Each week, for the next six weeks, we'll be profiling one of the six finalists in this year's Orange FilmFour Prize For Short Film.

This week: Mat Cottam, 31, Zoologist from Lanarkshire

Mat is a Zoologist with a Ph.D. in Avian Ecology and a B.Sc. in Marine Biology and Zoology. He has worked in Marine Turtle Conservation in Northern Cyprus, as expedition leader with the Bats of Lac Sahaka in Madagascar and as a conservation officer in the Broome Bird Observatory in Western Australia. Not your typical film student!

He has always enjoyed writing children's stories and cartooning, and has a love of wildlife photography. He does not have any previous experience in writing for film but, in his own words, "After seeing the Orange FilmFour competition advertised, I could not sleep for ideas popping into my head. I decided to write one down, so that I could get some kip".

The name of Mat's short film is The Container, the tale of a skip that mysteriously appears on a housing estate. Is its arrival a golden opportunity for the estate's inhabitants to recycle their belongings or is it something more sinister?

We asked Mat to tell us a bit more about himself...

I am a zoologist. For the past 6 years I have been based in and around Glasgow. I work in the field of ecology and conservation research - which has taken me to some pretty exotic places. However, last year the foot-and-mouth outbreak put paid to my fieldwork - leading to six months of unemployment. That was when I saw the competition advertised on Channel 4 and decided to have a go. Since then things have really picked up for me (now I sound like a Slim Fast ad!). I'm soon to start work for the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, implementing programmes toward the long-term environmental benefit of the islands. One of the programmes currently underway is the captive breeding of the endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas, which is pretty much a fairytale job for me!

Did you think that you had a good chance of getting onto the shortlist for the Orange FilmFour prize?

Not really, at the time it was just good to write something that wasn't a job application!

How long did it take you to write The Container?

After watching the ad on Channel 4, I had a sleepless night with lots of ideas popping into my head. By the morning the script was sorted and it was just a case of typing it out, which took about an hour.

What was your inspiration for The Container?

I am reluctant to say that being unemployed for six months was an inspirational experience, but there you go.

What is your favourite film or Short, and why?

Alien. Everything about it is brilliant. I especially like the way the characters of the crew members are developed so well and so quickly. You really don't want any of them to get eaten! There are few things worse than watching a film where, as soon as the good guys are introduced, you really want them all to be wiped out, ASAP! And then you have to wait an hour and a half to be disappointed. More recently, I watched Amélie. Not many films make you feel different after you have watched them, but that was something special - inspirational. Also, 'being nice to folk' has to be the most challenging plot line ever! Being honest, the film I have watched most times is Labyrinth. I'm not sure why, I just find it very entertaining - David Bowie's hair deserved more critical acclaim!

Who is your favourite Director?

Sergio Leone and Luc Besson.

What are you most looking forward to about having your film made?

People use the phrase "make your dreams become reality" all the time. Having an idea and then having it made into a film is just that - fantasy into reality.

What will you do with the money if you win the prize?

Draw it all out, in cash, and stuff it into a holdall. Go home. Dig out big fistfuls of notes and throw them all up in the air, shouting "wha-hey!!!". After that, I don't know. Maybe roll around on it some?

How did you find the day of the interviews?

Pretty much a blur. I was very excited. I can remember jabbering away ten to the dozen and thinking, "What on earth am I on about? I hope I'm still being intelligible".

<< back | next >>