Filmmaker in Residence at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

We are thrilled to be showcasing our Filmmaker in Residence project, engaging patients, staff and the wider hospital community in all areas of filmmaking; storytelling, animation, basic camera techniques, editing, performance, music and sound whilst also deconstructing film techniques.

Project Summary:

In January 2024, we appointed two filmmakers to undertake an 18-month creative residency, supporting our participatory arts programme at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Since then, filmmakers, Rachel McBrinn and James Thomson, have been working with patients, staff and the wider hospital community to explore the power of storytelling through film, providing a vibrant platform for people to express their unique experiences and perspectives.

Our aim is to:

engage with the hospital community by delivering filmmaking workshops to patients and staff to help them tell their stories and make their own films, increasing their knowledge and skills of animation, camara techniques, editing, etc and helping them to express their experiences in different ways.
work with staff to develop Moving Image Education knowledge, including script development, camera techniques, costume set design, sound and post-production so that they have enhanced skills to use filmmaking techniques to engage patients, after the completion of the project. This will help ensure that filmmaking becomes central to the meaningful activity of patients and aligns with the Scottish Government’s aims of ‘making Scotland a filmmaking nation’.

What’s Happening:

Ongoing workshops: Led by the filmmakers, regular workshops are being held for patients and staff, covering a wide range of filmmaking techniques.
Film screenings: Exciting screenings of films created by participants, as well as inspiring works by other artists, have been taking place and continue to be scheduled.
A growing body of work: A collection of films is being created throughout the residency, capturing the diverse stories of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital community.

Why It Matters:

This project empowers patients, staff, and those with lived experience at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital to explore their stories in new ways and develop their creative skills. Although its not an Arts Therapy programme, it provides a powerful and often overlooked way to explore and express experiences, which may sometimes involve challenging themes.

There are many benefits to this method of creative expression, including:

Boosting wellbeing through creativity: The project is contributing to improved mood, reduced stress, and increased self-esteem through creative engagement.
Developing new skills: Participants are gaining practical filmmaking skills, regardless of prior experience, using it as a tool for communication and storytelling. Staff can then also use their enhanced skills to use filmmaking techniques to engage patients after the completion of the project so that filmmaking becomes part of ongoing meaningful activities at the hospital
Sharing stories that connect: Filmmaking is providing a powerful way for individuals to express themselves and foster connections with others.
Celebrating the Royal Edinburgh Hospital Community: reflecting the human side of life in the hospital and to give a voice to the under-represented

Project Highlights:

Cameraless workshops:

Meet the Filmmakers:

Rachel McBrinn is an artist and filmmaker with a practice rooted in collaboration, often building upon long term site-responsive and archival research. Recent work has formed around the themes of land management, town planning, urban and rural ecologies. Alongside collaborator Alison Scott she is currently artist in residence at St Andrews Botanic Garden, a project which will be exhibited with the Travelling Gallery in Spring 2025. She is the Contemporary Art Practice Course Leader at Leith School of Art.

James Thomson is a filmmaker and facilitator, often making work that ties into themes of place and community. He is also a qualified educator – lecturing in film and media at Edinburgh College. With funding from Screen Scotland, he is currently working on his first feature, Nucleus, exploring the unending legacy of nuclear weapons testing. As a Filmmaker in Residence, James is experimenting with new formats and will co-create a short film that will reflect on the everyday sounds experienced by the REH community.

More about the Royal Edinburgh Hospital:

The Royal Edinburgh Hospital (REH), is the leading psychiatric hospital for Edinburgh & the Lothians. Situated in the Morningside area of the city, there are a number of inpatient units including five general adult acute wards, an intensive psychiatric care unit, 4 older people’s wards and three rehabilitation wards. Its specialist on-site services include; the care of patients over the age of 65 with functional and organic illnesses such as dementia, specialist services for young people, forensic patients, those with learning disabilities, an eating disorders unit and patients with acquired brain injuries. There are also several out-patient services.

The Power of Collaboration:

This project has been funded by NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts and Screen Scotland. However, it could not be delivered without the support, energy and enthusiasm of the hospital community and partners on site, including Artlink and the Patients’ Council. Thank you.