Andi Watson, LISFF 2026, Feature Screenplay Official Selection

-Can you tell us about your daily life?

My name is Andi Watson and I’m a photographer/film-maker. I live with my wife and 4 children in the beautiful town of St Andrews in Scotland. In between doing the school run I’ll be out in my garden office editing photos or video, and trying to find the time to write. I procrastinate by going for walks on the beach, normally wrapped up against the East Coast wind!

-When/how did you get into writing/film-making?

I studied English Lit at university, and for as long as I can remember my favourite past-time was getting lost in a great book. I started off trying to write a novel, but I noticed that as I was writing I was imagining the music that would soundtrack the scene, or thinking about how the light would look etc, and I soon realised that I wanted to make films more than write novels!

‘Viv + Eddie’ is my first feature screenplay and it’s won multiple awards, so I think I made the right decision to ditch the novel!

-How often do you write/create/ develop ideas? Do you have a writing/creative routine? And what inspires you to write?

The No1 piece of advice most writers give is that you should write every day, but I haven’t been able to stick to that! I find I spend a lot of time just mulling over ideas without actually getting anything down on paper. Instead I’ll fill the Notes app on my phone with snippets of dialogue and ideas for the film, and then once I’m excited enough about it I’ll start planning out the scenes etc.

I get inspired by characters, and enjoy writing dialogue. My scripts are more likely to have lots of conversations rather than car chases or explosions!

-How does it feel to have your work recognised?

Writing is a lonely process and it’s really easy to feel like a fraud. When your work places highly in a competition it’s a sign that maybe you weren’t crazy and that perhaps this idea isn’t too bad after all!

-What's the best and most challenging thing about writing/filmmaking in your genre/form? 

The most challenging thing about writing generally is just getting started. I love it when I’m in the middle of it, but starting is hard. It’s like working out – you don’t want to do it but you’re glad you did and it’s good for you!

-How did you develop the idea for your LISFF/LISP-selected work? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

The initial idea behind ‘Viv + Eddie’ of a dying woman trying to find a new wife for her inept husband before she dies came to me a few years ago, but it's changed a lot over that time. I think I’ve written around 15 drafts of the script and deleted pages and pages that I once thought were great! But you have to be ruthless and “kill your babies”.

-Can you please give us a few tips about filmmaking/ scriptriting/writing?

I think it really helps to write about things that you care about and be honest in your writing. You can be writing a science-fiction action film full of aliens but if you put part of yourself into the characters and mine your own inner life then your writing will be more interesting. Don’t write what you think people want to read, write what you’re interested in.

-What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions/festivals? 

It’s amazing getting feedback and validation from competitions, but writing is subjective and you can’t win them all! Hearing that your script hasn’t been selected can be demoralising but you have to keep it in perspective!

-Lastly, do you recommend the writers/filmmakers submit to LISP/LISFF?

Absolutely – it’s been a great experience!