Scottish filmmaker Rory Stewart to compete in Cannes

The selection for the 2017 Cannes Film Festival short film competitions were announced today, and The Skinny was delighted to see a familiar name among the emerging international talent: Edinburgh filmmaker Rory Stewart.

Stewart’s film Wild Horses will compete in the Cinéfondation strand, Cannes’ student film competition founded in 1998 to “inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers”.

Made while Stewart was studying at the National Film and Television School in London, the film’s trailer – which can be seen below – suggest the short concerns a young woman with ME and a love of horses. Emma Curtis is in the lead role, while animator Ainslie Henderson – another familiar name from Scotland’s short film scene – plays her tutor, who we see talking her through a short story she’s written about horses.

Back in 2014, Stewart became the first winner of The Skinny's Short Film Competition with his hilarious improvised short Good Girl. With his prize, he went on to make Misery Guts, which he made using a similar improvised style. Henderson appeared in both films.

Wild Horses’ inclusion in Cinéfondation makes it the only UK short film in either of Cannes' two short film competitions. Previous filmmakers who’ve competed in the Cinéfondation strand include Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), Jessica Hausner (Lourdes, Amour Fou), Antonio Campos (Simon Killer, Christine), and Finnish filmmaker Juho Kuosmanen, whose debut feature The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki won last year’s Un Certain Regard competition at Cannes.

The great Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) will lead the short film jury. We wish Stewart all the best for the competition; read our interview with Stewart from 2015.

Watch the trailer for @Festival_Cannes @Cinefondation selected film Wild Horses directed by @RoryAStewart https://t.co/rvYCFu4mGG pic.twitter.com/B0SwwXM9fV

— NationalFilmTVSchool (@NFTSFilmTV) April 12, 2017