THE First Minister was among those handing out the awards last night as the best of Scottish screen talent was celebrated at the British Academy Scotland Awards.
Hosted by Edith Bowman, the awards recognise the best in film, television and games produced in Scotland over the last year.
Nicola Sturgeon presented the award for Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television to performer Alan Cumming at the ceremony in Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel.
Among the friends and colleagues who paid tribute to Cumming were Whoopi Goldberg, Lisa Kudrow, Maureen Beattie and Kirsty Wark.
Other presenters included former Dr Who actress Karen Gillan, Brian Cox and Rupert Everett.
Cumming’s award was one of three special recognitions, with production designer Pat Campbell honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Craft and Paddy Higson winning the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Scottish Industry.
In competitive categories, Armando Iannucci and Scotland 78: A Love Story were the night’s biggest winners, with each picking up two awards.
Iannucci won awards for Film/Television Writer and Fiction Director for his satire The Death of Stalin, while John MacLaverty took home Factual Director and Single Documentary for Scotland 78: A Love Story.
Documentary Nae Pasaran, about the Scottish Rolls-Royce workers who grounded General Pinochet’s air force amidst a brutal crackdown in Chile, triumphed in the Feature Film category, with director Felipe Bustos Sierra and contributors Bob Fulton, John Keenan and Robert Sommerville accepting the award.
Other winners included actors Shauna McDonald, Jack Lowden, Chris Reilly and Elaine C Smith, TV comedy Scot Squad, documentary Violent Men and Rupert Everett: Born to be Wilde, which was awarded the Specialist Factual prize.
Jude MacLaverty, director of BAFTA Scotland, said: “We are thrilled to celebrate the inspiring work that’s being produced in Scotland, and the fact that so much Scottish talent is being recognised internationally in the screen industries.”
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