Hallam Foe hailed at Berlin Film Festival

A SCOTS feature film has left the Berlin Film Festival with not one but two prizes, including one for Best Music.

Hallam Foe – directed by David Mackenzie, and shot in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Borders – has taken a Silver Bear award for Best Music – composed by Scottish band, Franz Ferdinand – plus the independent jury prize from the Guild of the German Art House Cinemas.

The film, adapted from a novel by Peter Jinks, tells the story of Hallam, a young man (played by Jamie Bell, aka Billy Elliot) who falls in love with a girl (Sophia Myles) who reminds him of his recently-deceased mother.

It is produced by Sigma Films, the Glasgow-based producers of critically-acclaimed, multi award-winning feature, Red Road.

The making of the film was supported by Scottish Screen. Carole Sheridan, its head of Talent and Creativity, and an executive producer on Hallam Foe, said: “Scottish Screen is delighted to have been involved in and provide support to this project since the very beginning, and we are thrilled that it has won these awards at Berlin, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.”

The festival’s main award, a Golden Bear, went to Tuya’s Marriage (Tu ya de hun shi), by Wang Quan’an.