Tuesday, 16 April 2013

‘Happy Lands’ star up for BAFTA - A news article by Ciaran Sneddon


A Fife man has been nominated for a BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award for his performance in the community film ‘The Happy Lands’.
George “Joki” Wallace played the role of Dan Guthrie in the film, which premiered at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. The film has gone on to receive fantastic reviews and is currently on a roadshow across the UK and abroad in an effort to be noticed by a distributor who can promote the film further.
The film is based in a fictional Fife community during the 1926 miners’ strike and consequent lockout. It follows three families: the Brogans, Baxters and Guthries. Dan Guthrie is the stalwart of the community and is head of the miners’ committee.
Joki, who has never acted before, spoke about how he set about bringing the character to life.
“Having been brought up in a West Fife mining village, I followed my grandfathers and father into the coalmines, working on the coalface for 28 years. My own experiences working in the coalmines, and the stories I heard from the 'auld boys' when I was growing up, helped me enormously to portray my character Dan Guthrie in the film.”
The film was shot across Fife and Edinburgh and features an amateur cast made up of members of the local community.
Further information about the film can be found by searching ‘The Happy Lands’ on Facebook.
The BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards 2013 will take place on Thursday 21 March.


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