“If you can’t believe in Nessie what can you believe in,” Robbie Moffat asks shortly after the release of his new film about the Loch Ness Monster.
The filmmaker, who grew up in Pollokshaws, is director of the feature Nessie which was shot in Scotland in summer 2022.
Released on Monday, June 3, Nessie tells the story of an American billionaire who spotted the illusive monster whilst on holiday as a child and leaves $50million to the village of Loch Ness in his will, much to the chagrin of his son who decides to contest.
The villagers then take on the task of proving to him that Nessie is in fact real.
“Nessie is one of those iconic fantasies we have in this country but it’s an international brand in a sense,” Robbie says on why he wanted to direct a new film about the legend.
“It’s something that we as Scottish people can build on to bring in tourism.”
The legend of Nessie dates all the way back to 565 but gained worldwide attention in the 1930s which has endured ever since.
Robbie continued: “Sometimes the world can be a very cruel place for a lot of people and we all go through ups and downs.
“But the nice thing about Nessie is we can believe in something. It’s intangible.
“It’s a bit like what’s in outer space.
“Nobody can prove it’s not there, but nobody can prove it is there.
“It’s one of those fantasies we all like to be carried away with.
“If you go back to your own childhood I’m sure you believed in Santa so I think it’s like trying to get in touch with the kid inside ourselves.”
Robbie, who attended Shawlands Academy, also co-wrote the script for Nessie which he produced with his company Palm Tree Universal and says he enjoyed the experience of returning to Scotland.
The 70-year-old explained: “The original writers [Catherin O’Reilly and Tim Churchill] were English and the Nessie story it was an outsiders point of view of what Scotland’s like with all the cliched put downs.
“So I worked on the script and what I added into it was more like a touch of local hero, whisky galore and maybe a bit Ned Devine.
“It’s like an outsider coming into a closed community to find what’s really going on.”
He added: “I’ve come back to Scotland quite a lot to shoot films.
“I love Scotland. I miss the hills and the openness, the sense of space and the fresh air.
“It’s a very unique country.”
The film stars actors including Patrick Kilpatrick (Minority Report), Tanya Fear (Midsomer Murders), Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty, Coronation Street) and John Michie (Coronation Street, Holby City, Casualty) alongside Caroline Guthrie, Gary Grant and David Goodall.
Robbie, who has directed more than 25 feature films, says the response to Nessie so far has been “very positive”.
“It doesn’t upset and it’s a crowd pleaser,” he says.
“It’s a really good family movie. It’s a feel good film.”
Nessie is now available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and YouTube movies.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here