Entente Cordiale Centenary - Welcome

A series of short films for Channel 4, part of Scotland’s celebrations of the Entente Cordiale centenary, gave new Scottish directors their first big break.

Channel 4, Scottish Screen and the Scottish Executive joined forces to commission four short films, giving new Scottish directors their first opportunity to work for a UK-wide broadcaster, in works reflecting their diverse personal views of Paris. Production company Edinburgh Mediabase oversaw the production of the films, shown after the Channel 4 News in September, and also streamed on the C4 web site. The project reflects the partners’ mutual aim of developing new talent in Scotland.

To participate on the project, filmmakers were invited to present their ideas on how they would approach the subject, and their experiences of Paris, with those selected flown to the French capital, with a full production crew, for five days in June.

Channel 4 Director of Nations & Regions, Stuart Cosgrove, said: "We are pleased to be working with Scottish Screen and Scottish Executive on a project that will support new talent in Scotland. With a Channel 4 commission in their portfolio, it is hoped that each director selected will go on to find further success in television production."