For a film Donald Trump branded “a failure” and Creative Scotland refused to finance, You’ve Been Trumped is doing rather well, winning two major film festival awards. Ahead of its week-long run in Dundee, its director Anthony Baxter spoke to The Courier.
Is it not an irony that a man with the world’s worst hairpiece should build a golf course on one of the windiest stretches of land in Scotland?
You’ve Been Trumped director Anthony Baxter chuckles at the jest, saying: “It is. But that stretch of land is also one of the most unique pieces of wilderness left in Scotland, and one of the crown jewels in Scotland’s natural heritage.”
The Angus filmmaker is based in Montrose and his proximity to the Menie Estate development is what spurred him into action.
The film documents the confrontations between the developers and campaigners, residents and naturalists opposed to the project, which is being built on land that forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest at the Menie Estate.
Residents were given cameras as part of the process to record what was happening and their feelings about it.
The film-makers followed developments for more than a year, and the documentary questions the decision by the Scottish Government to give the project the green light.
Trump International Scotland claimed Mr Baxter had “no credibility” and lacked “professionalism and integrity” after he refused to send over a copy of the film prior to its screening.
Anthony and You’ve Been Trumped producer Richard Phinney were arrested during filming of the documentary. They were held for four hours before being charged with breach of the peace charges that were later dropped.
“It was about a year ago that all this was happening,” Anthony explains. “An important part of the debate that’s springing up around the film is the role of the police. I’ll certainly never trust Grampian Police again.”
The first Scottish premiere of You’ve Been Trumped took place in Aberdeen.
“We wanted to hold it as close to the Menie development as possible,” Anthony adds. “We invited Alex Salmond along but he declined to attend. We’re now hoping to hold a screening in the Scottish Parliament.”
The 95-minute feature has been completed by Anthony’s independent production company Montrose Pictures and will be shown at Dundee Contemporary Arts from August 19. A global campaign to finish the film to theatrical standards raised more than £6000 in less than a week, and You’ve Been Trumped opened to critical acclaim and packed houses when it was premiered at the Hot Docs documentary film festival in Toronto. It also attracted support from Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, director of films The Last King Of Scotland and The Eagle.
While the film was a success at the Canadian festival, Anthony had difficulty on this side of the Atlantic after it was turned down by the Edinburgh International Film Festival and refused funding by Creative Scotland.
You’ve Been Trumped scooped its second major film festival award in as many months after clinching the Special Jury Prize at Michael Moore’s prestigious Traverse City Film Festival, founded by Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore.
Anthony will be taking part in a question-and-answer session after the first Dundee screening at 6pm on Friday.
“One of the most common questions people ask is what did I learn making the film. Aside from learning not to trust Grampian Police, I learned just how unique and special this stretch of North-East Scotland is,” he says.You’ve Been Trumped is at DCA until Thursday, August 25. For times, visit www.dca.org.uk