‘Slow West’ out west . . .

Film-maker John Maclean will be in Stromness tonight for the showing of his  debut feature film Slow West.

The film, described as a psychedelic western, stars Michael Fassbender (X-Men, Macbeth, 12 Years A Slave) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

The film won the international grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is the third time that Mr Maclean and Mr Fassbender have worked together.

Mr Maclean was a one time member of the cult 90’s outfit The Beta Band. A self-taught film-maker, he began making zero-budget videos for their songs, and it was these videos that Michael Fassbender was initially drawn to.

Their first short film collaboration, Man On A Motorcycle, was shot on Mr Maclean’s mobile phone. The second, Pitch Black Heist, won the Bafta Award for best short film in 2012 and will be shown in support of the feature at West Side Cinema.

Slow West is set at the end of the nineteenth century and sees Smit-McPhee journey across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Fassbender, a mysterious traveller, who offers to serve as his bodyguard.

The West Side Cinema screening, in the Stromness Town Hall, will see Mr Maclean will introduce the film and take questions from the audience afterwards. For more details, click here.