Kate Dickie, Peter Mullan triumph at Scottish Baftas

Feature by The Skinny | 07 Nov 2016

Crime drama Shetland wins big at the Scottish Baftas, while EIFF opener Tommy’s Honour takes home best film award

Last night, The British Academy Scotland Awards took place in Glasgow, celebrating the very best in film, television and games produced over the last year in Scotland.

The film acting awards went to Peter Mullan and Kate Dickie, two stalwarts of Scottish cinema who continue to make films at home despite international careers. Mullan won for his title role in sensitive drama Hector, in which he plays a man who’s been living rough on the streets for years. Dickie’s win, meanwhile, was justly deserved for her full-blooded performance in Tom Geens' Couple in a Hole.

When Dickie picked up her award, she praised the international nature of the team that brought Couple in a Hole to the screen. “We made a wee mongrel of a film, as I call it,” said Dickie. “We had Scottish actors, a Belgian director, we had Portuguese, we had French, we had all these nationalities, the way a film should be. So up you, Brexit!”

The best feature award went to another Peter Mullan film: father-son drama Tommy’s Honour, which saw off stiff competition from Terence Davies’ sumptuous Sunset Song and road movie Moon Dogs.

Ross Hogg and Duncan Cowles picked up a well deserved best short film prize for their stunning documentary-animation hybrid Isabella, which captures on film Hogg’s grandmother near the end of her life as she recalls vivid and violent stories from her childhood but struggles with memory lapses in the present due to dementia.

The other short film winner was Cat Bruce, picking up best animation for her elegiac stop motion film No Place Like Home.

Read our interview with Hogg, Cowles and Bruce as they discuss Scotland's vibrant short film scene

In television, the biggest winner was crime drama Shetland, which scooped two awards. Douglas Henshall won the best actor award for his role in the hugely popular BBC Scotland show, which also won in the best television drama category. Cult drama Outlander was also honoured, with Caitriona Balfe winning the best television actress prize, delighting the many Outlander fans who had gathered outside the venue.

There was also a special award on the night given to Sixteen Films, the production company formed by director Ken Loach, producer Rebecca O’Brien and writer Paul Laverty, for its outstanding contribution to film in Scotland. The films that team have made north of the border include My Name is Joe, Sweet Sixteen and, most recently, The Angels’ Share. Their latest film, I, Daniel Blake, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and is currently in cinemas.

The award was handed out to Laverty and O’Brien by Martin Compston, the former footballer who got his start in film in Sweet Sixteen. "I owe my entire career to Ken, Rebecca and Paul," Compston said. “Apart from being possibly the most important filmmakers Britain has ever had, they're just three lovely people who have taken a chance on people like myself and they deserve to be honoured in this way."

The winners in full:

Actor Film – Peter Mullan, Hector

Actor Television – Douglas Henshall, Shetland

Actress Film – Kate Dickie, Couple in a Hole

Actress Television – Caitriona Balfe, Outlander

Animation – No Place Like Home, Cat Bruce, Neil Jack (KoLik)

Children's Programme – All Over The Place, BBC Scotland/CBBC

Comedy/Entertainment – Mrs Brown's Boys 2015 Christmas special

Current Affairs – BBC Scotland Investigates: Britain's Puppy Dealers Exposed, Liam McDougall, Samantha Poling, Sandeep Gill

Director Film/Television – Douglas Mackinnon, Sherlock, The Abominable Bride

Factual Series – This Farming Life, BBC Studios/BBC Two

Feature Film – Tommy's Honour, Gutta Percha Productions, SellOutPictures

Features/Factual Entertainment – Supershoppers, Firecrest Films/Channel 4

Game – Glitchspace, Space Budgie

Short Film – Isabella, Ross Hogg, Duncan Cowles

Single Documentary – Dunblane: Our Story, STV Productions/Berriff McGinty Films/BBC One

Specialist Factual – Imagine... Richard Flanagan: Life After Death, BBC Studios/BBC One

Television Drama – Shetland, ITV Studios/BBC One

Writer Film/Television – DC Moore, Not Safe for Work

Outstanding Contribution to Craft – Christine Cant

Outstanding Contribution to Film - Sixteen Films, Ken Loach, Rebecca O'Brien, Paul Laverty