Scotica Film welcomes creative director Rachel Sarah

One of Scotland’s leading film production companies has expanded its offering across the country following the appointment of a multi-award-winning creative director.

Glasgow-based Scotica Film has welcomed Rachel Sarah to head up its Highlands operations from Glencoe.

Rachel, whose honours include awards from both the Kendal Mountain Festival and Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, has had films screened across the world.

As well being a passionate documentary maker, Rachel, who is originally from Yorkshire but moved to Scotland prior to joining Scotica, has also overseen commercial work for iconic brands including Porsche, Patagonia, Berghaus and Merrell.

“Joining Scotica seemed like the perfect fit for me,” she said. “The business’s strong ethical values, passion for the environment and challenging location shoots, were aligned with my values.

“I am passionate about the work we do, and so being able to create beautiful work with a great crew, that has a positive impact, and makes our clients happy – that’s what makes me tick. And essentially that love and care for the work and the people is how I will grow the business.

“As soon as we began discussions, I knew it was something I wanted to be part of.”

Rachel added that teamwork has played a significant role in her career.

“I have always been hugely interested in cooperation and collaboration, working with many outdoor production companies in my career so far,” she said.

“I think that although many of us are often competing for similar work, there should always be a place for us to collaborate and work together – to create a more cohesive and welcoming outdoor creative community.”

Launched in 2019, Scotica has grown to become one of Scotland’s leading film firms.

Its recent documentary Hardangerfolk, which retells the story of a top-secret mission to stop Hitler developing nuclear weapons, has been wowing audiences at film festivals across the globe.

Commercial clients include legendary outdoor wear firms Gore-Tex and Keela, and Scottish whisky titans Talisker [SK1] and Commando Spirit. Its work with London creative agency Fold7 helped Talisker’s One for the Sea ad campaign win an award at the annual Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards last month.

Scotica founder Gregor D Sinclair said: “Rachel is a hugely accomplished filmmaker, and from our first meeting I knew she would make an invaluable addition to the Scotica team.

“We pride ourselves on creating films which cut to the core of issues around environment and adventure sport, and bringing on one of the UK’s top adventure filmmakers has felt like a very natural partnership.

“I greatly look forward to seeing what Rachel and I can accomplish together in the coming years, with many exciting documentary projects already on our slate.”