Alasdair Gray

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

Fragment of a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, completed by Alasdair Gray. A dissolute medical student wakes up in the bedroom of a young woman who fascinates him, in a house where nightly gambling sessions are held.

A young boy who has recently lost his mother finds new meaning when a shooting star lands in his garden.

The screening of the short film 'Faces' at the 1961 Edinburgh and London Film Festivals kick started the film career of young McConnell, then studying at Glasgow School of Art. 'Faces', a comment on the personas we adopt, was inspired by a visit to the Brussels Experimental Film Festival of 1958 where McConnell saw the work of many European film makers, films of a genre unseen at that time in Britain. Many were without words, telling their stories in a variety of genres, live action, animation, puppetry, and making social comments on their times.

The story of whisky has been told many times. But this film takes a different view, showing how it has been shaped by geology and climate, by tales told on the side of the road and in the corners of pubs. Whisky is a product of folklore and myth, of music and alchemy, of chance rather than design. This is the twisting, shifting and multi-layered tale. In this journey through the lesser-known parts of Scottish whisky culture, we follow spirits writer Dave Broom on his quest to gain a deeper understanding of his national drink. While whisky has never been as popular, it is often seen in the context of being a brand which sits outside people’s lives. It’s often thought of as a drink which speaks of the past rather than engaged with a dynamic present.

A dramatised account of the manufacture of a woollen garment.

The Bedfords tells the story of Sir Edwin Landseer, a famed artist and favourite portrait painter of Queen Victoria. The film opens on Landseer as he travels from his studio in London to the Highlands of Scotland to visit The Bedford family whose portrait he has been commissioned to paint. After the long coach journey north Landseer awakes and makes a sleepy entrance to the Highland home of The Bedfords. The domineering Duke of Bedford welcomes Landseer as the family gather in the drawing room to meet this famous London artist, a celebrity of his day.

Experimental documentary.

A picture of the development of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, as seen through the photography of Scots-Italian photographer Oscar Marzaroli.

Alasdair Gray is one of the giants of Scottish Arts, gaining a reputation as a great writer, artist, notorious drunkard, irascible interviewee and controversial essayist. In this intimate portrait, filmed over the course of 15 years, he has allowed himself to be filmed creating work that has become part of the living heritage of Scotland. This feature length documentary gets behind the hype, revealing a character who is by turns incisive, chaotic and laugh out loud funny. There is no one better that Alasdair if you want to understand the cultural drive for independence.