The theatrical version of Angus film maker Anthony Baxter’s BAFTA-winning Eye of the Storm will hit Scottish television screens on New Year’s Day.
Hailed by critics as “sublime” and “inexpressibly moving”, it tells the story of late Montrose artist James Morrison.
Glasgow-born Morrison, who made Angus his adopted home, was widely considered one of the nation’s finest watercolourists.
He died in 2020 at the age of 88.
In Eye of the Storm the artist talked candidly about the impact of deteriorating sight in his later years.
And the acclaimed theatrical version will screen at 7pm on BBC Scotland on January 1.
A UK-wide network premiere on BBC4 will take place at a later date.
BAFTA pride
Anthony said: “We are very proud of the BAFTA, but this version best reflects what I wanted to do with the film.
“And we are excited and grateful BBC Scotland agrees it should be seen in a peak time slot over the festive holidays.
“The theatrical version has added amazing animation by Catriona Black.]
“And it reveals more of James Morrison’s work and his inspiring career.”
Eye of the Storm charts Morrison’s remarkable life – from training at Glasgow School of Art to his extraordinary trips to the Arctic.
It also focuses on his breath-taking landscapes painted around his beloved Angus and the west coast of Scotland.
Morrison was one of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s favourite landscape artists and his works hang in art galleries around the country.
The theatrical version of Eye of the Storm is also contending for a prestigious prize in China – the Golden Kapok award at the country’s largest documentary festival in Guangzhou.
It is also enjoying an outing at cinemas across Scotland with upcoming special Q&A screenings in January 2022, including the Dundee DCA, Eden Court Inverness, the new Montrose Playhouse and Birks Cinema, Aberfeldy.
A theatrical release for the USA and Canada is also planned for 2022.
52-year-old Baxter is known for hard-hitting productions You’ve Been Trumped and Flint, covering the Trump Golf Links in Aberdeen and the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
His award-winning Montrose Pictures production company is based in his home town and makes content for the BBC, international broadcasters, Amazon, Netflix, Apple and others.
