KIRK
reviewed by Gil Lane-Young

One of the pleasures of being involved with the organisation of the Festival of Fantastic Films is that often it allows you to be in at the beginning of something that one hopes can lead to bigger and better things.

I was privileged this last weekend to watch a movie that I feel would be applauded if directed by & starring adults, but Kirk is not – it’s directed, made and performed by young people with tremendous talent.

The direction was exciting, showing touches of quality that would be missed by much older directors; the acting was of a quality that complements any senior production and arguably is much better than most.  The production values, story and camerawork are those that would, I really believe, put many senior and accomplished artists to shame.

These youngsters give you an amount of pride in the youth of today that makes one think that potentially we have seen several future stars in the making.

Kirk is a fantasy movie with roots in real Scottish life of the 17th century and for the first time in years I saw a bunch of real men wiping a tear from their eyes.

See also Mike Simpson's page on the film.

N.B.

I am also tremendously enthusiastic about some of the short and feature length movies we were given the opportunity to watch and really look forward to a future of exceptional talent – so long as they are given their chances and not ruined by so called professionals.