Edinburgh film producer nears fundraising goal

An Edinburgh-based film-maker is more than half way to raising £120,000 in crowdfunding as it prepares to begin shooting a movie based on a best-selling Kindle novel.

A still from the set of First and Only. Picture: Contributed

First and Only has released a limited number of shares via crowdfunding platform Seedrs, enabling people to invest in the eponymous film for an equity share and a “range of unique perks”.

Funds raised will contribute to costs of development and pre-production, with filming is expected to begin in the autumn.

The production company was set up by film-maker Magnus Wake, having acquired the options to the rights for the novel. He then raised more than £50,000 for the film via the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform in November 2014.

Wake said: “We know we’ve got a great story. The Amazon reviews for the book are off the scale. We want to make an engaging, exciting film that works creatively and commercially.”

First and Only is based on an e-book published via the Amazon Kindle service by Scottish-based author Peter Flannery. It follows the story of Simon, a young man with exceptional psychic powers as he attempts to stop a serial killer while evading the UK authorities.