Budding scriptwriters can raise a glass to distillery prize

The backing from Torabhaig Distillery, which opened three years ago on the site of a 19th century farm steading on Skye, is aimed at helping an emerging writer to get their project off the ground.

The prize, which will be run by a film foundation created on Skye by one of Scotland’s leading film and TV producers, is only open to writers whose scripts have yet to be snapped up.

Chris Young, a producer of the hit comedy The Inbetweeners and BBC Alba’s Gaelic series Bannan, has already won the backing of Netflix, Film 4, the BBC, the BFI, MG Alba and Highlands and Islands Enterprise for a week-long talent school he launched in his Skye in 2018.

Early participants have been mentored by actors, writers, directors and producers whose credits include Killing Eve, Trainspotting, Poldark and  Dracula. The new venture will see writers who come through the programme get the chance to take their project to the next level with the help of a £5,000 prize.

Young said: “I’m incredibly proud of this partnership because it demonstrates the importance of collaboration between local businesses, especially in the Highlands.

“It is also a great tribute to the art of patience, for just as you have to give time to the production of a great whisky, so too you need time to produce a great script.

“The participants on the residency benefit from the unique personal mentoring process that we’re able to offer them: a heady brew of in-depth analysis and creative input. By introducing a screenwriting award at the end of the process, we show how determined we are to see new Scottish writing talent thrive.”

Neil Mathieson, chief executive of Mossburn Distillers, said: “At Torabhaig, we have looked very closely at our ability to assist new entrants to our own industry and encourage them to take advantage of the training and mentoring the profession can offer. To be part of the Young Film Foundation and to stretch further the aspirations of Scottish screenwriters is an additional bonus.”

Young has had his own film and TV production company since 1986, with previous credits including Venus Peter, Prague, Festival, Gregory’s 2 Girls and Seach: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, the first Gaelic feature film.

He relocated the company from London to Skye, where he has had a home since the 1990s, in 2014, and started production on a new murder-mystery Gaelic drama series, Bannan.

Filming is due to get this year on Skye on an eighth series.