Tickets available for morning and afternoon sessions separately. £5.00 each from the Wigtown festival office on 01988 403 222 (Reading Group members contact Bill Millar on BillMi@dumgal.gov.uk)