PUPILS at Wallace High School have set to work on their production for the Gaelic Short Film Competition, FilmG.

The workshop, which was one of 35 being delivered by FilmG across Scotland, gave the children a unique opportunity to work with professional filmmakers and actors to make a five-minute short film in Scottish Gaelic which they can enter into a competition being run by FilmG.

The FilmG project has been running for 12 years and the youth category has grown beyond all expectation, from 12 films in the first year to 70 youth entries last year and the bulk of these entries come through FilmG’s innovative workshops programme.

There are 15 tutors on the FilmG bank, based in many regions, from Lewis, to Glasgow, to Inverness.

This week, they worked under the guidance of FilmG Tutors Hamish MacLeod and Lana Pheutan.

Pupils prepared their own script, props and locations ready for their day of filming, followed by a day of editing.

Their film is an ambitious socio-political comedy starring some unexpected superheroes. They look forward to sharing it with audiences when the FilmG entries go live in December.

The main youth category prize is £1,000 for Best Film.

Eilidh Rankin, FilmG project manager, said: “The FilmG Workshops programme is a fantastic opportunity for high school pupils to get their teeth into a project and to speak Gaelic outwith the formal classroom environment.

“We encourage pupils to use their individual talents within the team; with room for everyone to shine. We hope FilmG continues to uncover budding writers, actors, prop-makers, make-up artists, interviewers, social media officers, camera operators and directors for many years to come!”

Independent Filmmakers of high school age are also encouraged to go it alone, with a £500 prize available to the Best Young Filmmaker, with other awards open to independent entrants as well.

The recent addition of the Best Youth Group Film award – which is open to primary classes and youth clubs for children of primary age – has also been a hit and organisers of FilmG hope to see equally healthy entry numbers this year.

The FilmG project is funded by MG ALBA, and delivered by Cànan Graphics Studio on the Isle of Skye, with Bòrd na Gàidhlig also providing support.

The FilmG deadline is 10 December, for more information visit filmg.co.uk.