Scottish Screenwriters Festival

04/06/2026

🎬 Tonight, Vertical Scotland becomes real.

A few months ago, this was an idea.

This evening: five writers from the Scottish Screenwriters Festival community will pitch their vertical drama projects directly to Sandra Yee Ling, Head of Production at GammaTime, one of the leading platforms in the rapidly growing microdrama space, based in Los Angeles.

We're incredibly grateful to everyone who submitted work for our first pitching session - the most salient point was the understanding of the format and the pace in each episode, and make it work authentically for the story.

Vertical drama may be a new format for many, but at its heart it's still about what Scotland has always done well: fascinating characters, big emotions, distinctive voices and great storytelling.

Whatever happens next, tonight marks an important milestone for our community and mission.

A huge thank you to Sandra @ GammaTime for her willingness to engage with Scottish talent, and to director Dan Lowenstein for helping shape the initiative from the very beginning.

To all our writers: GOOD LUCK!
We're rooting for you. 🚀

And if you have a vertical microdrama project and missed the deadline: never fear! We have another window opening next week for a different platform. More details on Monday.

01/06/2026

A few of our wonderful delegates last year had invested in the crowdfunder and the campaign so I’m sharing this here as the last chapter of that particularly story has been written.

I shall announce how we rise from the ashes at the festival though.

Together we rise 🔥

THE site where axed soap River City was filmed for 24 years has been snapped up by a property firm for £2.1million, we can reveal. Campaigners said they were “devastated” by the loss of the Dumbar…

29/05/2026

VERTICAL SCOTLAND update:

Last chance to submit for this first pitching round! 🚨

The deadline for our Vertical Scotland initiative with Gamma Time is this Monday, 1 June at 12 noon.

We have been really impressed with how well screenwriters who submitted projects for this so far have understood the format and made the cliffhanger after every 90 secs feel seamless.

THANK YOU, and well done, to all who submitted so far!!

If you've ever wanted to see your story adapted into the fast-growing world of vertical drama, this is your opportunity to get in front of industry professionals actively looking for new ideas!

We're looking for compelling, binge-worthy stories that could work in the vertical format — romance, crime, thriller, comedy, drama and beyond.
Selected writers will have the opportunity to pitch their projects directly on 4 June.

This initiative is presented through the Scottish Screenwriters Festival in partnership with Gamma Time, one of the platforms helping shape the future of vertical storytelling.

What we're looking for:
Vertical first microdrama series
50-70 eps x 90 secs

Please send your first 6 eps scripts and a treatment to [email protected]

Pay the submission fee (£15 + VAT) - https://buy.stripe.com/9B6bJ23Cv8de2DHgoh3wQ06

⏰ Submission deadline: Monday 1 June, 12 noon
🎤 Pitching session: 4 June

If you've been thinking about it, don't wait until the last minute.

Scotland has brilliant storytellers.
Let's show what we can do.

28/05/2026

Stop. The. Press!!

We are SO excited and grateful to announce that the one and only will be joining us at the Scottish Screenwriters Festival this year!!

Steven Cree is a Scottish actor whose work spans film, television, and stage. He is best known for his performances in Outlander and A Discovery of Witches, and has built a
reputation for his range across both studio and independent productions.

Most recently, Cree appeared in the BAFTA Award-winning feature I Swear, Apple TV+’s Down Cemetery Road, the BBC/HBO drama Industry, the Apple TV+ feature All of You opposite Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots, and Amazon’s action-comedy Heads of State.

Projects set for release later this year include Queen at Sea — winner of the Silver Bear at the 2026 Berlinale — starring Juliette Binoche, Florence Hunt, and Tom Courtenay;
Season 3 of the International Emmy-winning BBC series Vigil; and the feature films Archangel for Sony and One Last Shot for Sky Cinema.

In addition to acting, Cree has written the feature film Ben and Lucy, which is currently in development with Finite Films and expected to enter production later this year!

Steven is joining Scott Frank, Ashley Storrie, Lesley Paterson and Douglas Mackinnon amongst others on our speaker line up and we are READY!

Do you have your ticket yet?

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/firewalkerpictures/2144036

🙌🙌🔥🔥✨✨

27/05/2026

Scottish Screenwriters Festival 2026 - so far!
Do you have your ticket yet?

2 days
12 + speakers
Grand Central Voco - Glasgow

Who’s coming?

24/05/2026

We're delighted that writer Nora Chassler will be joining director Douglas Mackinnon on stage at the Scottish Screenwriters Festival to talk all things 'The Ridge'!

Nora Chassler grew up in NYC in the 80s and has lived in Scotland since 2002. She has published two critically acclaimed literary novels, a collection of fragments and flash fiction and two books of poetry. She has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She co -created and co- wrote the BBC’s critically acclaimed psychological thriller, The Ridge, and is working on several other projects for the screen, as well as a new novel.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/firewalkerpictures/2144036

21/05/2026

New Speaker Alert! We're so excited to include Ashley Storrie in our speaker line up this year!

Ashley Storrie is a multi BAFTA award winning comedian, writer and actress from Glasgow.

Ashley co-created and co-wrote Dinosaur, which she also stars in, produced by Fleabag producers Two Brothers Pictures, released on Hulu in the US and BBC1/iPlayer in the UK in 2024. The show was nominated for 4 Scottish BAFTAs with Ashley winning the awards for Writer Film/Television and Audience Award: Best Scot on Screen. The second series launched on BBC3/BBC iPlayer u the UK and Hulu in the US in February 2026.

Further screen credits include Celebrity Mastermind (BBC1), judging the BBC New Comedy Awards (BBC3) and The Blame Game (BBC NI). She also cohosted two series of Up For It, both headlined and hosted Comedy Underground and appeared as a guest in Growing Up Scottish, all for BBC Scotland.

A prolific radio broadcaster, Ashley hosts her own Friday night live show for BBC Radio Scotland. She is currently writing the third series of her Radio 4 show, What’s The Story, Ashley Storrie which was nominated at the BBC Audio Awards 2025 for Best Stand Up/Sketch Comedy, a category won by Janey Godley: The C Bomb, which she co-created with her mum. She has also guested on The News Quiz (BBC Radio 4), Breaking The News (BBC Radio Scotland), The Good, The Bad & The Unexpected (BBC Radio Scotland) and will appear on the new series of Unspeakable (BBC Radio 4).

Ashley also works with The National Autistic Society and has hosted and appeared on a number of panels discussing neurodivergence and best practices for accessibility in entertainment.

18/05/2026

SSF26 so far!

16/05/2026

Something new is happening!

Vertical microdrama is moving fast globally — but Scotland doesn’t yet have a clear pathway into the space.
So we’re building one.

The Scottish Screenwriters Festival and Firewalker Films are launching a curated Vertical Microdrama Pitch Initiative designed to identify and develop a small number of strong, platform-ready projects.

Selected writers will pitch directly to industry professionals starting with LA based GammaTime!

We’re looking for:

→ Original, vertical-first concepts
→ 50–70 episode arcs
→ 60–90 second episodes
→ Strong hooks, strong characters, built for mobile-first storytelling

Projects will be shortlisted and refined ahead of a focused live pitch session with industry feedback.

This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about making sure Scottish writers, actors and production talent are part of the next wave of storytelling formats as they emerge globally.

Submissions open now.
Submission fee: £15 + VAT

https://buy.stripe.com/9B6bJ23Cv8de2DHgoh3wQ06

(Scottish Screenwriters Festival 2026 ticket holders get one free submission)
Deadline: Monday 1st of June @ noon GMT

Submit:
Treatment + first 10 episode scripts to:
[email protected]

T&Cs:
All underlying rights remain with the submitting writer(s) unless and until separate agreements are entered into.
Projects selected for further development and production conversations would move forward in collaboration with Firewalker Pictures as lead producer, alongside attached creative partners including director Dan Lowenstein.
Further terms, including production, development and rights arrangements, would be negotiated separately should projects progress beyond the pitch initiative.

04/02/2026

And back into the fray today.

The mission for Firewalker Pictures is to advocate for the Scottish creative industries & tell stories for the great Scottish audience.

We were honoured to be invited to the creative industries career day.
Never more proud than when we share the mission as a team and amplify the message of what’s possible.

& .andrewsb you REPRESENT.
So proud & privileged to have a 🔥team.

We look forward to following with everyone we interacted with today.

Together we rise ✨