Cannes to see short films of the law

IT'S a long way from the police station incident room. But a retired CID detective from Lothian and Borders Police is about to rub shoulders with the Hollywood elite when his two short films are screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Former DCI Ronnie Mackintosh, 51, who is now studying advanced film practice and screenwriting at Napier University's Screen Academy of Scotland, has had two shorts accepted at the festival, where they will be viewed later this month by the cream of the international film community.

One of his films, The Neighbours, stars Harry Potter actor Peter Mullan and was directed by the respected Scottish actor and director Davie McKay. His other film, Small Gifts, was co-produced by Atonement director Joe Wright and stars Bend it like Beckham star Shaheen Khan.

Mullan, who won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for his role in Ken Loach's film My Name Is Joe and is currently filming the last Harry Potter film, said he was attracted to Mackintosh's writing despite the former detective's relative inexperience.

"Quite simply, the script was really well written," he said. "It was original and it had a good heart; it was funny and he seemed to really understand the characters. He's got a great eye for detail."

Scottish screenwriter Simon Donald, who first met Mackintosh when he worked as an unofficial CID consultant on Donald's Channel 4 thriller Low Winter Sun and encouraged him to develop his writing, said Mackintosh's feat was almost unheard of.

"It's quite extraordinary, getting two films into Cannes," he said. "His position in the industry is so strange because he's a mature student, and he's not from a creative background.

"But he's brought a whole perspective to film making that is quite unusual and disciplined and professional."

Mackintosh, who had only ever dabbled in writing before he retired from the police force four years ago, said his progress was "just amazing".

"As far as I'm concerned I'm really at the very beginning of all this. I'm not even swinging on the first rung of a very long ladder."

The former detective, who joined the police force at the age of 18, worked on major murder inquiries, and was part of the Lothian and Borders police team sent to Lockerbie following the crash of flight Pan Am 103 in 1988.

"At 48 I felt it was time to move on," he said. "I didn't have time to write when I was in the police. It was always something I wanted to do but I took my police job very seriously and it took up all my time. It wasn't until I left that I thought: 'I may as well have a go at writing now.'"

Mackintosh enrolled in a night class in screenwriting at Napier University and caught the attention of his tutor, who recommended he do an MA in the subject. Paul Holmes, lecturer in film directing at the Scottish Film Academy, said that Mackintosh had been an "outstanding student".

Siobhan Synnot, film commentator and Scotland on Sunday film critic, said that Mackintosh should be proud of his appearance at Cannes.

"It's certainly an achievement to get from nought to 60 at Cannes so quickly," she said.

Mackintosh's two films are not in competition at Cannes, but he is hoping they will be accepted to other international film festivals shortly. But although he's enjoying his change in career, Mackintosh says there is a downside.

"I loved being a detective, and now I'm in a completely different world I love that too," he said. "But I used to get paid in the first one. I don't get paid in this one yet."