THE Regal cinema, Lothian Road. It was the early 1960s and young Eddie Dick was settling into his seat for another marathon day at the movies.
"It was the days when the films were on a continuous programme," he remembers with a grin. "Two films, three cartoons on a loop. You could go in halfway through a film and stay all day."
It was his first taste of what lay ahead. For more recently
Eddie has been watching a different kind of movie unravel. His own.
Until a just few weeks ago he could be found in the Grassmarket – just a mile from the Fountainbridge streets where he was raised. The area, with its bloody history, was forming the backdrop to Eddie's own cinematic horror adventure.
At its heart is Irish actor James Nesbitt, this time minus his cheeky chappy persona, now a far more menacing character for Eddie's new production, Outcast.
Filming has now moved to studios in Galway, Ireland, to help meet joint Scottish and Irish funding criteria. Nevertheless, Outcast – with its local production team, Craigmillar-raised Spooks writer Colm McCarthy and Penicuik actress Hanna Stanbridge among the cast – can safely be described as the latest in a fairly impressive lineup of films carrying the stamp, "Made in Edinburgh".
"The idea of putting your own city on film appeals even if, as in this case, quite a lot of the parts on film are not the typical tourist trap parts," agrees father-of-two Eddie, 59, boss of Makar Productions and producer of Outcast. "We filmed in a lot of places that were on their way to being demolished – Greendykes and Sighthill.
The backdrop for the drama might be real and the story draws on elements of writer Colm McCarthy's childhood in Craigmillar, but Outcast is pure fiction, themed around a fusion of Celtic mythology and bloody horror.
When the film is given its first preview showings at next year's Cannes Film Festival, the audience will see Nesbitt in the role of the sinister Cathal who turns up in Edinburgh in search of his ex-partner Mary and her teenage son.
"I was attracted to doing a horror movie," says Eddie. "And there are key elements in Outcast that I like. The story emerges from working class experiences in Edinburgh – it struck me as an unusual context for a horror film."
Mary, played by Red Road star Dickie, is one of the Sidh, an ancient race with magical powers. As her son falls for their neighbour, played by local girl, Queen Margaret University drama graduate Hanna, Cathal's threat to mother and son deepens.
Creating a Celtic horror story on film is a far cry from the days when Eddie found himself in his own career nightmare, standing in front of a classroom of 16-year-olds in Fife and trying to engage them in learning English.
"I was ten years as a teacher and there were times when it could be pretty tough, a challenge, but I enjoyed it too," he says.
He was teaching at a school in Methil when a job advert caught his eye. "It was an educational job with the Scottish Film Council. I arrived thinking I had no chance and then somehow gave the interview of a lifetime," he laughs.
Former Tynecastle High boy Eddie became head of the Scottish Film Production Fund – latterly Scottish Screen – with the role of delivering cheques to aspiring and established filmmakers.
It was a foot in the door to the world of film, but the organisation received criticism over its distribution of funds and Eddie was in the firing line. "You make as many enemies as you do friends in that kind of job," he shrugs.
There was also always a niggling voice in his head that told him he, too, could be a filmmaker.
"A lot of people came through my door that I admired and I thought I would aspire to work like them," he explains.
The result has been three documentary-style films. Outcast – his first dabble into horror – will make four when it's released next year.
It's a long way from Saturday afternoons at the old Regal, and from teaching in a stuffy classroom in Fife. But not too far.
