Silver screen survival

For more than a decade now Scotland and Ireland have been two of the wee stars in the bigger picture of European cinema. Films like In The Name Of The Father, I Went Down and The Butcher Boy from Ireland, and Trainspotting, Orphans and Ratcatcher from Scotland testify to the growing confidence of two countries keen to explore their national identity and able to tell stories that capture an international audience.

Sandwiched between the economic muscle of Hollywood and the once predominantly London-based lure of the British film industry, both countries have had to be resourceful and innovative in their struggle to overcome their status as Celtic Davids to global Goliaths. This is despite the fact that they can both boast rich and enduring film cultures.

Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopaedia reveals that films were first shown in Ireland in 1896 and identifies Irish Wives and English Neighbours in 1907 as probably the first Irish fiction film. Eddie Dicks' comprehensive From Limelight To Satellite charts almost a century of Scottish film-making from modest documentaries in 1898 to early versions of Rob Roy and Macbeth that appeared during the silent era.

Despite that history, it isn't so long ago that aspiring Scottish film-makers used to claim that the possibility of even making a feature film was like searching for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Twenty years ago, Bill Forsyth changed all that with his no-budget fable for the homeless That Sinking Feeling. His subsequent international success with the BAFTA-winning Gregory's Girl, allied to the universal acclaim for Bill Douglas's heartfelt autobiographical trilogy. established a place for Scottish film on the world stage.

In Ireland, the first half of the 1980s also witnessed breakthrough work by Neil Jordan on Angel and Pat O'Connor on Cal that signalled a potent resurgence of indigenous talent. That resurgence has continued to flourish in such diverse titles as My Left Foot, Nothing Personal, Korea and Sweety Barrett. In many respects, Scotland has always cast a rather envious eye at the recent Irish situation and the tax incentive scheme known as Section 481 (formerly Section 35) that has done so much to encourage both home-grown production and international visitors.

Envy momentarily turned to anger and hurt pride when Mel Gibson chose to film large swathes of his Oscar-winning Mad Macs epic, Braveheart in Ireland thanks to the lure of those tax incentives and the offer of willing recruits to swell the ranks of his on-screen rebels.

In the long-term, Gibson's decision may ultimately prove to have been beneficial to Scottish film-making as it forced bureaucrats and film-makers alike to concentrate their attention on the process of change that might ensure a similar situation didn't happen again.

Besides, wounded pride has had plenty opportunities to retaliate. Scottish director John Mackenzie was the man chosen to direct When The Sky Falls, a loose dramatisation of the 1996 murder of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin. Ireland has also had to call on the services of Scottish thespians for some of their forthcoming productions. Robert Carlyle, for instance, stars in the film of Frank McCourt's memoir Angela's Ashes to be released in January, Ewan McGregor appears as the young James Joyce in Nora and the late, much loved Ian Bannen was constantly tickled by the praise for his Irish brogue in the hit comedy Waking Ned.

Any rivalry between the two countries is insignificant compared to the many similarities that draw them together. Both have had to bear the burden of endlessly recycled stereotypes, whether it's Hollywood Roamin' through the Gloamin' of Brigadoon or launching another search for Nessie in Scotland or the brawling, blarney-kissed antics of The Quiet Man and the charmed leprechauns of Finian's Rainbow and Darby O'Gill perpetrated on the Irish.

Long are the list of those who have committed offences against the respective nations by attempting a local accent with Joanne Whalley Kilmer's strangulated Scots in The Big Man an easy match for Richard O'Gere's stab at the Oirish in The Jackal.

From Sean Connery to Alan Cumming, Scotland has a range of international stars that Ireland can match, actor by actor, from Liam Neeson to Brendan Gleeson. Both countries have world-class film-makers in Neil Jordan and Bill Forsyth. In Edinburgh, Dublin and Cork, they have long-established Film Festivals that are integral to the support and development of their indigenous production sectors.

In fact, there is so much shared history and common ambition between the two countries that the only real surprise is that there hasn't been more in the way of co-productions and collaborations. Maybe that will be the cinematic challenge of the next millennium.