Caithness film funder launched

TWO brothers from Freswick are aiming to pass the final hurdle that will see the completion of Playhouse – the first fiction feature film to be filmed entirely in Caithness.

Fionn and Toby Watts are raising funds to pay for the last remaining elements of post-production – including covering the cost of recording with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and getting a professional colour grade as well as the editing of a promotional trailer.

Toby said: "We launched a very exciting crowdfunding campaign on Monday to finish the last few bits of post-production on the feature film. The last production recognised by the industry to have filmed in Caithness is The Silver Darlings, in 1947."

The crowdfunding page will run until September 13 and aims to raise £8900 for the final stages of editing.

The brothers created their film production company, Far North Film, in 2011 and since then have made hundreds of short videos, documentaries, music videos and dramas for numerous clients.

Fionn said that their passion had always been to make "bold and exciting films for the big screen", so after writing a suitable screenplay they worked together to produce and direct the project – a feature-length film called Playhouse filmed in and around Freswick Castle.

In Playhouse, the forbidding Freswick Castle forms a perfect backdrop to the story of an irreverent writer who develops a horror theatre show in a remote location only to find a real nightmare is already waiting for him.

The brothers spent several years working on various ideas for films before creating the finished script for their supernatural thriller. Toby said that the question then arose of how they would fund the venture. "After hitting many brick walls with accessing public funding for our first feature film, our plan became all about raising the money independently."

Fionn added: "Given the unique selling point of this being Caithness's first feature film in over 70 years, we're very optimistic that we can garner the support we need."

The Watt brothers hope the feature will be the first of many filmed in Caithness, made through Far North Film.

The crowdfunding page can be found at www.kickstarter.com/projects/tobywatts/playhouse-feature-film-scottish-castle-horror

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