A producer behind the Whisky Galore remake has said it is a “disgrace” Scotland does not have a major film studio.
Alan J Wands, who also produced the Rebus series, said the country’s television and movie talent is struggling to compete with other nations because it is the only one in Europe without “this basic facility”.
That is despite the sector now raking in more cash than the oil industry in Scotland, he added in a letter to MSPs.
Mr Wands, chairman of the Association of Film and Television Practitioners Scotland, said: “It is a national disgrace that Scotland is the only country in the UK and Europe that does not have its own film studio.
“At this present time the film and TV industry is worth more in revenue to Scotland than the oil industry, but we are losing out to other nations and regions across Europe because we lack this basic facility.”
Proposals have been made to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on studios in Dundee and on the outskirts of Edinburgh, with the latter suffering planning delays.
Scotland has provided the cinematic backdrop for films including the Harry Potter series and Batman’s Dark Knight Rises.
But it lost out to Northern Ireland for hosting the hit TV series Game of Thrones because producers were put off by Scotland’s lack of studio space.
Film and TV producers spent a record £45.2m on shooting in Scotland in 2014, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said.
“The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland have a clear commitment to delivering enhanced film studio facilities for Scotland that meet EU state aid rules,” she added. “We are working very hard to enable that to happen.”