Set in the near future, May confronts the loss of her partner, Skerry, on a remote Scottish island. In a place haunted by memory, she engages in one final conversation, in an encounter that drifts between reality and simulation. As their story unfolds, the nature of Skerry’s presence becomes increasingly uncertain, revealing both the power and the limitations of technology, and the void left by grief.
Set in the Maya region of the Yucatan Peninsula, this short experimental documentary is a meditation on a young couple as they go about their day. Through transient glimpses into their world, the film delves into themes of ancestry, the climate crisis, mortality, tradition and family connection, offering an exploration of resilience and interconnectedness.
The film was produced during the Apichatpong Weerasethakul Lab in Mexico, under the consultancy of filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. A 12-day Creative Lab, where 50 creative directors from diverse nationalities and backgrounds gathered, with the aim to craft a short film outside of the places we have always inhabited and to be inspired by all that surrounds us. Additionally, to draw inspiration from the stories emanating from the ancestral territory, which continue to come alive in the present.
A Film produced during the Apichatpong Weerasethakul Lab: in México 2023
With the consultancy of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
A production of Playlab Films
Directed by Paul Gray
Produced by Estephania Bonnett
Title: Leonel & Lesli
Project Type: Documentary
Runtime:13:00 Mins
Country of Filming: Mexico
Language: Spanish, Maya
Format: DCI 4K
Aspect Ratio:16:9
Sound: 5:1
On the outside is now available on
Four stories from conversations with four women in prison. Told in their own words, as authors of their own representation. And retold by four actors.
On the Outside, is the outcome of a collaborative film project involving Director Paul Gray and a group of women who were serving prison sentences in Scotland at the time.
The film is told in four episodes that recount the four women’s stories, in their exact spoken words that were constructed from audio recordings of discussions held in the prison, including song and poetry. The stories are recounted by four actors, and explore the women’s life experiences, their hopes for the future and the relationships and bonds that formed between them.
On The Outside began when director Paul Gray was invited to develop an idea for a film project to involve a group of women who were serving sentences in HM Prison Polmont, Scotland. It was a collaboration where he and Producer Nas Saraei would help with the development and realisation of stories that the participants wanted to share. The premise of the project was to empower the participants as authors of their own representation. Paul led workshops where the group watched films and explored story-telling through the medium of film and followed up with one-to-one discussions. Without any fixed notion of what shape the films would take, they gradually became defined by the willingness of the participants to share their stories very directly with each other, and with Paul and Nas.
In the end the overarching idea that developed was a very simple scenario. The stories would be recounted while travelling on a car journey – the car being both a private space but within a public environment – a safe space akin to the education rooms that were occupied during the project, and representative of a desire to be elsewhere. Participation in the project was voluntary and the resulting work consists of four scripted episodes, one for each of the women who remained involved throughout the process. The scripts were taken from recordings of the discussions, using the participants’ exact spoken words, including song and poetry and were retold by four actors.
CAST
Abigail…….Sarah Dingwall
Vanessa…..Kirsty Strain
Gemma……Kirsty Findlay
Sandy………Marianne McIvor
CREW
Writers…..Paul Gray & the 4 participants of On the Outside
Director….Paul Gray
Producer..Nas Saraei
Executive Producers………Paul Gray, Lindsay Morgan
Director of Photography…Alkistis Terzi
Editor……………………………Olivia Middleton
Sound Designer…………….Jonathon McCloone
Sound Mix…………………….Zoë Irvine
Original Music(writer)……..‘Abigail’
Original Music(performance)…Sarah Dingwall &Matthew Cowan
First Assistant Director…..Demi Sutherland
1st Assistant Camera……..Jane Armstrong
Hair and Make-up………….Laura Hamilton
Gaffer…………………………..Andrew Glen
Sound Recordist……………Jonathon McCloone
And Violet is now available on demand from Amazon and Vimeo.
A coming of age drama about the interwoven and unravelling lives of teenage daughter Violet, her adoptive Mum and her birth Mum.
When Violet and her adoptive mum Cathy visit a small Scottish town one summer, they unexpectedly run into Violet’s estranged birth-mum Zoe. The mothers clash, and Violet struggles to navigate this complicated relationship. Cathy struggles to help her, as she becomes increasingly confused and angry.
The meeting also triggers something in Zoe, and she decides to change the direction of her life, returning to Edinburgh. It’s the city where Violet lives, but it’s also a city that holds dark memories of a difficult past.
Violet and Zoe connect again and begin an illicit online communication, but Cathy finds out and brings all contact to an abrupt end. Violet rebels against her and as Zoe self-destructively spirals out of control, Cathy has to urgently try to find a way back in to Violet’s life.
Written and Directed by PAUL GRAY
Starring HANA MACKENZIE,
KIRSTY STRAIN, SHONAGH PRICE,
IAN DUNN, DAVE HOOK, LIZ STRANGE, MATTHEW ZAJAC, PATRICK O’BRIEN, JAMIE MELROSE, TOMMY MULLINS, DALE MCQUEEN
Produced by PAUL GRAY and ALKISTI TERZI
Cinematography by ALKISTI TERZI
Edited by KIERAN GOSNEY
Sound Design by PETROS TSAFTARIDIS
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