Published: 28 Apr 2017
Scotland-based thriller Keepers, starring Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells, has received £125,000 from the Production Growth Fund.
Inspired by the Flannan Isle mystery, Keepers, directed by Kristoffer Nyholm (Taboo, The Killing) is currently filming on location in Galloway.
On an uninhabited island 20 miles from the rugged Scottish coast, three lighthouse keepers arrive for their six-week shift. As Thomas (Peter Mullan), James (Gerard Butler) and Donald (Connor Swindells) settle into their usual, solitary routines, something unexpected and potentially life-changing occurs: they stumble upon something that isn't theirs to keep. Where did it come from? Who does it belong to? A boat appears in the distance that might hold the answer to these questions... What follows is a tense battle for survival as personal greed replaces loyalty and, fed by isolation and paranoia, three honest men are led down a path to destruction.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure shooting in one of the most dramatic and picturesque parts of Scotland," said the producers of the film. "We searched long and hard for the right landscape in which to set our story and found it here in Dumfries and Galloway. With the warm Scottish welcome we received on day one and the great local talent we’ve engaged both in front of and behind the camera - it's made for a genuinely thrilling experience and a film we’re all very proud of.”
The Production Growth Fund aims to stimulate growth in film and TV drama production and encourage international productions to come to Scotland.
This Fund has helped secure another high-profile film production for Scotland, further enhancing our reputation as a key filming destination.- Natalie Usher, Director of Screen
Including today’s funding to Keepers, eight film and high end TV productions have received support through Creative Scotland’s Production Growth Fund totalling £1.875 million. These additional productions include Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis’s Etruscan Smile; Matt Palmer’s debut feature, Calibre; Danny’s Boyle’s T2: Trainspotting; Jonathan Teplitzky’s Churchill; Sigma Films’ Hush and High-end TV dramas Loch Ness and In Plain Sight.
Natalie Usher, Director, Screen at Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland is delighted to be supporting the production of Keepers. The support from the Production Growth Fund has helped secure another high-profile film production for Scotland, further enhancing our reputation as a key filming destination where filmmakers can benefit from working with our world class craft and technical talent, as well as utilising our excellent production facilities and stunning locations.”
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A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are seeing a rise in production spend in Scotland and it is a strong indication that film producers have a continued appetite to base their productions here.
“The Production Growth Fund anchors productions in Scotland and helps to generate significant income through the use of our talent, crews and locations. The Fund, which has awarded £1.875 million to eight productions to date, continues to help talented producers finance projects in Scotland, and in turn it is a direct investment in our creative sector workforce.
“The unsolved story of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers in 1900 is both fascinating and terribly sad. I look forward to seeing it being told on the big screen through this new production."
Written by Celyn Jones (Set Fire to the Stars) and Joe Bone, the film is produced by Andy Evans, Ade Shannon and Sean Marley for Mad as Birds Films, along with Jason Seagraves, Maurice Fadida and G-BASE's Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel. Phil Hunt and Compton Ross are Exec Producing along with Brian Oliver from Cross Creek Pictures, Danielle Robinson from G-BASE and Mickey Gooch and DG Guyer of Kodiak Pictures. Financing comes from Head Gear and Kodiak Pictures.
For more information on Creative Scotland’s Production Growth Fund and Screen Funding, go to: https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2016/12/funding-to-boost-film-and-tv-production
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
Sophie Bambrough
Media Relations & PR Officer
Creative Scotland
E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
T: 0131 523 0015
M: 07747606146