The List

From THE LIST magazine (issue 592)

A short Scottish documentary film is set to be screened at the world renowned Sundance festival.

The independent film festival, helmed by Hollywood star Robert Redford, will premiere Yasmin Fedda’s Breadmakers, a 12-minute film about a community of bakers with learning disabilities set in Edinburgh’s Garvald Bakery, which has already picked up the Best Short Scottish Documentary Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2007 and a BAFTA Scotland nomination for best short film.

The film was made as part of the Bridging the Gap New Talent Initiative, run by the Scottish Documentary Institute and funded by Scottish Screen National Lottery, Skillset Film Skills Fund and supported by Edinburgh College of Art and ADMC.

Noé Mendelle, director of Bridging the Gap said: ‘It’s our first film to get selected by Sundance, and we hope this is the first of many more in the future. It’s a great endorsement of our hard work in the last few years, and a brilliant way for Yasmin and the Bridging the Gap scheme, to get noticed within the wider filmmaking community.’

Leslie Finlay, Development Executive at Scottish Screen added: ‘It is fantastic news that Breadmakers has been selected for Sundance, one of the world’s premiere showcases for new work. Breadmakers is a heartwarming film with a talented team behind it and exemplifies what Bridging The Gap and Scottish Screen are aiming to achieve through our New Talent Development Initiative.’

Presenting 120 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in seven distinct categories and 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has grown in stature since its conception over two decades ago. As a film showcase it has introduced American audiences to cult classics such as American Splendor, Clerks, Hustle and Flow, Maria Full of Grace, Napoleon Dynamite and Sex, Lies and Videotape. This year’s opening night film is the world premiere of In Bruges, written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker and award-winning playwright, Martin McDonagh.

The next Sundance takes place in Park City, Utah, Thu 17–Sun 27 Jan.