Published: 04 Nov 2016
Following a worldwide tour of international film festivals, Lou McLoughlan’s BAFTA and Grierson Trust nominated debut feature film, 16 Years Till Summer, will be screened across Scotland, from Edinburgh to Skye, from Friday 11 November 2016.
Filmed over four years, 16 Years Till Summer is a story of redemption, interrupted, in the Highlands of Scotland. Uisdean wants forgiveness. After 16 years in prison, he’s released to the Highlands to wrestle dreams nursed in prison against an obligation to care for his father. But it takes an extraordinary love story to elude growing accusations against him in a film that slips seamlessly between two portraits of the same man, as carer and convicted murderer.
The film offered opportunities for Scottish based talent to work together and produce an extraordinary film that has been winning awards and plaudits from around the world.- Leslie Finlay, Screen Officer
Commenting on the film, Director Lou McLoughlan, said: “I felt challenged to make this film when Uisdean first said to me, 'My father’s very ill. Will you film me on home-leave so I have footage of us together? You should show that not all prisoners are monsters'
“Early on in the filming, I thought the film would be more about Calum than Uisdean, that it would be a story about the unconditional love between a father and son. However, as Uisdean’s journey into Audrey’s life began a second love story, what developed was a film that examined something bigger: at what point in a relationship must love, as an act of faith, pause to question itself? And it was that questioning - in response to Uisdean’s initial challenge to me - that felt most 'monstrous' to those who had to do it."
The film was supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland Targeted Screen Funding. Leslie Finlay, Screen Officer at Creative Scotland, said:
“Creative Scotland is delighted to support the release of 16 Years Till Summer, the debut documentary feature by Lou McLoughlan. Set in the remote village in the highlands, the film offered opportunities for Scottish based talent to work together and produce an extraordinary film that has been winning awards and plaudits from around the world. Complimented by an extraordinary soundtrack by Edinburgh based Marit Fält and Rona Wilkie, this is an opportunity for audiences across Scotland to enjoy filmmaking from Scotland."
Tickets also available from https://16yearstillsummer.com/upcoming-screenings.
16 Years Till Summer is a film about what gets sacrificed when people need to see the best in each other; it’s about where we find truth. Filmed over four years, compelling storytelling and cinematic imagery blur the line between the fairy-tale of the heart and the rational judgement of society in a film that is a hybrid of heart and head; magic realism and documented tragedy. A story of redemption, interrupted, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Find out more: https://16yearstillsummer.com
Directed & filmed by: Lou McLoughlan
Producers: Hlin Johannesdottir & Lauren Fox
Lou McLoughlan is a Screen Academy (ECA) MA Film Directing graduate. 16 years till Summer which has took 4 years to complete, is a development of Lou's 2011 graduation short which she made for the MA Film Caring for Calum (winner of UK BAFTA, Grierson and RTS). Caring for Callum told the story of ex-prisoner Uisdean who in caring for his ageing father confronts his past.
Find out more: https://16yearstillsummer.com/16-years-till-summer-interview-with-director/
The sound track to the film was created by Edinburgh based Marit Fält and Rona Wilkie. In 2012 Marit and Rona won the coveted Danny Kyle Award at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections Festival and Rona was named BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year. Find out more at www.facebook.com/maritandrona and https://maritandrona.bandcamp.com.
