Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Salsburgh’s film hotspot
Student Liam brings Rainman to Monklands village streets
Hollywood, Bollywood, Pinewood... Salsburgh?
When it comes to shooting movies, the Monklands village might not be the most obvious of locations but, thanks to the creative vision of a local student, cameras and boom mikes will soon be seen on the community’s streets.
Liam Downie will bring terror to his home village next month when he helms found-footage horror film The Rainman.
The paranormal project is part of the 20-year-old’s HNC Film and Television course at New College Lanarkshire’s Cumbernauld campus and he will be graded for his work.
Liam’s first ever movie mixes reality with fantasy, as he revealed to the Advertiser: “The Rainman is about a group of film students tasked with creating a documentary of any choosing for their course.
“They decide to document the infamous legend of The Rainman, a malevolent paranormal entity which terrorises the small, isolated village of Salsburgh.
“But the group soon find out that the tales and legend of The Rainman have been watered down significantly, and have no idea what they are pitting themselves up against; it turns out this is something not to be messed with.
“The whole film will be shot in Salsburgh over four or five days at the end of March.
“I will then edit it afterwards and plan to make two different versions of the movie; an extended cut that I’m going to enter into film festivals and the original version for my graded unit.
“Although I will be submitting the film to festivals off my own back, I have some good contacts in the industry and access to producers.”
Former Kirk O’Shotts Primary and Caldervale High pupil Liam had to hire his very own cast for his debut movie but is “delighted” with the talented stars who are on-board.
It’s an ensemble that includes Cairnhill actor David Byrne, 17, who won the Best Newcomer Award from the UK Screen Acting Academy in 2016.
Liam said: “The cast are all external and are a really good bunch who I’m sure will do a first-class job.
“I have seven cast members and four extras and five or six crew members involved in the film.
“I wrote the story and will be directing it; I have locked down locations and notified authorities and the council about the shoot.
“We will all do everything to ensure that the film is the best it can be as this is my passion project that I’ve wanted to bring to a wider audience for many years.”
Although The Rainman is Liam’s first time behind the camera, he has always had a keen passion for filmmaking and his creative juices also saw him fund his own independent game development studio, SolarDarkGames (SDG), who are currently putting together their debut title The Estate.
Liam added: “I have always been attracted to being creative and used to always write short stories at school; I actually won an award for one in Primary Seven, which I read out in front of the whole school.
“The Rainman is my first movie and although it’s a new challenge having to deal with things like actors’ schedules and location scouting, I am really enjoying it.
“I finish my course in June and after my work has been graded, the next step will be the HND [Film and Television] course.
“I then plan to go on to university and I’m looking to develop a career in directing; I have a real passion for film.”
To find out more about The Rainman and its production, visit www.facebook.com/ TheRainmanMovie/
The cast will do a first-class job