Written / directed by David Arthur / 2024 / 10 min

Mortality, memory and a game of headers play out on a red ash football pitch in Glasgow.

Red Ash is a short story of loss, set against the wasteland of one of Scotland’s infamous red ash football pitches. A surface so brutal to play on, they were banned elsewhere in Europe. These spaces, that once resonated with the sounds of kids chasing after a football, are now abandoned wastelands with a haunting quality. The perfect setting for a kind of ghost story, about getting older and the desire re-capture the innocence of youth.

Red Ash began as a creative challenge David set for himself - to write a film set in one location with one actor (mostly) - and then make it quickly without any real funding (fuelled by favours and sausage rolls). This then became a collaboration that showcases the talents of actor Martin Docherty in a kind of dance with cinematographer Darren Hercher; scored by Scott Twynholm, sound designed by Heather Andrews, graded by Colin Brown and became an emotional chamber piece that transcended it’s humble origins and led to a kind of sequel Swan Songs.

Red Ash premiered at British Shorts in Berlin, was selected for the BAFTA-qualifying Manchester Film Festival, screened exclusively at a literary event alongside legendary author Bernard MacLaverty, was chosen as the surprise film for the opening of the Folk Film Gathering in Edinburgh, and has been included in the Olympic Sports Museum archives in Barcelona.

The film’s online premiere was at Nutmeg, alongside the article From playing Tom Hank’s brother…