Smash hit

“In five years’ time, if we look at the graph, we will see a huge dip next year and the year after. Scottish Screen simply don’t have the money to support the pipeline. They didn’t have enough money in the first place. But at least Scottish Screen was doing some remarkable things, producing some pretty amazing stuff despite having hardly any money, despite most of our talent taking off to London or LA or elsewhere. We were still keeping our head above water, still able to fly the flag a bit.”

Berrie chose to fly the flag when she started planning Film City. “I made the decision 10 years ago when everyone else was fleeing. It should be so easy to make films here, you’ve got everything you need. I had a bee in my bonnet about making it work. We needed a figurehead. We could be so much more, we could really kick ass.”

Did she write “become a figurehead” on her to-do list for the new millennium?

“No. I didn’t even really want to be a producer. I just thought, somebody’s got to do it. I was quite into directing, really into casting. There are lots of areas of film and TV I really enjoy but I felt, well, someone’s got to do it.”

When it became clear at the turn of the century that the plans for a custom-built Scottish film studio were coming to nothing, that attitude brought her to Govan.

“We needed a home,” she says. “If we were going to have a voice at all, and be heard, we needed to start coming together.”

It was a gamble. “There wasn’t a guarantee it would work. Because the industry was so fragmented, people were cautious about sharing and everyone was competitive. Putting them all under one roof was going to be a risk but it’s worked really well.”

There is a “so far” implicit in what Berrie says. Even she could be persuaded to leave if the funding streams dry up completely. Others in the industry are astounded that such a talented producer has stayed in such a small country for so long.

“I bumped into Billy Connolly in Edinburgh when we were shooting Hallam Foe,” she recalls. “I was chatting to him and he said, ‘Why are you staying? Don’t be insane’.”

At the time, she said she had to get Film City up and running, to make sure it would succeed. But now she might be ready to change her mind.

“Film City is going to succeed but I need to convince Creative Scotland to pay us some attention and if I can’t, after that I need to consider getting out. Because, otherwise, what’s the point?”

Neither London nor Los Angeles appeals; instead Berrie would head for Berlin. “They put ¤200m a year into film. It’s a really vibrant industry and artistic and creative scene.”

She exhales the deep sigh of someone who does not really want to turn their back on the place in which they have invested to much. “With a bit more money, we could do a whole lot more. It’s criminal. It’s sacrilege. It’s so infuriating. Look at our talent, there’s so much of it, and we are quite happy to say goodbye and drop them off at the airport.”

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