Our Patrons
Our patrons support us in a number of ways, giving their time and expertise to our young people and helping them to understand the film industry.
Iain Smith
Born and raised in Glasgow, Iain is one of the UK’s most experienced film producers. He has served on the boards of the UK Film Council, Scottish Screen, the Joint board of Creative Scotland, the Children’s Film and Television Foundation. He has been a Governor of the National Film and Television School, Chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Film Industry Training Board and the Film Skills Council. Currently Chair of the British Film Commission, he is also a patron of the London Film School, sits on the Advisory Board of the Scottish Screen Media Academy, and the Media Academy Wales. He is a board member of Film London In 2005 he was awarded a BAFTA for Outstanding Achievement in Film, and was made an OBE by HM the Queen in 2008 for services to the film industry. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts at Edinburgh Napier University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Iain Smith has produced many successful and award winning films around the world, including “The Killing Fields”, “The Mission”, “The Fifth Element”, “Children of Men”, “Spy Game” “Cold Mountain” and most recently the six times Oscar winning “Mad Max: Fury Road”
I’m President Because…
I’m President because I believe Scotland badly needs to serve the interests of it’s young people better in finding creative and vocational opportunities in the media.
Jason Connery
Jason Connery has appeared in over 80 films, television movies and series, combined, since his breakthrough role as "Robin Hood" in the UK television series Robin of Sherwood in 1985.
He has since had starring roles in many feature films including Return of the Thief of Baghdad, Bullet to Beijing, Macbeth, Urban Ghost Story, Shanghai Noon, Wishmaster 3 The Gates of Hell, and Night skies. He has also starred in Television Movies, Merlin, Spymaker The Secret Life of Ian Fleming, Lightspeed, Mountain of Diamonds, and many series, Smallville, Liberty’s Kids, and Shoebox Zoo to name but a few.
In 2015 he shot Tommy’s Honour in Scotland and opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2016 and won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Film later in the year. He has a number of other projects in development, “Of Corset’s Mine” looks to be shooting in the spring of 2021. Connery has also been concentrating for the last 2 years on getting First Stage Studios in Leith, Edinburgh, up and running with his business partner Bob Last.
I’m a Patron Because…
I feel that there is far too much emphasis put on how much or who has the right to tell stories on film. If I can help young Scots, in any way extinguish that belief and promote the idea that anyone can tell their stories and it doesn’t have anything to do with money or right. It has to do with having fun, expressing themselves, telling their stories and not being hogtied by social constraints. That is why I am a SYFF Patron.
Jack Lowden
Jack Lowden is a graduate of the Scottish Royal Academy of Music and Drama.
Jack is currently starring in Apple TV's Slow Horses and will soon be seen as the lead in the BBC and Paramount+ drama series The Gold, directed by recent Oscar winner Aneil Karia (The Long Goodbye). Also on the horizon is The Outrun, which Jack has produced under his production banner, Arcade Pictures.
Previous films include Benediction, for which Jack won his second Scottish BAFTA, Dunkirk, Calibre, Mary Queen of Scots, Fighting with my Family and Tommy's Honour (directed by fellow SYFF patron, Jason Connery).
TV dramas include the aforementioned Slow Horses, Small Axe and War and Peace.
Jack’s breakthrough was in The National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Black Watch.
I’m a Patron Because…
Although I owe everything to stage, and the fantastic opportunities that were all around me growing up to be in amateur plays and youth theatre, that wasn't the same when it came to film. And that's where the majority of the work is now. So having something fantastic like SYFF available for young folk to get to grips with a film set early on is invaluable and something I wish I'd had.
Hiftu Quasem
Hiftu Quasem is a Scottish actress best known for her role as Misha in Ten Percent (Amazon Prime Video).
Hiftu has also appeared in the BBC’s award-winning series Killing Eve, The Witcher (Netflix), This is Going to Hurt (BBC), The Nest (BBC), Traces (BBC), and Endeavour (ITV).
She began her acting career in a range of short films such as Tehzeeb and Meet Me By The Water (written and directed by SYFF board member Raisah Ahmed). Theatre credits include: Miss Julie (Perth, Tron, and Edinburgh Festival Theatre) and At Home I Speak (Rich Mix Theatre).
I’m a Patron Because…
I believe the arts industry should be more accessible to young people from underrepresented communities. SYFF encourages young Scots to enjoy being creative, explore filmmaking with confidence and help boost the next generation of talent.
Andrew Rothney
Andrew has worked across film, television and theatre. His credits include
Television/ Film Credits: The Spanish Princess (Starz), The Victim (BBC), Catherine the Great (HBO/SKY), Outlander (Starz), Shetland (BBC), Holby City (BBC), Lost Girls and Love Hotels, Mary Queen of Scots, The Huntsman, The Matrix Resurrections, Traces (Series 2) and The Undeclared War (Channel 4)
His theatre credits include The James Plays (NTS), Small Island (National Theatre)
I’m a Patron Because…
Allowing young people to share their creativity and work towards a shared project is so important. The confidence it brings is priceless, by broadening their knowledge of film making, the industry and learning new skills.
Sara Vickers
Sara Vickers is an actor from Edinburgh. She was a member of the Lyceum Youth theatre whilst at school and moved to London in 2007 to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Since graduating she has worked extensively in television including The Watchmen (HBO), Guilt (BBC), Endeavour (ITV), Sunshine on Leith (DNA films), Mandown (CH4), The Alienist (TNT) and Shetland (BBC).
I’m a Patron Because…
I am an SYFF patron because I believe they provide truly unique and invaluable opportunities. I never had the chance to experience camera work before being on a job and there is so much to learn. SYFF allows young people the opportunity to explore the complex filming process at a grassroots level. They provide a place of safety to get creative, experiment, have fun and make friends. SYFF have the power to inspire and instil confidence in Scotland’s future film-makers.
Douglas Mackinnon
Douglas Mackinnon is primarily a television drama director, and a sometimes executive producer and showrunner, whose credits include Sherlock, Line of Duty, Doctor Who, Outlander, and Good Omens. Shows he has directed have been nominated for and won Emmy’s, BAFTA’s and many other awards, and have also made a lot of people rich, which he’s only mildly bitter about. The Sherlock episode he directed won him the BAFTA Scotland award for Best Director and won the Emmy for Best TV Movie. He likes the directing bit more than the recognition bit, but knows that one feeds the other. The shows he’s worked on have had a range of audience sizes, including in the 204 countries that Good Omens went out to, or the 120,000 people who once watched a documentary about the local newspaper on the Isle of Skye, where he’s from. He doesn’t know who watched Good Omens, but suspects he knows most of the 120,000 who watched the documentary.
I’m a Patron Because…
I’m a patron because I’ve seen the resultant light in the eyes of some of the young people who SYFF help make films and I want to try and help more have that experience. I also want more people to know how easy and difficult it is to make films, and how much joy there is in finding that out.
Kat Morgan
Kat started her career in Film and TV a little over 10 years ago, coming from an Arts background specifically in Oil Painting and Drawing before realising her passion for Hair and Make-Up Design. Kat started out as a Hair and Make Up Artist on Short Films and TV Series before designing her first feature film, LIMBO. Directed by Ben Sharrock and produced by Creative Scotland and Film4, LIMBO went on to make the Official Selection at Cannes, TIFF and LFF in 2020 and received two BAFTA nominations, as well as many other awards and nominations. Kat then went onto design Ruth Paxton’s A BANQUET which was part of both London and Glasgow Film Festival official selections; and critically acclaimed BLUE JEAN with Director Georgia Oakley which was also nominated for a BAFTA, several BIFAs and screened at both LFF and TIFF in 2022. Most recently, Kat has designed Nora Fingscheidt’s THE OUTRUN, starring Saoirse Ronan, based on the best-selling novel of the same title and Mikko Makela’s SEBASTIAN both part of Sundances 2024 Official Selection.
I’m a Patron Because…
For many young people, Film and television can be an integral part of who we are, how we perceive the world and finding relatability. They engage us and cause us to reflect and experience different emotions. This wasn’t an industry I felt was an option for me growing up in a small village in Fife but I want to encourage more young people to consider it as a viable career path.