THE story of one of the most notable defectors of the Cold War is to be made into a documentary by a Scottish-based film maker.
Scott Calonico, based in Edinburgh, is to make a film about Werner Stiller, an East German Stasi agent who defected to the west in 1979.
The film, called The Spy Who Left Me, is told through the eyes of the son he left behind.
The film has received funding from Creative Scotland as part of its latest round of “open” funding, worth £1.2m.
After Stiller defected, he became a successful broker and investment banker.
Before his defection, he had worked for seven years with the Ministry For State Security’s foreign intelligence service before turning to the West.
The film is among 55 latest awards made by the funding body, including backing for individual artists, musicians, dancers, writers, theatre makers, and festivals.
In literature, the Borders Book Festival, Coastword, West Dumbartonshire Festival of Words and the Saltire Society’s virtual literary festival ScotLitFest, have received awards to support this year’s programmes.
Novelists Meaghan Delahunt, Rachael Stephen and Ever Dundas have received funding towards new work, while The Dark Horse journal of poetry, reviewing and criticism.
Sarah Mason, programme director at the Saltire Society, said: “We are delighted to be, with the support of Creative Scotland, running Scotland’s largest online literary festival again.
“ 2016 saw ScotLitFest reach 3.2 million people in its first weekend and we hope to build on this in 2017.”
Glasgow-based alternative pop artist Rosie Bans has received funding to record and produce her debut album Identity.
An award to Skye-based community culture centre Aros will support its arts programming across Skye and Lochalsh.
Orkney Folk Festival and Glasgow Americana Festival have received awards to support their 2017 programmes, while funding for Sidmouth Folk Week, in Devon, will go towards its Sounds of Modern Scotland project. The Koestler Trust has received an award to Freedom in Expression, a festival “showcasing and celebrating creativity in Scottish criminal justice and secure settings.”
The festival will feature a public exhibition of artwork from prisons, secure hospitals, secure children’s homes, immigration removal centres and criminal justice services across Scotland at Tramway in Glasgow.
Funding to Sybren Renema will enable him to participate in the Antarctic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale from May.
Tamsin Cunningham has received funding towards contemporary art programme, Open Close.
A “re-imagining of four closes on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile” the project will see the closes temporarily transformed into a open-air gallery during July 2017.
Janet Archer, chief executive at Creative Scotland said: “Collectively, these projects will provide improve accessibility to the arts, screen and creative industries for people of all ages across Scotland, stimulating imagination and confidence through creative experiences.
“While, as always, there are many more good applications than we have the funds to support, these latest awards do provide invaluable support to the successful applicants and we look forward to seeing their work develop as a result.”
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