PIECE OF MIND
Filmmaking Project 2024/25
Victim to a devastating raid, a village tucked away in the rural landscape of Scotland has honoured the loss and suffering of their ancestors through the annual 'Day of Silence' festival, in which the village stands in silence for 24 hours. However in the modern day, an event that’s brought people together for centuries, is starting to drive them apart...
Runtime: 39 minutes
Release Date: 13th September 2025
Filmed in: Scotland, UK
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Public Release: 19th December 2025
The May Lockhart Trust
"A thought-provoking production that explores the importance of heritage and traditions while shining a spotlight on key issues facing our communities including dealing with grief and loss, and coping with the strain and pressures of modern life. Piece of Mind is a triumph and the crew and filmmakers should be really proud of themselves.”
Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing and Islands in North Ayrshire
An Overview
Since February 2024, filmmakers Max McGregor, Daniel Kerr, and Archie Nelson have been leading Next Take's most recent, and largest filmmaking project to date: 'Piece of Mind'. The project developed many of the successful aspects of our previous 'Different Ways' project, and focussed on teaching filmmaking skills to young people whilst actively creating a collaborative original piece of work.
The project was a platform for young voices to be heard as the film was entirely written and produced by people 25 and under. 'Piece of Mind' was developed by a core group of around 20 young people, and involved around an additional 160 people from across different communities in it's production.
The project was funded by Screen Scotland's Screen Education Fund, North Ayrshire Council, The May Lockhart Trust, and Vertex Visions. It was also made possible thanks to many generous individuals and organisations, that provided access to equipment, locations, and places to work from.
Themes
The film focuses on the theme of perspective. It shows us how the same situation can be seen in different, equally valid ways - and encourages openness to differences and other viewpoints in a judgemental world.
Commenting on this topical point was something all the writers behind the film thought was important. In addition, the film explores plenty more themes:
Perspective
Culture
Perspective
Generational
Generational Differences
Tradition
Isolation
Bullying
Family
Identity
Loss
Belonging
Remembrance
Production
Piece of Mind was in production for 10 months. Production involved a lot of work - from organising film shoots, to blocking and rehearsing scenes, and of course plenty of filming!
June 2025 - September 2025
Post-production
Post-production for Piece of Mind took place through the summer. Not only was the film cut together, but the score was composed, and the film was run past many people across post production for feedback.
The Timeline
The project developed significantly since it began in February 2024. Here is how it was structured:
February 2024 - August 2024
Pre-production
We spent 6 months working on pre-production for Piece of Mind. This included developing the themes, writing the story, creating the characters, and developing the setting.
August 2024 - June 2025
Project Impact
The impact of the project on some of our participants:
“The value of those genuine friendships that I’ve managed to build, the hours of productive, insightful and respectful discussions, as well as light-hearted conversations full of understanding, support and encouragement among the crew members, is impossible to overstate. All of these helped me to overcome my anxiety and to become a more open, outreaching and communicative individual.”
Screenings
Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine
Saturday 13th September 2025
Piece of Mind was premiered at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine on Saturday the 13th September 2025.
The film was very positively received by all who attended, and the screening included a panel talk from some of the crew and cast led by Duglas T Stewart of the BMX Bandits.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow
Saturday 20th September 2025
As a two part launch, Piece of Mind was shown at the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) following the premiere in Irvine.
This allowed us to involve much more people in the launch of the film, and Piece of Mind was very well received by those who attended.
Largs Academy, North Ayrshire
Thursday 23rd October 2025
To showcase the film to more young people, we screened Piece of Mind for an audience of media and drama students at Largs Academy.
We spoke to students about the project, and answered questions on the process.
Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine
Saturday 8th November 2025
A second screening of the film at the Harbour Arts Centre for another audience - many of whom were supporting artists in the film.
The film was very positively received and the screening included a panel talk from some of the crew and cast led by Josh Corbett.
Behind the Scenes
A gallery of stills from across the project.
