Getting Business Done and Keeping it Going.

Update 20/02/17 See links below for Winter Warror movie on all Amazon Prime sites including the USA, UK, Japan and Germany!

Things are really hard aren't they, well except for those in denial who never have anything wrong until it is so obvious that the eyes can see it.  Those folks walk about in a perpetual state of hurried fast talking, which they hope will convey they are highly successful, happy bods who never have a care in the world. Not so and nobody is really fooled by the 'fast talk' and lippy self congratulations. Nuff said about them. We spend our evenings watching these talkers bad mouth everyone and everything until we are forced to do the thing they fear the most - pressing the 'off' button......and turning to AMAZON.COM

Things are Looking Up for Film Makers

That aside things are looking up for film makers because finally the new downloads from Amazon are starting to kick in for Independent film makers. Last year audiences started to get the hang of the download movie and Amazon Prime led a new way of paying and viewing them. It is now possible to find that movie you missed or seek out Independent Films then quickly fast-forwards to Prime.

 Amazon's years of work of creating space for new talent, aspiring film makers is finally paying off for them. So much so they launched a Film Production wing that promises to attract new talent and new stories to their screens both theatrically and for download. The word from the Berlin Film Market is that buyers and sellers are more confident and we are going to see a comeback for the film business in what was hitherto a slow almost dying market. Competition between Netflix and Amazon is adding a little extra zest to the mix and keeping everyone on their toes.

So what is new with Amazon and how are Palm Tree Universal's titles fairing? We have been on Amazon for about 5 years and we have watched it through all it's metamorphosis from its CreateaSpace portal to the newly launched Video Direct this month, which sees many of our titles being put back up with subtitles in English. My only comment on that is the films originated in English but hey well our best seller Winter Warrior does have  characters in Scottish accents so one could be forgiven for the insistence on these English subtitles. It is not clear why the film made some years ago seems to be liked and continues to gain a fan base on Amazon.

The subject matter could have something to do with it. It's about, Fingal the Celtic Warrior, who in 575 AD returns home to Scotland from his exploits fighting for Rome as a mercenary soldier, only to discover that his lands have been taken from him. Thinking he would return home to peace he makes the decision again to take up the Sword he thought he had forsaken to defend his community. The film also includes  romance for Fingal, in the form of a slave girl, whom he releases from her captors.

For me it was exciting to make. As well as helping as the co-producer of the film for the writer/ director Robbie Moffat, I was able to participate in front of camera as an actress playing the comedy role of Beith the Pict, which along with the 2 other Pictish characters brought a kind of elfish mysticism to the story.

The character Beith is funny and whimsical at the same time. She spends her days collecting things and is often caught out by her own avaricious nature. It was wonderful to find a Pixie like helmet for her in an unusual Medieval style armoury in Edinburgh and match it with a moss-like autumnal cloak from the Scottish Opera's Glasgow wardrobe. Here I am below in the creation that made Beith take her character into 3 other Celtic Warrior Films, namely Winter Warrior, Bone Hunter and Axe raider.

                                            Mairi Sutherland as the Pixie-like, Beith the Pict

Whist it was difficult for me to work behind the scenes and act at the same time, it was enjoyable because the story melded with the scenery and costumes to create a mythical landscape for the characters. Audiences seem to appreciate it. In Russia the Trilogy was in the top ten DVD's sales from 2007 and actor Jon Paul Gates was approached for autographs in his visit to Lithuania.

 Amazon are clearly getting used to it because, last week alone, the film received 45000 impressions in it's new Video Direct Launch. How that will translate into cash we are not sure, but let's wait and see.

                                                    Above Cast of Winter Warrior.


To see Winter Warrior you can buy it on Amazon Prime here.  (hit the word here.) For the UK.
To see Winter Warrior on USA Amazon.com hit the link here
To see Winter Warrior in Germany on Amazon.de hit the link here
To see Winter Warrior in Japan on Amazon.co.jp hit the link here

The success of the trilogy also prompted me to add acting to my list of achievements and return to it recently with some short films in  December 2016 and again this month in 2017. More of that later on.

And as if that is not enough I have also returned to my first real love for art and painting with my submission to Imago Mundi, the artists miniature calling card on canvas. This marks my return to landscape with the painting' Tanera Mor' pictured below. In the background is the stark mountain of Stak Polly, in Sutherland, a famous old volcano, seen in shadow from the island of Tanera Mor during it's astounding sunsets.

Whatever the state of the World, it falls on the individual to preserve their own accomplishments from those who would seek to destroy them by virtue of the fact that they have not created anything yet. Let's just ignore the fast talkers and instead make and do the things that create value to life and community. Hardship is the anvil that melds the art.