Cannes and Sundance take a back seat to the Showcase Cinema in Linwood on Tuesday 26 June for the world premiere of the zombie shocker, ‘Dawn of the Fegs.’

Around 250 members of the local Ferguslie Park community are expected to attend the first showing of the 30 minute film.

Local youngsters wrote, directed and starred in the latest Romero inspired effort to commit the walking dead to celluloid. The film and companion graphic novel, Terror at the Tanny, are part of a community-based project supported by Creative Scotland’s Creative Identities CashBack for Communities programme.

Fegs is the locally used term for people from Ferguslie Park. The Tanny is the Tannahill Centre.

Some 20 ‘undead’ actors took part in the project for young people aged from 10 to 19 years old. Parents and grandparents were also drafted in to help with costume design and make-up. Dance workshops were another key component of the project along with sessions on how to carve out a career in the film industry led by Kate Dickie.

Councillor Iain McMillan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Community and Family Care said, “This project taps into the strong community spirit that exists in Ferguslie Park. You can see from the breadth of involvement from five year olds to 85 year olds that the film has really made its mark with local people.

“The idea behind the film is that Ferguslie is facing its own zombie apocalypse. It tells the story of how local people, and young people in particular, react to defend their homes and families.

“All the filming took place at local locations chosen by the young people. They also had creative control on the content of the film and the graphic novel.”

Eight children were involved in producing the graphic novel taking full control of the ideas, script, storyboards, artwork, layout and digital photography.

The Zombie Project has received £15,000 from CashBack for Communities through Creative Scotland’s Creative Identities Programme. Renfrewshire Council has contributed around £4,000 with additional help and support being provided by St Mirren Football Club, Allsorts, Right2dance and the Tannahill Centre.

Since 2007, the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities programme has reinvested over £45 million recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, back into communities to benefit Scotland’s young people. This includes an investment of £2.25 million over three years on cultural activities involving arts, music and dance. During 2012, the Year of Creative Scotland, over 8,000 young film-makers, dancers and musicians will be offered opportunities through CashBack to develop their skills.

Date: Tuesday 26 June

Time: 7pm till 8.30pm

Venue: Showcase Cinema, Phoenix Retail Park, Linwood, PA1 2BA

 

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