Netflix horror set in Highlands leads race for Scottish BAFTA honours

A Netflix horror thriller set in the Highlands and filmed in a country park in West Lothian is leading the running for BAFTA Scotland honours this year.

Calibre is leading the race for Scottish BAFTA honours after being named best British movie at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Edinburgh-based filmmaker Matt Palmer is up for best writer and best director honours for Calibre, which which charts the nightmarish events that unfold for two friends after a tragic accident on a weekend hunting trip.

The three main stars of the film - Jack Lowden, Martin McCann and Tony Curran - will all compete in the best movie actor category.

Calibre, which has been praised by horror movie legend Stephen King since being launched on Netflix in the summer, won the Michael Powell Award for best British film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

A debut feature by Palmer, Calibre is said to have been inspired by classic thrillers Deliverance and Straw Dogs. It follows Vaughn and Carter as they attempt to cover up a tragedy before being turned on by a group of increasingly suspicious villagers.

Palmer, who shot Calibre at Beecraigs Country Park, will compete for best writer and director with Armando Iannucci, nominated for political satire The Death of Stalin.

Ella Hunt and Shauna Macdonald have earned best actress nods for their respective roles in two other horror films - Anna and the Apocalypse and White Chamber.

The Party’s Just Beginning, Karen Gillan’s debut feature as a director, which she shot and starred in around her native Inverness, is up for best movie.

It will be up against Anna and the Apocalypse, a zombie musical set during the festive season, and Nae Pasaran, a documentary about a group of factory workers who defied Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s military regime.

Previous best TV actor winner Douglas Henshall is in contention again for crime series Shetland, against Chris Reilly for BBC drama The Last Post and Jonathan Watson for sitcom Two Doors Down. The A Word star Morven Christie, Kiran Sonia Sawar, for Netflix sci-fi series Black Mirror and Elaine C Smith for Two Doors Down are up for best TV actress.

Awards host Edith Bowman defended the lack of women recognised in the main writer and director categories, with Gillan a sole female nominee.

Bowman said: “It’s really down to production companies and commissioners to give more jobs to women. That’s the way to have a bigger pool. But you can’t just vote for a woman because they’re a woman. There has to be more women in the mix.”

NOMINATIONS IN FULL

ACTOR FILM

TONY CURRAN CalibreJACK LOWDEN CalibreMARTIN MCCANN Calibre

ACTOR TELEVISION

DOUGLAS HENSHALL ShetlandCHRIS REILLY The Last PostJONATHAN WATSON Two Doors Down

ACTRESS FILM

ELLA HUNT Anna and the ApocalypseSHAUNA MACDONALD White ChamberSIÂN PHILLIPS Voyageuse

ACTRESS TELEVISION

MORVEN CHRISTIE The A WordKIRAN SONIA SAWAR Black Mirror: CrocodileELAINE C SMITH Two Doors Down

ANIMATION

SCOTTISH CUP Production Team - Once Were FarmersSHORT CHANGED Zoë Hutber, Denisa UherováWIDDERSHINS Simon Biggs, Will Adams - Scottish Film Talent Network

DIRECTOR – FACTUAL

JOHN MACLAVERTY Scotland 78: A Love StoryMATT PINDER Violent Men: Behind BarsFELIPE BUSTOS SIERRA Nae Pasaran

DIRECTOR – FICTION

ARMANDO IANNUCCI The Death of StalinCOLM MCCARTHY Black Mirror: Black MuseumMATT PALMER Calibre

ENTERTAINMENT

ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES Production Team – Tiger Aspect Productions/BBC OneLAST COMMANDERS Toby Stevens, Ryan Meloy, Louise Brown - OMG Scotland/PandaTelevision/CBBCRAVEN Production Team - BBC Scotland Children’s/CBBC

FEATURE FILM

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE Naysun Alae-Carew, Nicholas Crum, John McPhail, AlanMcDonald - Blazing GriffinNAE PASARAN Felipe Bustos Sierra, Colin Monie, Peter Keith, Patrick Neil Doyle - DebasersFilumsTHE PARTY'S JUST BEGINNING Karen Gillan, Mali Elfman, R. Andru Davies, Claire Mundell -Mt Hollywood Films/Synchronicity Films

FEATURES & FACTUAL SERIES

CLASS OF MUM AND DAD Production Team – Firecracker Scotland/Channel 4THE FORCE: THE STORY OF SCOTLAND’S POLICE Sarah Howitt, Mick McAvoy, AlisonPinkney, Shiona McCubbin – STV Productions/BBC OneVIOLENT MEN: BEHIND BARS Matt Pinder, Liam McArdle, Iain Scollay, Nicole Kleeman –Firecrest Films/Channel 4

GAME

BECKETT Production Team - The Secret ExperimentCOBI HOOPS 2 Production Team - Cobra MobileOOO: ASCENSION Kenny Creanor, Bobby Farmer, Tony McBride - Extra Mile Studios

SHORT FILM

I WAS HERE Joe Carter, Morna Pearson, Dave Gillies, Susannah Armitage - Scottish FilmTalent NetworkMY LONELINESS IS KILLING ME Tim Courtney, Michael Richardson, Siobhan Fahey, StuartCondy - Scottish Film Talent NetworkSLAP Simone Smith - Wild Room

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY

BREADLINE KIDS Louise Pirie, Audrey McColligan, Iain Scollay, Nicole Kleeman - FirecrestFilms/BBC One ScotlandLIFE BEHIND BARS: VISITING HOUR Production Team - Chalkboard/Channel 4SCOTLAND 78: A LOVE STORY Production Team - IMG Productions Scotland/BBC OneScotland

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

THE CANCER HOSPITAL Andrew Abbott, Louise Lockwood, Iain Scollay - Firecrest Films/BBCOne ScotlandIMAGINE...RUPERT EVERETT: BORN TO BE WILDE Production Team - BBC Studios, PacificQuay Productions/BBC OneTRUST ME, I'M A DOCTOR - MENTAL HEALTH SPECIAL Production Team - BBC Studios,Science Unit/BBC Two

TELEVISION SCRIPTED

SCOT SQUAD Jack Docherty, Joe Hullait, Rab Christie, Iain Davidson - The Comedy Unit/BBCOne Scotland

SHETLAND Production Team - Silverprint Pictures/BBC One

TRUST ME Production Team - Red Production Company/BBC One

WRITER FILM/TELEVISION

ARMANDO IANNUCCI The Death of StalinDAVID KANE ShetlandMATT PALMER Calibre