Scottish Documentary Institute

  • About
  • News
  • Films
  • 50/50+ Women
  • Opportunities
  • Events
  • Masterclasses
  • Donate

The Banana Republic (2015)

Duration: 10:34    Category: Scotland, Short   Opportunity: Bridging the Gap

Built in 1962 as an answer to local overcrowding and slum conditions in tenements, Leith’s Cables Wynd housing estate, known locally as the Banana Flats, became notorious as the crime-ridden center of Europe’s heroin epidemic in the 1980s. In 2015, it sits down the street from two Michelin starred restaurants. The film follows a local photographer and former resident who is embarking on a quest to document the triumphs and tragedies that exist inside each of the estate’s 204 flats.

Screening Formats: HD-Cam, QT file, DVD, BluRay, DCP

Highlights:
WORLD PREMIERE – Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015

Screenings:
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Film Festival Stranrear 2015 (UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Inverness Film Festival 2015 (UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – London Short Film Festival 2016 (UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Thessaloniki Doc Market 2016 (Greece)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Filmhouse Cinema, Edinburgh – Architecture Season 2016 (UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Open City Documentary Film Festival 2016 (UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Cinetekton! Int Fest of Cinema and Architecture 2016 (Mexico)

Links:
Official Website
Merchandise

To arrange a screening please contact: festivals@scotdoc.com

 

Director: Scott Calonico
Producer: Lindsay Goodall
Executive Producers: Sonja Henrici, Noe Mendelle
DoP: George Cameron Geddes
Editor: Anthea Harvey
Music/Sound Design: Ali Murray

Related Films / All Films

watch film

Hole in the Stone (2024)

23 min
  • Bridging the Gap,
  • Short,
watch film

Multi Story (2005)

10:10
  • Bridging the Gap,
  • Scotland,
  • Short,
watch film

Crannog (2018)

14:56
  • Bridging the Gap,
  • Short,
watch film

Surpriseville (2010)

09:05
  • Bridging the Gap,
  • International,
  • Short,
  • Society,

Footer

  • Environment
  • Volunteer
  • Equality
  • Complaints
  • Jobs

Contact Us

info@scotdoc.com

Scottish Documentary Institute
Caledonian Exchange 19A Canning Street
Edinburgh EH3 8HE, Scotland, UK


Scottish Documentary Institute is a private limited company by guarantee, registered in Scotland (SC481435); and a registered charity in Scotland (SC049206), regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

Supported By

© 2025 Scottish Documentary Institute.
Design by Primate. Built by Visibility Corps.