Streaming: das Gespräch erfolgte im Mai 2021 auf Englisch über Skype und ist hier abrufbar!
Duncan Cowles is a BAFTA Scotland Award winning documentary filmmaker whose short films have been selected for various film festivals at home and internationally, winning a selection of awards at festivals such as Glasgow Short Film Festival, Open City Documentary Festival, BFI Future Film Festival, Hamburg Short Film Festival, Kyiv Short Film Festival, Szczecin European Film Festival and more. Many of his shorts have featured online through platforms such as Short of the Week, Vimeo Staff Picks, BBC-iplayer, BFI Player, MUBI, It’s Nice That, TED and numerous others.
Duncan graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2013 with a 1st Class degree and a specialisation in directing documentary film before going on to work for the internationally renowned Scottish Documentary Institute for three years and on the programming team for feature documentaries at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for five years.
In 2017 Duncan founded his own production company Relative Films Ltd to facilitate the production of his first feature documentary "Silent Men" which he initially took to IDFA Academy before being awarded development funding from Screen Scotland & Whickers World Foundation. The film is currently in production and due to be completed in 2021.
In recent years Duncan has also been commissioned to write and direct documentaries for Channel 4, STV, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4, TED, Adobe, Red Bull and more. Most recently Duncan has been commissioned to make x6 30minute episodes of his own new documentary TV series ‘Scary Adult Things’ which looks at the struggles of the millennial generation for BBC Scotland. Described as “painfully relatable”, his short films often focus on personal issues and topics close to Duncan’s own life such as family. Duncan frequently uses deadpan voiceover to communicate his point of view humorously and honestly on life to an audience and bring viewers into his unique inner-world.
Films by Duncan Cowles:
The Lady with the Lamp, 4 min, 2012
Living at home when you're twenty-one has it's downsides...
Directed by Tweedie, 17 min, 2014
Making a film when you’re 87 is less than convenient...
Isabella, 9 min, 2015
How much of your life do you need to remember to remain yourself?
Taking Stock, 4 min, 2017
Using his failed attempts at creating profitable stock footage, a filmmaker reflects on the absurd, mundane and funny side of being trapped inside your own head as an out of work, self-employed freelancer.
Just Agree Then, 10 min, 2018
Contrasting artistic visions, misplaced confidence and blatant ignorance collide on the backdrop of an increasingly fragile and divided world. In August 2018, seven months before the UK is due to leave the EU, two stubborn Scottish filmmakers struggle to make a short film together in the Austrian Alps. Can they find common ground, or will they have to go their separate ways?
In The Company of Insects, 10 min, 2019
Prompted by the death of his grandfather, a filmmaker comes to terms with his feelings of loss by focussing on something smaller. You are invited to join a deadpan meditation on the end of life, in the company of insects.
