A short film created for Scenes for Survival digital project is achieving great success at film festivals across the world.

Danni the Champion has now been selected for screening at seven international film festivals to date. The film is a powerful short drama from writer Iain Findlay Macleod, focussing on Danni, a teenager frustrated with her slow-paced island life.

Shot on location on the Isle of Lewis the film is directed by Laura Cameron-Lewis from new Isle of Lewis based production company Studio Fir Chlis and performed by Stornoway actor Francesca Taylor Coleman making her professional debut. The film features both English and Gaelic.

The international festivals include: 30th Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2021, Venice Shorts 2020, Chicago Indie Film Awards 2020, Breakout Film Festival 2020 & 2021, Short to the Point October 2020, 59th Ann Arbor Film Festival and Tokyo International Short Film Festival 2021.

Danni the Champion tells the story of young Danni who isn’t like the other girls in town. She’d rather be watching drag races down at the airport or tearing about behind the wheel of her brother’s car, Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes blasting on the stereo. Showing the audience her life on the island and how stifled she feels by her passive-aggressive parents, she dreams of hitting the road and showing everyone what she can do. 

Director, Laura Cameron-Lewis, says ‘I’m really thrilled to see such a great response to the film, it was such a meaningful piece for us, so it’s great to see it taking off like this. It excites me so much to think of Australians on Bondi Beach right now, looking in on Stornoway harbour! It’s an honour to be selected for these awards and festivals such as the 59thAnn Arbor Film Festival, and to know that for an international audience there’s an interest in experiencing the language and life of a young Gael in the Hebrides.’

Danni the Champion was originally part of Scenes for Survival, the acclaimed online season of short works created by the National Theatre of Scotland in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. 55 short films were released across BBC platforms from May to September 2020, achieving over 17 million audience views to date.

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