Talisman Films Scotland was formed in 1982 as a film group of friends, Bill Gourlay, Gordon and Marianne Ellis.

Their first project was a remake of the film – ‘Now and Then’ which Gordon and John Somerville had previously shot as a silent film in 1974. The original version had been quite well received by audiences at various cine clubs.

By the 80s Gordon was familiar enough with ‘Live sound’ cine cameras to want to produce a drama with dialogue and the ‘Now and Then’ script was an ideal project to update.

The inclusion of live sound proved a major challenge but the end result greatly enhanced the story and this was borne out by audience and critical reaction with the film picking up a large number of awards.

This ambitious production involved a lot of people and generated a good deal of interest, to the extent that the first public showing of the film was in local Dunfermline Cinema, ‘The Orient Express’.

Other documentaries shot on super 8 included ‘Dunfermline Opera House’ and ‘The Final Countdown –Glasgow Apollo’ both of which have been later re-made on video (the video versions are available in our shop page).

Talisman Films also made dramatic films on super 8 including ‘Mini for Sale’, ‘The Obsession’ and ‘The Babysitter’. The less said about ‘The Pharaoh’s Revenge’ the better.

After this filming was done on video – see our current and past projects