Bonnyrigg film producer's short film shot in Gorebridge set for exclusive screenings

A short film produced by a Bonnyrigg man and shot mostly in Gorebridge is now set for exclusive screenings at Pinewood Studios and the Edinburgh Festival.

Filming for Sloansy took place in Gorebridge, including at Arniston Rangers' Newbyres Park ground.

Paul Davidson (23) produced ‘Sloansy’, a short film about a young struggling single mother being recruited by a local gang.

Filmed on location across Gorebridge, including at Arniston Rangers’ Newbyres Park ground, the short film will be shown this month at First-Time Filmmaker Showcase and Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions at Pinewood, as well as the Nightpiece Film Festival as part of the Fringe.

Paul revealed more about the filming process. He said: "We did day one of shooting in November, then one of the actors got Covid, so we started again in March.

Filming on the bus for Sloansy.

"Arniston’s ground was the main location for filming. Then we had a vintage double decker bus which we drove around Gorebridge.

"We also shot down Danderhall way, and then did some pick-up scenes in Livingston just to get a bit more.

"I had just moved to Gorebridge from Bonnyrigg and was very keen to do something local, try to put Gorebridge on the short film map.

"It looks so good, I’m very happy with how it looked.”

The bus pulls up at Newbyres Park.

Sloansy follows Jeanie Harlow, played by Emma Lindsay, as she struggles to raise her infant son alone on a council estate in 1999. When her neighbours report her neglectful ways to the authorities, she’s left with no options and a bleak future. Then, she’s approached by a mysterious man with a dubious offer.

Paul worked on Sloansy with Bo’ness film director and writer Cameron Bissett (21), who hopes to turn it into a feature film. Paul added: "Cameron and I met just a week before we started filming Sloansy. I wanted to do a short film, but I couldn’t get a director. I had the location, Gorebridge, but no director.

"Then one of my friends introduced us, we had a chat and I asked him to write something that we can work with, then it all just happened from there. It all went really quickly. It was quite stressful but ultimately worth it.

"We had an excellent cast and crew who got us through this. All very dedicated and talented people.”

Paul has this week moved into a studio at McSence Business Park in Mayfield, where he hopes to do more work on other projects going forward.