Rebooted: The film showcase that launched major Scottish movie careers, including Mad Max producer

Now, a new version of Films of Scotland is to be relaunched with a series of short films by young people focusing on topics including rural isolation, identity - and fish and chips.

The initiative was inspired by the old Films of Scotland committee which was formed to produce seven films to showcase Scotland for the Empire Exhibition, held in Glasgow. These initial films were viewed by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.

The committee re-formed after the Second World War and continued to make films until the 1980s helping to nurture some of the country’s top filmmakers like Murray Grigor, Charles Gormley, Bill Forsyth, as well as Mr Smith, who was the producer of major films including Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fifth Element.

Now, it has been rekindled by the Scottish Youth Film Foundation (SYFF), which, in partnership with The Sean Connery Foundation, National Museums Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and VisitScotland, put out a call to young Scots to submit films showcasing what Scotland means to them. In total, 38 films were submitted to the competition.

Three winners were announced at an event at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday night. In the under 12 category, the winner was The Paisley Panther by a group of children from a Gaelic-speaking primary school in Paisley. Meanwhile a group from Perth won the and under13-18 category with There’s no place like Home and Juliet Storey scooped the 19-26 age category with her film Da Lass Dat Made The Bed For Me.

David Barras of SYFF, said: “The idea for a new version of Films of Scotland came from discussions with the SYFF Youth Board and our patrons about the need for better representation and more Scottish stories on screen. “

The films which the young people have made come from across the country and cover a variety of topics.

Mr Smith, now president of SYFF, said: “What young people need to be able to do is give voice to ideas that arise from their world. And that is the opportunity for a revived Films of Scotland. “

Jenni Steel, from VisitScotland, said: “Scotland has such a rich film heritage, and we know from research that seeing the destination on screen can have a positive impact on potential visitors. In fact, one on five people are inspired to visit Scotland having seen it featured on film or TV.

“Supporting the filmmakers of the future is incredibly important and we’ve really enjoyed being part of this whole project, seeing the range of topics portrayed by such talented young people.”

Dr Emily Munro from the National Library of Scotland said: “We are delighted to see the range of work being made by young filmmakers in response to the call. The original Films of Scotland are a keystone of our national film collection and, in recognition of this, the winning competition films will be preserved in the moving image archive to inspire future audiences and creators.”