The 'perfect' short film inspired by famed Scottish author that has won top festival prize

A filmmaker who created a work of a short story by a well-known Scottish author wins top prize at Glasgow festival.

Filmmaker Lisa Clarkson won the Scottish Short Film Award at Glasgow Short Film Festival for Paternal Advice, based on a Janice Galloway short story.

The award, which honours inspiration and innovation in new Scottish cinema, saw 17 new films compete.

Ms Clarkson will receive a cash prize of £1,000 for her win. The jury described Paternal Advice as “a perfect example of the short film form”.

The festival named Lisa Clarkson as winner of the Scottish Short Film Award. | Glasgow Short Film Festival

They said: “In this outstanding short film, absurdist elements intrude on the edge of reality, language breaks down to its most elemental functions and the city’s ancient divisions take on a timeless, dream-like quality.

“Through the brilliant lead performance and striking sound design, the audience’s expectations are subtly undermined throughout. The final punchline is delivered with swagger, an old joke with a punchline we see coming, but still can’t escape from. The filmmaker has delivered a perfect example of the short film form.”

Meanwhile, named in honour of the legendary Scottish filmmaker, the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film promotes cinematic storytelling that places sound and image centre stage. This year it included 28 documentary, animation, fiction and experimental shorts from Greece, Poland, Germany, Palestine, Singapore and across the world.

The award was won by Maryam Tafakory for Razeh-del.

Festival director Matt Lloyd said: “This has been an incredible edition of the festival, with sell-out screenings, exciting collaborations and guests from every continent. There has been so much warmth and praise around the Scottish competition, which I think was particularly strong this year.

“The Scottish competition jury have chosen a winner and a special mention who both carry so much promise for cinematic narrative fiction filmmaking.”