Bafta- winning actor to premiere film at GFT
A BAFTA- WINNING actor will premiere his new film at Glasgow Film Theatre this weekend.
Daniel Kerr, who won the award for his role in 2013 film The Wee Man, is set to premiere his second short film Your Move on Saturday.
The film is about two characters from different backgrounds playing a game of chess.
Daniel, from Bearsden, explained: “One’s from an affluent background and one’s had quite a tough time of it and it’s essentially about how their different backgrounds have informed their idea of winning.
“They immediately go into a conflict with each other just because of how different their upbringings have been.
“I made the film with the intention of exploring what winning and the idea of winning can do to someone and whether it’s from a sense of having to prove yourself or whether it’s from a sense of entitlement.”
Daniel, who has also starred in Outlander and Doctor Who, says he came up with the idea because he believes a lot of people “shed decency for the idea of winning” and was heavily inspired by The Shining for some of the “creepy bits of the film”.
The 23- year- old said: “Whether it’s winning in business, debates or politics, I think a lot of people are driven by the idea of success and that can often come at the cost of other things that are really important like being decent to people.
“I think that can often get pushed aside if all you think about is winning and I wanted to explore the primal need to do whatever you can to win and how damaging that can be.”
He added: “I want people to feel a bit uneasy when they watch it and question what’s really going on.”
Your Move was shot over five days in the Knightswood Anniesland Trinity Church in August last year and stars Waterloo Road actor Zachary Sutcliffe alongside Daniel.
The film comes after the success of Daniel’s short film Norm which was released in 2021 and went on to win several awards at film festivals across the globe, including Best Covid Film in Ontario and Best Actor in Dallas.
Daniel says the experience
of making Your Move was “fantastic” and he enjoyed working alongside other people after filming Norm by himself.
He said: “Just the sheer difference in scope from the last time with the industry professionals we had working on it [ was great] g ] and it was really y
good to have an actor working opposite me to play about with the script and see what makes sense.
“Working on your own you can often have tunnel vision on what’s good and what works whereas when you’re on a bigger film with other people looking over you and giving their ideas there’s less room for error because there are other opinions that are going to inform what’s happening.” h
Daniel says he is “really looking forward” to the premiere before he submits Your Move to film festivals.
He said: “The Glasgow Film Theatre were incredibly helpful.
“They do a lot of good work with the sort of independent filmmakers, whether they’re just starting, they’ve been very facilitating.”
Daniel has also been working with Max McGregor, who was Your Move’s director of photography, in North Ayrshire with a group of largely Ukrainian children who have written and created their own short film.
Titled Different Ways, it tells the story of a group of youngsters who get stranded in the Scottish countryside and come to bond with each other.
They have now set up a small organisation called Next Take and are looking for funding to start new projects with Screen Scotland and The National Lottery to work with people from different backgrounds across Scotland.
Your Move will premiere at Glasgow Film Theatre on Saturday, April 13 and will be followed by a Q& A.