Short films created by Sean Connery Talent Lab to premiere at EIFF
Six short films created as part of the Sean Connery Talent Lab will be premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) collaborated over the course of a year on the project for the films, which will be screened for the first time in August.
Original James Bond star Sir Sean Connery, originally from Edinburgh, died in October 2020 aged 90.
We can't wait to present the World Premiere 🍿 of 6 short films at #EIFF25 created as part of the inaugural@NFTSFilmTV x #SeanConnery Talent Lab!
NFTS develops some of the world's top talent, with graduates going on to win huge awards, including 15 #Oscars and 165+ #BAFTAs 🏆 pic.twitter.com/beklm59GiO
— Edinburgh International Film Festival (@edfilmfest) June 18, 2025
His sons, Jason and Stephane, launched the Sean Connery Foundation to 'expand opportunities for talented young people from Scotland to access rewarding careers in the film industry'.
They said their father 'made it a priority to attend the Edinburgh Film Festival' and knew 'first-hand what it meant to work hard and struggle for opportunity'.
The films will be premiered between August 14 and 20.
Chris Young, head of the Sean Connery Talent Lab, praised the initiative as having the potential for 'expanding the film-making community here in Scotland'.
The films to be premiered are Gowk, directed by Ryan Pollock, Nora Can't Score, directed by Josefa Celestin, Catriona Macleod's Lady Maclean, and Twenty Twenty, from director Alex Salam.
Also included are Static, directed by Miranda Stern, and Checkout, from director Mairead Hamilton.
Paul Ridd, chief executive and director of the EIFF, said: 'We are so impressed by the depth and range of films that have emerged from the exciting first year of this brilliant initiative, one which, like our own centrepiece Festival Prize, has been made possible by The Sean Connery Foundation and their generous support for meaningful film industry change.
'Under the expert tutelage of Chris Young and the many industry experts who have given up their time this past year to offer advice and mentorship, these filmmakers have emerged with bold, distinctive work that we are honoured to include in our programme and present to our audiences in August.
'The future of cinema is bright in the hands of this exciting new generation of Scottish and Scotland-based talent.'
Jon Wardle, NFTS director, said: 'The first cohort of the Sean Connery Talent Lab has exceeded all expectations, not only in the calibre of their work, but in the boldness and ambition of their film-making vision.
'What they've achieved in such a short space of time is genuinely remarkable. It proves what's possible when emerging talent is given the right support, mentorship and creative freedom.
'The selection of these six films for world premieres at EIFF is a powerful validation of the Talent Lab model.
'We are immensely grateful to the Sean Connery Foundation, BBC Film and all our Talent Lab partners.
'Their unwavering belief and commitment to nurturing the next generation of Scottish storytellers has been nothing short of transformative. This success simply wouldn't have been possible without them.'
Chris Young, head of the Sean Connery Talent Lab, said: 'I'm hugely proud of what our very first cohort of students have achieved this year.
'They've embraced every opportunity the programme has offered and their collaboration has been terrific.
'The high quality of these short films, reflected in their showcase selection for Edinburgh International Film Festival world premieres, demonstrates perfectly the profound importance of providing a platform for new voices in film, and the potential for expanding the filmmaking community here in Scotland.
'What an incredible beginning for the Talent Lab and for the future of Scottish storytelling on screen.'
Stephane and Jason Connery said: 'The premiere of these first short films from the Sean Connery Talent Lab marks a powerful continuation of our father's legacy—championing excellence, ambition, and opportunity in the arts.
'It's especially meaningful to see this work take shape in Edinburgh, the city of his birth and the place he loved most.
'We are deeply grateful to the Talent Lab's outstanding leadership and to our generous partners for supporting this new generation of cinematic talent.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Tyrant
9 hours ago
- Geek Tyrant
Russell Crowe Joins Henry Cavill in Chad Stahelski's HIGHLANDER Reboot — GeekTyrant
Russell Crowe is officially suiting up for sword-swinging immortality. The Oscar-winning actor has joined the cast of Chad Stahelski's Highlander reboot, taking on the iconic Ramirez mentor role originally played by Sean Connery in the 1986 cult classic. He'll star opposite Henry Cavill, who's already been set as the film's lead. Crowe and Cavil previously appeared in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, so this project is a little reunion for the duo. This new Highlander is coming from Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists for a full theatrical release, with John Wick mastermind Stahelski behind the camera. The script is written by Michael Finch, and the team is aiming for a a fresh, full-throttle experience. For those new to the mythology, the original Highlander , directed by Russell Mulcahy, followed a centuries-spanning battle between immortal warriors, blending historical flashbacks with gritty present-day sword duels. It became a fan-fueled franchise with multiple sequels, a long-running TV series, and more than a few legendary lines. Yes, there can be only one, but clearly, there can also be reboots. Stahelski seems to be playing the long game. United Artists has secured full rights to the 1986 original, previously developed by Lionsgate, and there's already talk of expanding into a new series down the road. Crowe is next appearing in Nuremberg , alongside Rami Malek and Michael Shannon, dropping November 7. He's also wrapped up a Netflix thriller called Unabom , Walden Media's Cold War drama Billion Dollar Spy , and the Derrick Borte-directed action flick Bear Country . The director also previously teased the action in the film and explained that it will be inspired by the action in the John Wick films. "I'll keep it to the core. Most audiences, I'll use the gun analogy, most of what you know about gunfights or car chases because most of us don't get involved in gun fights, or car chases, or sword fights, we learn through movies.' "And what those movies show you is about 95% bullshit. You don't fight 50 guys with your bare hands and then walk away, but it's fun. It's wish fulfillment. 'So John Wick, we know it's a cartoon – I know it's not – but we also have fun with it. But we do tactical reloads, we try to do fire manipulations, stuff like the professionals do, the military do. But then we have fun with it, you know? Sword work is very much the same."' Cavill previously shared how big of a fan his is of the franchise and then said that the script for the film is 'extraordinary' and that the movie will take some 'big swings.' He said: "I am a Highlander fan, they're great fun movies. Obviously I watched them when I was a lot younger and have since rewatched, but also the TV show. 'I really enjoyed the lore behind it, that sense of a tragic warrior with more of a story to tell than a cool guy with a sword, doing cool things, and this goes even deeper into that. "What they've done so far and we're doing with the development of the script is extraordinary, I think people are going to be really, really pleased. 'Big swings are important, you play it safe, you're going to just go, 'Eh, I suppose it's fine?" but if you take a big swing, people love it or they hate it." Stahelski also previously talked about the movie, saying it will include both familiar characters and "elements" taken from the '90s TV series. "We're looking to do our story [and it] engages a lot of the same characters and stuff like that. But we've also brought in elements of all the TV shows. We're trying to do a bit of a prequel setup to The Gathering.' 'We have ideas for days about how to make the coolest characters and to make that an epic TV show. I just think that's a rich, rich mythology." Stahelski also explained that they are taking the best story elements from across the franchise and implementing it all into one story that will be spread out across a trilogy of films: "I think the TV series hit on a lot of great stuff wasn't in the feature, between the watchers and all the different types of immortals. How do we get this into a feature mode before we dribble it into the TV world? 'Well, let's restructure it in parts, let's look at it like it was a TV show, let's look at it like it was a high-end trilogy. How to we tell the story of The Gathering, The Quickenings, The Immortals and how do we really build this world out even more so than the original project? 'That's what we're restructuring right now. It's taking all the good stuff that we had before I was involved in the project from the script; redeveloping the script to give us really good chapters one, two and three; and expanding the world." He also talked about his vision for the film, saying: " The vision we're trying to get across and what we're trying to develop, I equate very close to Star Wars. The first one is a very satisfying ending but it does leave the door open and that's kind of how I see this. 'I would really like to expand it over three. I see The Gathering happening over three. It's tricky, don't get me wrong, that's why we're still developing it. We want to be able to tell three complete stories that all kind of fit. 'I think the Star Wars trilogy, at least up to The Empire Strikes Back, is a good example of how we want to process it." I very excited about this Highlander reboot and I hope that it delivers something awesome. Source: Deadline
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Danny Boyle's rise from Bury to British film visionary
Not many directors can convince a reigning monarch to appear in a comedy skit, but Elizabeth II was said to be "very amused" when invited by Danny Boyle to star in a James Bond sketch for the 2012 London Olympics. The Bury-born filmmaker will add the highly-anticipated 28 Years Later to a back catalogue that includes Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, as the zombie flick screens in cinemas this weekend. The 68-year-old has always been proud of his hometown of Radcliffe, and fulfilled a promise to mention his local social club during his Academy Awards acceptance speech in 2009. His family and friends gathered at St Mary's Catholic Social Club which his father used to run and where Boyle drank lemonade as a boy, to watch him on screen that year when Slumdog Millionaire scooped eight Oscars. The Indian-set movie, inspired by the TV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, became a runaway global success despite a relatively small $15m budget. But it was the latest in a string of unconventional movies that had become unexpected mainstream commercial successes for Boyle. He recently told the Guardian newspaper: "I want to push the boat out, but take the popular audience with me." Boyle became enamoured by cinema at a young age, and graduated with a degree in English and Drama from Bangor University in 1978. He later worked at the prestigious Royal Court in London, dubbed the "writers theatre", and directed productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. A move into making TV dramas for the BBC in Northern Ireland and ITV's Inspector Morse came next. Boyle drew fame in the mid-1990s when he directed the dark movie comedy Shallow Grave about Edinburgh flatmates who find a large suitcase of money, which starred Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. The film's modern story telling and visual style was credited with breaking away from the traditional image of British cinema, which had been associated with period dramas. Boyle collaborated again with McGregor for Trainspotting with its gritty and humorous take on heroin addicts in the Scottish capital. However the pair fell out when Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio was offered the lead role for Boyle's 2000 movie The Beach. The director has admitted "we didn't treat [McGregor] very well", while the latter said he had "felt like it was a badge on my sleeve: I am Danny Boyle's actor". They have since made up and reunited with the rest of the Trainspotting cast to make a sequel in 2017. Boyle was chosen to direct a hugely memorable opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympics – dubbed Isles of Wonder. The extravaganza drew more than 20m viewers in the UK, and celebrated British achievements in industry, culture and the NHS. And then there was the viral moment when the Queen Elizabeth II appeared in a sketch with James Bond star Daniel Craig, where she had requested to utter the unforgettable words: "Good evening, Mr Bond." Boyle was later chosen to direct the most recent 007 film No Time To Die, but he pulled out months before the start of filming due to "creative differences". The filmmaker's risk-taking and creativity has won him not only fans among audiences but actors too. Jodie Comer, who appears in 28 Years Later, recently said to be "led by him and be on one of his sets is a proper dream". A follow-up to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, their new movie marks a return to horror for Boyle, who recently told the BBC he still found "something intangible but amazing about cinema". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Danny Boyle and Jodie Comer talk Covid, horror and making 28 Years Later 'The 28 Years Later make-up was terrifying'
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Oscars Finally Fell in Love With Tom Cruise. It's About Time
Congratulations are clearly in order. After decades of being overlooked, underestimated and sometimes just flat-out ignored, a Hollywood mainstay is finally getting some richly deserved recognition. Bravo! No, not to Tom Cruise for that honorary Oscar — to the Academy for making sure the world's last remaining movie star will turn up for its next broadcast. More from The Hollywood Reporter Film Academy Taps Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas for Honorary Oscars, Dolly Parton for Hersholt Award Box Office: 'How to Train Your Dragon' Roars to Record $84M U.S. Opening, $198M Globally Natalie Portman-Produced French Animated Film 'Arco' Wins Annecy Let's face it, at this point the Oscars need Cruise more than Cruise needs an Oscar, particularly an honorary one, which frequently go to stars of more mature vintage (Mel Brooks got one last year, at 97). In recent times, the show's numbers — to say nothing of its cultural relevance — have been on the same spiraling trajectory as that biplane Cruise dangled from in the latest Mission: Impossible movie. Viewership has fallen some 66 percent since the Oscars' peak in 1998 (Titanic year), with only about 20 million tuning in these days, about the same audience that turns out for a run-of-the-mill midseason NFL game. Meanwhile, Cruise, at 62, continues to draw arena-size crowds to his tentpoles. The most recent Mission: Impossible – the Final Reckoning, grossed $500 million worldwide last month, while Dead Reckoning Part 1 grossed $550 million in 2023. And then there's 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, the film that proved the pandemic hadn't entirely crushed the theatrical business. It grossed a stratospheric $1.5 billion, Cruise's personal best. The dramatic flip here is almost as jaw-dropping as one of Ethan Hunt's mask-pulling reveals. For decades, the Academy seemed to keep Cruise at a vaguely disdainful distance, dismissing him as more of an action figure than a serious ack-TOOR. Sure, they'd occasionally toss him a polite nomination — in 1989 for Born on the Fourth of July, in 1996 for Jerry Maguire and in 1999 for Magnolia — but they never invited him up to the podium to collect a statuette. He'd always remain stuck in the audience with the other losers, gamely flashing that famous 500-watt smile for the reaction shot. Honestly, the honorary Oscar announced this week feels like too little, too late. Because over the years, when he wasn't climbing Burj Khalifa or jumping motorcycles off cliffs, Cruise has turned in some truly nuanced, brave and definitely Oscar-worthy performances. And we're not just talking about the roles the Academy deigned to nominate — at least one of which, by the way, probably should have won (how Michael Caine's largely unremarkable performance in Cider House Rules beat Cruise's unforgettable turn as the toxically masculine 'respect the cock' motivational speaker in Paul Thomas Anderson's underrated 1998 drama Magnolia is a mystery for the ages). There were also Cruise's unnominated but award-worthy performances in Rain Man (opposite Dustin Hoffman), in Interview With a Vampire (opposite Brad Pitt) and in the late Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut (opposite some actress named Nicole Kidman). A reasonable argument could even be made that Cruise's fat-suited, Diet Coke-swilling, profanity-spouting studio exec in Tropic Thunder — the scene-stealing Les Grossman — was a performance worthy of some sort of award (at least the Golden Globes gave it a nom). As for why it's taken the Oscars so long to pay Cruise his due, one can only speculate. Perhaps it's all that gleaming charisma — he's always been too smooth, too slick, too commercial for the Academy's insular voters. Maybe it was Cruise's unabashed embrace of movie stardom over methody self-flagellation. Or maybe the Academy just couldn't bring itself to hand a gold statue to someone who once made a movie called Cocktail. Whatever the reason, the Oscars can no longer afford the luxury of snobbery. Because at this point, Cruise doesn't need an Oscar to cement his legacy. But the Oscars might just need him to save theirs. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)
