Tell us a bit about you.
My name is Neil Hunter and I'm 16 years old. I live out in the Westside and I have a rather keen interest in film and music.
Why did you chose to study film with Shetland Arts and UHI?
There were many reasons as to why I choose to study Filmmaking at UHI and Shetland Arts. But one of the main reasons was the number of great opportunities that studying at Mareel creates.
Tell us a bit about 'The Last Day'. There are some nods to Film Noir in there that we love!
The Last Day was greatly inspired by a mix of classic Noir and 60s French cinema (mainly Godard and Jean-Pierre Melville). When I came up with the idea for the film, I was enjoying thinking about the suave pace of life that fantasy spies have. Floating in and out of scenes showing no real care or emotions at face value. So my main goal was to try and re-create this mood in the film, hopefully it worked! But I'm not too sure.
Which directors do you follow closely?
I enjoy a wide range of cinema but the directors that I follow the closest would be Andrei Tarkovsky, Wim Wenders, Orson Welles, and Abbas Kiarostami. All who were and are masters of film. However, there are many more, too many to remember!
Finally, have you seen any films in this lockdown period you think we should watch?
Films that I think are great to watch during this lockdown period would be "Howards End", "A Room With a View" and "Maurice". All of which are based on E.M Forster novels and directed by the great James Ivory. These films are absolutely brilliant at transporting you to a slow-paced and calm world, which is just perfect for a bit of escapism. And for a bit of fun, I think "Mon Oncle" by Jacques Tati would be great.
Shetland Arts deliver a range of music and film modules and courses in partnership with The University of the Highlands and Islands, and we're now accepting applications for the new term, find out more here.
