Southside bar hosts unique hit film night

Loks Bar and Grill played host to the event involving actors and directors of seven homegrown films currently enjoying film festival success around the world.

Staged in the venue’s Newlandsfield suite, films shown included “Tanner Park”, a sci-fi thriller by film-maker Ian Hendry set in Glasgow; video journalist Camelia Cazan’s tense drama “Monday”; and When a Man Loves a Woman, featuring Glaswegian actress Jay Spence.

Others included Platinum Backpack, an ambitious media mash-up that includes 50 different effect shots; February 29, a mystery thriller; and Flake, a coming-of-age story set in Chicago by director Khaela Correa.

It was financed by a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter and officially selected for the Berlin Flash Film Festival and the Roselle Park Short Film Festival in New Jersey.

The event was organised by Craig MacLachlan (pictured), a former actor who runs MacLachlan84 Productions in Glasgow.

He said: “This was a rare chance to see the work of the cream of the Scottish independent film industry.

“Their films have been selected for some of the world’s top short film festivals and watching them together is a great experience.

“Some of the world’s top film-makers including Ron Howard, Christine Lahti, Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg began their careers making shorts and it’s a great medium in which to learn your trade.

“It’s where you learn your trade and cut your teeth. That’s where you realise what you want to do. You do what you want. You make mistakes and you learn from them.”