Not all of explicit film funding recovered, MSPs told
CREATIVE Scotland has not recovered all of the money paid out to the maker of an explicit sex project, MSPs have been told. The arts funding body withdrew money for the Rein project when its pitch for “simulated sex” became an intention to have real sex in the performance, Creative Scotland’s chief executive has said.
The arts funding body awarded £84,555 to director Leonie Rae Gasson for the project, withdrawing the money in March after a casting call led to the realisation that Rein was “considerably more explicit” than first thought.
However, it has only been able to recover about 90% of the money as some has already been paid to thirdparty freelancers. A total of £23,210 was also paid out for the “R&D phase” of the project in August 2022 which Creative Scotland is not seeking to recover.
Gasson disputes that the funding body was misled and the artists involved say they have been transparent throughout.
Following an outcry about the publicly-funded nature of the project and questions from MSPs, Creative Scotland chief executive Iain Munro wrote to Holyrood’s Culture Committee.
He sought to explain Creative Scotland’s reasoning behind the funding award, saying the organisation should not be an arbiter of “cultural taste” and not everyone would agree with its decisions.
He said: “Rein was originally supported in the knowledge it would be a challenging, creatively ambitious piece of experimental performance art, with a clear storytelling narrative, strong sexual themes and simulated sexual performance, and would speak to a particular audience rather than the mainstream.”
Munro praised the “strong track record” of the applicant, saying the issues of queer culture and sexuality would be dealt with sensitively.
He continued: “However, as became clear in March 2024 when the project team developed new content for their website and publicised that as part of a callout for participants, one new and significant difference emerged which took the project into unacceptable territory. That was the intention to include real sex, as opposed to performance depicting simulated sex, in the work.” say the threshold for prosecution is high, something Constance reiterated at Holyrood and that it is unlikely many people will be prosecuted under the legislation.
Meanwhile, First Minister Humza Yousaf has responded after the Scottish Conservatives announced they would force a vote today on repealing Scotland’s new hate crime laws.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Yousaf was asked if it was time to repeal the laws after a “shaky start”.
He said: “Not at all. I mean, what we have seen with the introduction of the Hate Crime Act in the first week, in the first few days in particular, was a series I think of bad faith actors who decided to put in vexatious complaints in order to try to waste police time, which is a pretty serious matter.”
Asked if the number of “vexatious” complaints was an indication that the law was too vague, he replied: “No, it’s pretty clear actually. The law,
Creative Scotland took legal advice and withdrew the funding due to the change, he said, adding that the organisation is reviewing its handling of the application.
The organisation is also seeking legal advice around whether the application can be released, Munro said. He condemned the “threats and abuse” which had been faced by people involved in the project.
Opposition MSPs had called for all of the money to be clawed back, and criticised Rein’s funding at a time when other cultural projects are struggling for cash.
In a statement sent to The Herald, those behind the Rein project said they disagreed with Creative Scotland’s version of events.
They said the project had been “misunderstood and misrepresented”.