SIR Sean Connery’s family is planning to open a major new filmmaking centre in Edinburgh dedicated to developing the next generation of Scottish screen talent.
The Sean Connery Foundation is working with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) on plans for the new institute, according to The Herald, with hopes it could open within the next 18 months.
Named the NFTS Sean Connery Institute, the centre is intended to provide training for aspiring writers, directors, producers, cinematographers and editors, while becoming a permanent hub for Scotland’s film and television industry.
Organisers are currently searching across Edinburgh for a suitable building of up to 15,000 sq ft, with Fountainbridge, Leith, Haymarket and the city centre among the areas under consideration.
Fountainbridge has a particular connection to Connery, who was born in the area in 1930 before going on to become one of Scotland’s most internationally recognised actors.
The institute is expected to host screenings, masterclasses, talks and other events involving leading figures from the film and television industry throughout the year.
It is also hoped the centre will become closely involved with the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which has developed a relationship with the Sean Connery Foundation in recent years.
The plans build on the Sean Connery Talent Lab, an Edinburgh-based programme run by the foundation and the NFTS which has provided training and mentoring to 75 emerging filmmakers.
Films produced by participants in the scheme have been premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival over the past two years.
The Talent Lab is expected to continue as part of a significantly expanded programme once the permanent institute opens.
Jason Connery, the actor and director and son of the James Bond star, said his father had loved spending time with young Scottish filmmakers.
He told The Herald: “In some ways, the times that I saw him most playful and happy was when he was surrounded by creative people from Scotland.
“I think he would be immensely excited and proud of this.”
The Sean Connery Foundation was established in 2022, two years after the actor died aged 90, with the aim of using his legacy to support causes in Scotland and the Bahamas.
Connery said the family wanted the new institute to have a permanent home which reflected his father and could make a long-term contribution to the Scottish film industry.
He said the foundation was “actively looking” at potential sites around Edinburgh, with the actor's birthplace of Fountainbridge among the areas being considered.
Leith is another possibility and already has a growing screen industry presence, including FirstStage Studios, which Jason Connery opened with producer Bob Last in 2020.
Connery said: “It is really important to us that it has a real sense of representing dad.
“He was someone of real quality and so we want this to be a building of real quality.”
NFTS director Jon Wardle said the existing Talent Lab had been operating from rented premises in Leith but had now “outgrown” the space.
He said the ambition was to create a significant new piece of Scotland’s filmmaking infrastructure rather than simply establish a Scottish “branch office” of the NFTS.
“This institute will have its own identity, and will be able to create its own momentum and develop its own relationships,” he told The Herald.
Wardle said the organisation was seeking support from the film industry, government and philanthropists to establish an institute with “real power and scale”.
He added: “By establishing a permanent home in Edinburgh, we are putting down roots and making a long-term commitment to help Scotland’s emerging talent build lasting careers.”
