Graders by David Hutchison

Wed 10 Oct 2012 / Film Chat

Graders is David Hutchison’s first feature. A chiller made on a micro budget, it was filmed in David’s home village of Lochinver, and in Kinlochbervie, Buckie and Edinburgh The idea came about from his experiences as a factory worker in Sydney, Australia and Assynt, Sutherland. In both places staff would last a few days then disappear.

A Polish woman searches for her missing busker sister in the Scottish Highlands The sisters, Ania and Celina, are played by real Polish actors Joanna Kaczynska and Agnieszka Bresler Joanna has recently been in Peter Mullan's Neds. The antagonist, Mrs Graham, is played by Janet De Vigne (Slumdog Millionaire).

David is an avid fan of low budget horror/thriller such as giallo directors Dario Argento, Mara Bavo and the producer Val Lewton, but Graders' main influence is akin to the weird outsiderness of Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man He comes from an experimental video and animation background where music takes precedence over dialogue Music plays an integral part of Graders, it includes a Gaelic Dr Who inspired "Air chul na h-uirigh" composed and performed by Eilidh MacKenzie (Gaelic Singer of the Year).

Graders is being distributed in North America by Striped Entertainment and the rest of the world through online distributer Distrify.  

Watch the trailer.