A Glasgow filmmaker has told of her excitement as her latest project is set to be showcased at one of the most prestigious short film festivals in the world.
Erin Gavin’s ‘Gaming For Love’ will be played at the LA Shorts International Film Festival – which is accredited by the Academy Awards and BAFTA – this month.
The film is said to be based on true events and follows the story of a terminally ill young girl who finds an escape in online gaming.
Erin, who grew up in the city’s Southside, explained that the project was filmed entirely in Glasgow city centre, including a flat on West George Street and The Buff Club.
She said: “The movie is inspired by true events and I really wanted to tell the story so I wrote it in a script format.
“I started writing it in January of this year and we’d wrapped up filming and I had the first edit by the end of February.
“We filmed it in Glasgow city centre in an apartment on West George Street and Buff Club. We didn’t need too many locations to tell the story which was great.
“Naturally we were on a bit of a budget so I used some of my own money and the rest was raised on GoFundMe.
“Before I knew it I had enough there to make a short film and once it was finished I put it through the film festival circuit.
“I wasn’t sure where it was going to get and I took a chance by putting it into some of the biggest film festivals in the world and it got into the biggest short film festival.
“It’s amazing and I couldn’t do it without everybody who put in the time and energy to help us make it.”
Delving further into the plot – without giving everything away – Erin explained that the young girl’s parents don’t really understand her love for gaming and wish she could be out with friends.
When the youngster tragically passes away her parents are left in awe by a kind-hearted gesture at her funeral from gamers all over the world.
Erin noted that the team involved in the production of ‘Gaming For Love’ were all from Scotland and she looks forward to showcasing Scottish talent on a global stage.
She added: “Everyone involved is Scottish and it was good because there needs to be more in the way of film and entertainment opportunities in Scotland.
“LA Shorts is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures and BAFTA, they recognise a few festivals but this is one that they really carefully look at.
“I believe the Academy select a few short films from LA Shorts for Oscar nominations so you never know, that’s the dream.
“I’m not going to stop here I’ve made a couple of different films including a documentary that’s under wraps with a couple of networks, I did a kids show as well which is with another network but this particular one for some reason seemed like the perfect one to go into film festivals.
“It was a sigh of relief when we found out it was going to be shown at LA Shorts because you always hope people will enjoy it but sometimes you never know.
“So to be able to see people reacting to it is going to be an amazing feeling. Next, I’m definitely going to do a movie and I’m going to shoot it in Scotland.”
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