Marwan - Tomorrow's Freedom

Director: Sophia Scott, Georgia Scott

Year: 2016

Spending over a year in Lebanon on the borders of Syria, documentary directors Sophia Scott and Georgia Scott tell the story behind the news reports. The film is a reflection of the strange chaotic lives of the people living in the shadow of the Syrian war, giving an intimate look at how four Syrians, whose collective struggles constitute the new frontline of the refugee crisis, are trying to find ways to overcome the torment of their shattered lives. Interwoven through the film are the contributions of a German professor who works with the local Syrian and Lebanese communities in the north trying to build a new model for peace through interfaith dialogue and access to education for the displaced Syrian children. These are the Syrian people who we see in the news drowning in the Mediterranean. These five protagonists are the people who will bring forward the global debate on the conflicts at hand from a human, rather than figures-based point of view.

Director: Callum McCulloch-Nowlan

Year: 2026

Rob Beaton has been weaving tartan and tweed in the Scottish Borders since he was 14. Now 84, he is Scotland's oldest and longest-serving mill worker, operating 100-year-old traditional shuttle looms. With no apprentice to carry on his craft, the mill where he has worked for over four decades may soon be forced to close. But elsewhere in Scotland, a different story is unfolding. At another mill in Highland Perthshire, a young apprentice is learning the trade, and the ancient rhythms of the looms are being passed to a new generation. Once, Scotland's textile industry employed nearly 75% of the population. Today, that figure stands at just 0.2%. Against the backdrop of that decline, the stories of these two mills paint a portrait of an industry at a crossroads. Through his film, Callum McCulloch-Nowlan celebrates the workers, machines, and spaces of Scotland's weaving tradition, while exploring the urgency of preserving a disappearing craft.

Director: Lee Arthur Patterson

Year: 2026

Edinburgh has a developed network of greenways. One key 60 year old route, The Roseburn Path, is under threat of being significantly transformed into a Tramway. The documentary explores the history, development, social and wellbeing benefits for residents of the path and contrasts the competing needs of development and connectivity.