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This project successfully funded on 18th May 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
It's All in the Soil - Short Film
Grantown-on-Spey, Highland Council, United Kingdom
Aim
"It's All in the Soil" is a short film that uncovers dark secrets in idyllic small town communities.
To win a gardening competition, all you need to know is that: "It's all in the soil".
Every year, Moira tries to win the coveted Bridgehead gardening competition against her neighbour, Margret, who has won every year since 1946.
It is now the '50s, and Moira's only wish is to win one time before she becomes too frail to compete.
When Margret tells Moira the reason she wins is due to the quality of her soil, Moira steals said soil from her to gain a chance of fufilling her dream.
On the day of the competition, things are looking up for Moira, with her flowers blossoming she has a chance of winning. However, after a gruesome discovery, it turns out that instead of finally winning the competition, she instead is wrongfully accused of Margret's dark secret of killing tourists and using their body parts as nutrients for her flowers.
This is an Edinburgh Napier University graduation film of 10 minutes. The film begins as a black and white kitschy comedy that bends genre conventions, transitioning into a thriller upon the discovery of a severed finger in the soil. Upon the discovery, the film will become colourised, exiting the dreamy state, into the harsh reality.
Our aim for this film is not only to represent the beauty of the Scottish Highlands, but to portray the actions of residents in small town communities and their outward façades they use to conceal their loneliness. Underneath the picturesque exterior of the fictional Bridgehead, the town harbors dark truths.
We also wish to portray our characters as strong, determined women. Although Moira is sick, she is strong-willed and dedicated, and Margret has a competitive streak, charm, and impressive capabilities of getting what she wants, no matter the cost.
Our crew includes:
Director: Chelize Bathgate
Writer & Producer: Aliyah Fyvie
Cinematographer: Heather Inglis
Production Designer: Lou Cade
Sound Designer: Jamie Woodhouse
Editors: Atharva Songraha & Anna Standertskjöld
1st AD: Maria Little
1st AC: Marcin Bednarek
Gaffer: Tom Mikulin
With your donations we will be able to create the fictional village of Bridgehead as authentically to the time period and location as possible. Along with this, we aim to accurately set dress current locations to fit with the era of Scotland in the 1950s, and to ensure the real and crafted flowers featured are suitable for competition winners. In hopes to be environmentally friendly most costumes will be sourced second hand in charity shops and cast and crew's wardrobes.
As this film is set in the Highlands, we will be travelling up North near Grantown-on-spey for location authenticity. Your valuable donations will help to cover travel costs for both cast and crew, to ensure the safety of equipment, and for any accommodation and catering costs.
This has been a passion project of the writer's which has been in the works for the past five years. In creating this film we hope to showcase the skills developed during our time at Napier and our collaborative efforts as a team to bring this story to life.
Thank you so much!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made