Living With It and Pembe Ay (Pink Moon) to screen at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023

Bombito Productions is delighted to announce that 'Living With It' and 'Pembe Ay' (Pink Moon) will be screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023!

Living With It

Conceived, directed, edited and animated by Holly Summerson - and written by Nikki Rooney - 'Living With It' sees perfectionist Lee (Annabelle Davis) needing to adapt to the imperfect reality of living with a disease brought to life as a chaotic supernatural flatmate, Bug (Lawrence Chaney). Narrated superbly by actor/comedian Rachel Jackson.

Director Holly Summerson:

“Accepting disability as an important, normal part of your life is a complicated feeling - it’s incredible to have the opportunity to explore this with humour, strangeness and sensitivity in 'Living With It'.

“I am so lucky to have worked with this brilliant team, who’ve brought their own experiences, insights and exceptional skills to this film. It’s so exciting that we get to share it at Edinburgh International Film Festival!! Just down the road from where a lot of 'Living With It' was animated, shaped and dreamed about - and as part of such an outstanding, inspiring festival selection.”

Pembe Ay

During the Pink Moon season - which sees rebirth after winter - Meray leaves Scotland and revisits her childhood home to be with her father, and work through their garden, as it blossoms on the politically and physically divided island of Cyprus. While this once gave her nightmares of the conflict, Meray now finds this ignites her conversations with her father. The filmmaker digs into the intergenerational trauma, and how the conflict, opposing views to her father, and restrictions in north Cyprus affected her migration.

The film is in Turkish and will have English descriptive subtitles in all screenings.

Director Meray Diner:

“To my knowledge, I am the first Turkish Cypriot filmmaker who is showing a film in EIFF, so I can't help but feel very emotional and a great sense of empowerment through this film and the event. I am excited about the world premiere of Pembe Ay (Pink Moon) in my second home Scotland, a place that gave me the opportunity to tell my story.”

Book Tickets

Pink Moon Screening Times:

• 19.08.2023 15:00 VUE Screen 10 (sold out)

• 19.08.2023 15:10 VUE Screen 11

• 19.08.2023 15:20 VUE Screen 12 (with AD)

Book tickets here via the EIF website.

Living With It Screening Times:

• 23.08.2023 19:10 VUE Omni Screen 10 (sold out)

• 23.08.2023 19:20 VUE Omni Screen 11

• 23.08.2023 19:30 VUE Omni Screen 12

Book tickets here via the EIF website.

Clean wins Short Film Award at GSFF

Miranda Stern's documentary 'Clean' has won the Scottish Short Film Award at the 16th edition of Glasgow Short Film Festival (GSFF).

The film

A short and personal female-centred documentary about addiction and long-term recovery from it.

Miranda weaves together observational and lyrical elements to take us into the challenging, deeply personal and relatively unknown world of recovery – along with the processes of care that follow in the years after a period of active addiction.

This is one couple’s journey together as they negotiate the world of recovery and how to plan for a future with so much uncertainty in it.

The award

The Scottish Short Film Award honours inspiration and innovation in new Scottish cinema, and saw 20 new films compete, including 5 World Premieres.

The GSFF23 Scottish Short Film Award was awarded by a jury consisting of Girl director Adura Onashile, FilmFest Dresden co-director and Locarno Pardi di Domani selection committee member Anne Gaschütz and programmer and industry coordinator for Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Julie Rousson.

Miranda won for Clean and receives a cash prize of £1000.

The jury said:

"We were deeply touched by the emotion driven by this very personal testimony, and surprised by the lightness of touch as we enter a film that does not prepare you either for its essence or conclusion… The strength of the vision, the detail of a relationship, the commitment to overcoming a deep personal struggle was for us filmmaking at its most urgent, dynamic, heartbreaking and ultimately liberating."

Miranda said:

"I cannot fully articulate how much this means to me both professionally and personally, but this is my attempt to put it into words…

I have this really vivid memory of trying to get through a cold turkey and searching online for stories of other people who’d been through this impossible thing and come out the other side. I so desperately wanted to hear success stories, and it really struck me in that moment that there just weren’t very many out there. Or rather there were, but I didn’t have access to them because the dominant narrative that exists tends to focus on the dark descent into addiction and ends in relapse or death. The challenging, deeply personal, and unknown world of recovery and hope is rarely explored. It’s hard not to internalise some of that sense that addiction is a hopeless situation with no way out other than in a coffin, or prison.

This film wouldn’t have happened without the immeasurable and unquantifiable support from all the people I had in my corner. You know who you are.

I’d also like to take a moment for all the addicts that still suffer. This is a disease from which there is no known cure. It’s taken too many people and it is relentless. It can, however, be arrested at some point and recovery is then possible.

That’s the only message that really matters."

***Miranda***

Miranda speaking at GSFF

Further information

• Directed and Edited by Miranda Stern

• Cinematographer: Julyan Sinclair

• Producer: Reece Cargan

• Executive Producer: Sue Bourne

• Composer: Rotem Frimer

• Edit Consultant: Emiliano Battista

• Colourist and Online Editor Karolina Matela

• Sound Designer: Alina Ushakova

• Dubbing Mixer: Joseph Russell

Developed, supported and executive produced by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme and Screen Scotland.

Screening or distribution requests

Please contact Alexandra via festivals@scotdoc.com

2 Bombito produced shorts to screen in competition at Glasgow Short Film Festival

Glasgow based filmmakers get a chance to screen on home turf this February. Clean and Who I Am Now will both screen in the Scottish Competition at the prestigious, BAFTA-qualifying Glasgow Short Film Festival (GSFF).

The Scottish Short Film Award at GSFF, is the largest annual showcase of its kind and honours inspiration and innovation in new Scottish cinema.

Both directors and majority crew of both films live in Glasgow so this is extra special - on top of Glasgow always being such an fun, important and thought provoking short film festival.

CLEAN - 23 March

A short and personal female-centred documentary about addiction and long-term recovery from it.

Director Miranda Stern weaves together observational and lyrical elements to take us into the challenging, deeply personal and relatively unknown world of recovery – along with the processes of care that follow in the years after a period of active addiction.

This is one couple’s journey together as they negotiate the world of recovery and how to plan for a future with so much uncertainty in it.

Fresh from screening in competition at Clermont Ferrand, Miranda can finally watch her film with an audience in the city she calls home.

Directed and Edited by Miranda Stern and developed, supported and executive produced by Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme and Screen Scotland.

Watch Clean at GSFF

Clean will screen in the Scottish Competition - Scottish Short Film Award 1: (Un)Tethered You can watch the film on 23 March, 21:00, CCA Theatre

Get tickets and more information

Who I Am Now - 26 March

This live action and animated short features 2 trans refugees sharing their stories about the families we are born into, and the families we make from our friends…

This is a trans led film, made by a trans director, trans cast and a majority queer crew.

The cast features Talisa Garcia, Disney's first openly trans actress (Willow) and BAFTA winner Adam Kashmiry.

This film is meant to highlight how we within the community tell our stories to each other, details can be left unsaid both to avoid triggering trauma and because we often share similar experiences.

Written by Michael Lee Richardson - based on a story by Adam Kashmiry and Zan Scott.

Director & Editor Jack Goessens

Producer: Reece Cargan

DOP: David Lee

Animator: Holly Summerson

Funded by Creative Scotland's Create: Inclusion fund and LEAP Sports Scotland.

Watch Who I Am Now at GSFF

Who I Am Now will screen in the Scottish Short Film Award 4: Navigations You can watch it on 26 March, 15:15, GFT Cinema 2

Get tickets and more information