Netflix thriller set in Scotland crowned the best of Edinburgh’s film festival
A Neflix production has picked up the major honour at the Edinburgh Film Festival for the first time.
Calibre, which charts the nightmarish events that unfold for two friends after a tragic accident on a weekend hunting trip, won the long-running Michael Powell Award for best British film at the event.
The film boasts a dark thriller set, which sees a country park in West Lothian stand in for the Scottish Highlands.
Sir Sean Connery’s son Jason was on the jury panel for this year’s Michael Powell Award, which has been running for nearly 30 years. The film – a debut feature launched by filmmaker Matt Palmer at the festival – is said to have been inspired by classic thrillers like Deliverance, Straw Dogs and Southern Comfort. The main characters Vaughn and Carter are turned on by the locals in an isolated village as they face an increasingly desperate battle for survival.
The two leads are played by rising Scottish star Jack Lowden, whose previous credits include Dunkirk and last year’s closing gala England Is Mine, in which he played indie-rock icon Morrissey, and Northern Irish actor Martin Mccann.
Matt Palmer, the writer and director of Calibre, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled and hugely honoured to have received the Michael Powell Award for Calibre.
“Winning this prestigious award represents an amazing culmination to the nine years of intense work, which brought the film to fruition.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without the constant belief, spirit and commitment of producers Al Clark and Anna Griffin, the incredible support of Creative Scotland, Creative England and our other funders, and the absolutely outstanding work of our irrepressible, highly talented cast and crew.
“This is a hugely exciting moment as we now also move towards our global release on Netflix. This award is for everyone involved in Calibre.”
This year’s film festival will close with the premiere of Welsh star Rob Brydon’s new comedy Swimming with Men on Sunday.