Wigtown Book Festival: Visitors will get chance to feature in brand new film, as Nicola Sturgeon attends

It is one of the most remote book festival locations in the UK, which will next week play host to names including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and actor Julie Wilson Nimmo.

Now visitors to Wigtown Book Festival will also be able to appear in a film, when a film, billed as “a love letter” to Scotland’s National Book Town, is made during this year’s event.

Wigtown – The Movie - the working title - aims to capture the spirit of this rural Galloway community of less than 1,000 people and the 8,000 or more visitors they welcome each year for the festival.

Visitors will have the chance to get involved and appear in the film, alongside some key local residents, who have already been recruited.

Directed by local filmmaker Jessica Fox, the film will be screened at next year’s festival.

Wigtown resident Ms Fox said: “Wigtown, its festival, people and visitors are amazing. The town’s character, energy, fun, openness to outsiders and sheer sense of community make it a very special place – one that deserves its own movie, a celluloid love letter that captures some of that spirit.

Jessica Fox is to make a film about Wigtown Book Festival. | Colin Hattersley / Wigtown Festi

“Some of the film will be scripted and we’ve recruited local people for key roles – but much will be unscripted and will be shaped by who gets involved and what happens during the festival.”

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Ms Fox and cinematographer Ben Please, who was the cameraman for her previous film Stella, will be filming throughout the ten days. Ms Fox has also recently created a new female-led movie project called Spaghetti Western, is the author of best-selling memoir Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets and was once a storyteller for NASA.

Among the residents due to appear in the 15-minute movie is Shaun Bythell, author of the hugely successful Diary of a Bookseller series and owner of The Book Shop – Scotland’s largest second-hand bookstore. Mr Bythell will also be speaking at an event on the final day of the festival, which will see him recount his diary of the ten-day event.

Adrian Turpin, Wigtown Book Festival creative director, said: “The festival is so wonderful because it’s made by the entire town and community. Getting residents and visitors involved in a movie project like this is a brilliant idea – and exactly the kind of imaginative project which make the town and the festival such a joy.”

The festival, which starts later this week, will see Ms Sturgeon discuss her memoir, Frankly.

Nicola Sturgeon with her new memoir, Frankly. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

It will also feature events with Helen Lederer, star of 1980s TV comedies including Absolutely Fabulous, TV anchor Louise Minchin, who will discuss her novel Deception Island, and BBC newsreader Reeta Chakrabarti talking about her debut novel Finding Belle.

Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie talks to Rory Cellan-Jones about The Tremolo Diaries, which explores his life with Parkinson’s disease. An erotic writing workshop, a mass wild swim in the Solway Firth and a pop-up sauna in a bookshop garden will also feature at the festival.

The Bookshop Band will add music to the mix with an event dedicated to banned books and musician Beth Porter - one half of the band - will be endeavouring to create a choir in a day.

Wigtown Book Festival starts on Friday and runs until Sunday, October 5.