The film is almost finished! From an idea discussed in the cafe at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow to many hours of work, the film is ready to be seen by thousands in 2022.

We are incredibly grateful to Ross Donald from Reverie Films who has directed and steered the film through the rocks and rapids of the pandemic. He is a highly accomplished commercial film maker, and to make a documentary about a social issue is a first for him. His enthusiasm for the project has been immense, and he has inspired the same in his many crews, producers and actors. That he’s done it all for no financial reward speaks volumes.

Still, without many thousands of pounds the film could not have been made. We shall soon be giving our formal public gratitude to the individuals, businesses, partners, a major third sector donor and the NHS, all of whom have made possible an important contribution to the raising of awareness of gambling harms.

None of this, of course, could have happened without Martin’s inspiration. If you’d like to hear his story check out the website Gambling Watch Scotland. (That wouldn’t have happened without him either!). He’s testimony to that inspiring quotation from Margaret Mead that Hilda Campbell of Cope Scotland is fond of referring to. Big thanks to Hilda, by the way. Money isn’t the only valuable thing.

So, a little delay recently but we are well used to that. Final shooting of drama pieces are on 7th and 14th November. Then the music, colouring, sound mixing, editing, title sequences…

We already have seven potential venues for screenings in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. We’re really excited looking forward to seeing the film move across the whole of Scotland and beyond.

If you would like to use the film in a community event or for other purposes we have some notes below:

One Last Spin: community and other screenings

Thank you for showing an interest in our film One Last Spin and considering screening it at a community event. You can learn more about the film at our website onelastspin.vision.

The main purpose of the film is to raise awareness about gambling harms.  Below are some possibilities for designing an event. These are by no means exhaustive and just suggestions.

Please note that the film’s content includes reference to suicide. We do not consider the film appropriate for people below the age of 16.

‘We’ are The Machine Zone which is a few volunteers who want to do their bit to reduce gambling harms. We have raised funds to work with professional film makers to produce a high-quality film. We also raised a small sum towards distributing the film, and continue to seek distribution funding.

From January 2022 onwards we look forward to seeing the film screened in community venues throughout Scotland, and also for awareness raising in sectors such as health, education, social work. Also, we very much hope that raising awareness about gambling harms may be incorporated into organisations that support recovery from alcohol and other drugs harms. Third sector organisations may find the film relevant in such work as health, recovery movements, finance, peer support and so on.

The film will also be available outside Scotland. Since we have extremely limited resources this will rely upon our providing the film for organisers to use as they wish. During the year the film will be entered to film festivals. This prevents our making it available in the public domain. But when the festival run is completed later in 2022 we aim to create a professionally designed website with the film at its centre.

The film is about half an hour long. We shall produce some supplementary ‘take-away’ materials as options, and organisers can add their own where appropriate.

Some Ideas for Screening the Film

These are simply suggestions. Feel free to pick and mix and add your own ideas! It is our wish that the design of each event involves the local organisers. You know best how to use the film. The film is best seen as part of an event. The event may fit in with work you are already doing, for instance in relation to recovery from addiction. Since gambling harms affect all communities, raising awareness generally may be of interest to community groups.

1. An online event. For larger organisations with wide membership reach across country, region or city. These could be linked to ongoing initiatives around gambling harms.
2. A small community organisation operating in a defined geographical area.
3. Prisons.
4. Larger ‘hub’ events such as an event for a wider geographical region within which transport enables attendance. Particularly in remote rural regions. Larger events may also include panels of significant speakers; for instance, in some events we already have planned we intend to have people from the film on panels.
5. National, regional and local governmental organised events. For instance, council, MSP or MP sponsored. We are also aiming for an event at Holyrood.
6. Sector training/awareness raising. For example education, medicine, mental health nursing, social work. Initial training and professional development.
7. We shall be able to deliver an event ourselves in conjunction with hosts. Where we can, we can fund these in part or whole. A typical event would see a short introduction with a panel or between two and four people, the film, and audience interaction. Some print materials from ourselves would be available. Event running time about 90 minutes.
8. Organisations’ members watching privately. Some organisations have asked us if we could make the film available for their members to view in their own time. This is possible. Please note, though, that access to the film would be via a password. Again, in this case it will be possible for organisations to supplement the film with materials and links.
9. Arts festivals and events.
10. While we’d be happy to attend events in person where possible, and we’ll always be ready to chat about your event, it will be possible for us to let you see the film prior to organising an event. Then, if you think you can use it, and can fully design the event yourself, we can provide the film either via online streaming or as a memory device (flash drive, DVD e.g.)

At the time of writing (27 October 2021) we are happy to have seen expressions of interest to screen the film from seven organisations in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It is in this area that we shall be starting our community events but Lochinver here we come! (You may need to consult a map!). We look forward to hearing from you if you think that the film will be good for your community or organisation. As said, we are very limited in resources so while we anticipate no great problems in distributing the film, please bear with us if our communications may be by the day rather than the hour. As and when appropriate, as well as emails we’ll chat by phone or Zoom.

Please address initial enquiries to adrianbailey@scotlandmail.com with ‘One Last Spin’ as subject.

Adrian Bailey

Martin Paterson

The Machine Zone Community Interest Company

27 October 2021