Local Hero's return

Published on Tuesday 4 November 2008 22:33

IT WAS a cult film which captured the hearts of the Scottish nation and earned the tiny Aberdeenshire hamlet of Pennan its place in celluloid history.

But while Local Hero led countless devoted film fans to the scenic coastal village, the film's director has, until now, stayed away.

This week, for the first time in the quarter of a century since filming there stopped, veteran film-maker Bill Forsyth returned to Pennan to mark the movie's 25th anniversary.

"Coming here has been a wee bit emotional for me. I hadn't expected that," he said.

"Twenty-five years is a big chunk out of my life, and it was strange to come back and remember things we did here. I don't usually think that way – living in the past – but it was really emotional being in a real place that really meant something."

Recalling the Pennan production, Forsyth said: "It was very hard work for me, although I know the crew had a ball. I was so busy with the work that I didn't find out until much later what a great time everybody had. I've spent the last 25 years catching up with all the gossip."

He also admitted that the film's popularity had taken him by surprise. "It's not many films that get a 25th anniversary party," he said.

Forsyth was persuaded to return to Pennan to take part in a tribute to Local Hero being filmed for a forthcoming episode of BBC 2's flagship arts programme The Culture Show.

He joined villagers, many of whom had been extras during the filming, at a special screening of the film, which stars screen legend Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay and Peter Capaldi.

The screening was followed by a ceilidh in the village hall – the first celebration to be held there since the hall was badly damaged when a torrent of mud and water threatened to engulf the village in a series of devastating landslips in August of last year.

Mark Kermode, The Culture Show host, who was also in Pennan for the filming, described the village as a "magical place" which he had longed to visit.

&#149 The Culture Show's tribute will be screened on Tuesday, 18 November, on BBC2 at 10pm, repeated on Thursday, 20 November, at 11:30pm.

PROFILE

THE son of a Glasgow plumber, Bill Forsyth started his career with the Thames & Clyde Film Production Company, making documentaries for commercial companies. He caught the attention of movie critics in 1979 with That Sinking Feeling, a low-budget film that led to him getting the finance for Gregory's Girl in 1981. Two years later he persuaded Burt Lancaster to play one of the leading roles in Local Hero.

His subsequent films included Comfort and Joy in 1984, Housekeeping (1987) and Being Human (1993).

He returned to Scotland to film again with John Gordon Sinclair in 1999 in Gregory's Two Girls.