Organisers of the LandxSea Film Festival in Montrose are celebrating today, after official figures revealed record audiences of over 1600 admissions across a spectacular weekend of sell-out films for its second inspiring edition of environmental storytelling. Plans are already afoot for the festival to return in 2025.
The festival opened last weekend with the Scottish Premiere of Shetland-shot Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, which included in person appearances for the Montrose Q&A from the film’s narrators and stars Billy and Susan Mail. This opening night feature quickly became the hottest ticket in town, and so the documentary was screened across two sell-out cinemas at the Playhouse, with the Q&A live streamed to the second.
Festival co-founder Rachel Caplan said, “We were blown away by demand for Director Charlie Hamilton James’ opening night film, which charmed our audiences with its stunning cinematography and heartwarming story, about arguably the cutest otter ever to grace the silver screen! There was such a buzz on Friday evening when we opened the festival as over two hundred people descended on the Montrose Playhouse to kick off our 2024 edition of LandxSea.”
The festival also featured a UK premiere for Chasing Time, the spectacular new glacier documentary from the team behind Chasing Ice, while LandxSea wrapped with The Eagle With The Sunlit Eye, charting the dramatic re-introduction of the white-tailed eagle to the UK. An iconic red phone box was transformed into a one-person cinema for short films about last year’s devastating Brechin floods and feature screenings of the iconic Local Hero and documentary You’ve Been Trumped.
Montrose-based Director and LandxSea co-founder Anthony Baxter said, “We fetched the prop phonebox from the BBC’s River City studios for the duration of this year’s LandxSea, and with the help of local heroes, it was quickly transformed into Scotland’s smallest cinema – giving us the cosiest screen at the Playhouse. It was a fun, quirky addition that audiences seemed to love!”
Rachel Sarah’s Finding Bo, which follows photographer Karen Miller as she captures the lives of mountain hares, won the inaugural North Light Award for excellence in Scottish filmmaking and a £500 cash prize. The jury, comprising filmmaker Paul Sng, CinemAmbiente Torino festival director Lia Furxhi and Angus Climate Hub director Kate Munro, said, “The jury is unanimous in awarding Finding Bo the North Light Award in recognition of its originality of voice and artistic vision. The documentary enables the audience to connect with nature via an empathetic human protagonist, whose intimate connection to Bo is explored deeply in this compelling short film.” Meanwhile, Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, scooped the Audience Award as decided by festival audiences at the Montrose Playhouse.
Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said, "Film festivals, such as LandxSea, play an important part in Scotland’s screen industry success story by promoting domestic productions, supporting talent development, showcasing high-quality films and bringing important issues to the fore, such as sustainability and the environmental challenges that we face. It is encouraging to read the scope of your film festival in sharing environmental programming with audiences, connecting experts on the most pressing environmental issues, inspiring audiences to help bring positive change to our communities and environment. I appreciate the dual benefits the film festival will bring, both in cultural impacts, as well as contributing to our goal to achieve net zero."
In a first for LandxSea, Montrose primary and Academy school pupils enjoyed special screenings, and LandxSea’s Eco Fair successfully notched up a second year. And on Sunday morning, over a hundred brave festival-goers opted to plunge into the North Sea for the annual ‘Montrose beach dook’.
Other festival highlights included a special 'Coastal Erosion Summit' on the dramatic erosion of Montrose’s beach and the devastating floods that engulfed Brechin in 2023, with a string of experts and local politicians in attendance, along with locally made short films.
Meanwhile, festival organisers have today announced plans for its third edition - with next year’s festival to run from Friday 12th September to Sunday 14th September 2025.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Montrose LandxSea Film Festival SCIO is Scotland’s leading environmental film festival and the first film festival in Angus. LandxSea is pleased to have exceptional support from Screen Scotland, part of Creative Scotland, delivering services and support with funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery; and Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funds from Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI. Thank you to our Lead Sponsors: Angus Climate Hub, MW Ethics, Montrose Rope and Sail, and Scotia Seeds; and Supporting Sponsors: Carbon Financial and Sea Green Community Fund. Additional generous support is provided by the Montrose Playhouse.
Media Details
For further information and photographs, please contact Ruth Marsh on [email protected] / 07824468396
Finding Bo director Rachel Sarah and film's protagonist Karen Miller with festival director Rachel Caplan at the film's World Premiere at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Festival audience at the 2024 Montrose LandxSea Film Festival. Photo by Graham Black.
The Eagle with the Sunlit Eye director Ted Simpson at the film's Scottish Premiere at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Montrose Beach Dook at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Dùthchas—Community Forestry in Scotland director Jaye Renold with The TV Foundation's Gemma Bradshaw at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by LandxSea.
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story Opening Night Scottish Premiere at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Cuban Bees: The Organic Revolution director Daniesky Acosta at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Festival co-founders Anthony Baxter and Rachel Caplan inside the Red Phone Box Pop-Up Cinema at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Paul Reid.
Audiences interacting with blue marbles as planet Earth at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Audiences interacting with blue marbles as planet Earth at the 2024 LandxSea Film Fest. Photo by Graham Black.
Festival audience at the 2024 Montrose LandxSea Film Festival. Photo by Graham Black.