Director’s recce trip to hamlet in Sutherland
TO PREPARE for his debut feature film, Matt Palmer headed to the hills to get a proper feel for the environment.
After coming up with the idea for the script, the director visited Sutherland to research rural areas and the deer-stalking world.
Far from being intimidated by the wilderness, he was blown away by how welcoming the local people were.
Palmer said: “I went up to do a recce in the Highlands to get a sense of it.
“Initially, there was less colour to the locals but I got to grips with making them living, breathing characters who have a moral dilemma.
“I love 70s thrillers like Deliverance but it is very weighted towards city folk and the locals are the threat.
“I always thought that was unfair and wanted to muddy up that morality.
“I went to Altnaharra in Sutherland – one of the most isolated places in the country. Going up there for a sense of life in remote areas definitely helped us create a more interesting world.
“The first lesson I got was that life just went on around me. People were working, so didn’t have time to talk and that helped me understand the huge economic pressures up there.
“But I met a hunting expert and he set me up with all the people I needed to talk to.
“I found them to be really friendly.
“I’m delighted that with the film going on Netflix, it’ll be easier for people in the Highlands to see it – as it might have been more difficult to see it in a cinema.”