The major problem which has hindered the growth of a Scottish Film Industry in the past is the lack of any kind of stable industrial structure. Scottish films were produced in isolation from each other other in a one - off fashion. Virtually the only exceptions to this were the films of Bill Douglas and Bill Forsyth. Bill Douglas managed to produce his trilogy of films in the 1970s with financial backing from the BFI. However Douglas’ relationship with the institute was far from stable. During the post production of My Ain Folk Douglas was eventually banned from entering the BFI building to take part in the editing. His final feature film, Comrades, was financed by the newly established Channel Four. This arrangement marked the starting point of a movement which would eventually lead to a clearly recognisable Scottish film industry being created.

When Channel Four was established in 1982 part of its duty was to provide a space so that issues and interests which were not addressed by the existing television broadcasters (the BBC and the various regional companies which made up the ITV network). The channel was not allowed to produce its own programmes. Everything which broadcast on Channel Four had to be made by independent production companies.

The fact that the first chief executive of Channel Four, Jeremy Isaacs, was Scottish was also very important. One of the first things which he did was make to make sure that all commissioning editors in the company understood that they were not just addressing the south of England but the rest of Britain as well. He also showed that companies outside London were capable of making quality programming.

As far as drama was concerned Isaacs decided that priority was to be given to feature films, which would also get a cinema release before being shown on television. Out of the first twenty eight productions commissioned by Channel Four four of them were Scottish: Living Apart Together (1983), Hero (1982), Ill fares the Land (1983), and Another Time, Another Place (1983).

Another major contribution which Channel Four made during this period was the establishment of local film and video workshops across Britain. These included the Edinburgh Film and Video Workshop and the Glasgow Film and Video Workshop (now the Glasgow Media Access Centre or G-MAC). While these workshops did not produce a great deal of material for Channel Four they did give aspiring filmmakers a chance to learn essential skills. Projects such as G-MAC's Cineworks scheme allow new filmmakers to produce their own short films.

The short film is a genre which largely fell out of fashion during the 1970s and 1980s. Before this the main feature film would often be preceded by a short film. Gradually, however, cinemas realised that if they cut the short films they would be able to cut down the time needed for each showing, meaning that they were able to squeeze more screenings into each day and thus make more money. The short film continued to be a popular means of training in films schools since it allowed students to develop their skills without having to raise the kinds of large budgets needed for a feature film. At the start of the 1990s many organisations in Scotland, including the workshops realised the importance of short films in the training of filmmakers.

BBC Scotland, in conjunction with the Scottish Film Production Fund, established the Tartan Shorts scheme in 1993. Each year the scheme funds three short films, which are then shown on BBC Scotland. The scheme got off to a flying start when one of the first shorts to be commissioned, Franz Kafka's It's a wonderful life, won the Oscar for best short film. Since then the scheme has produced Fridge (1995), the first film directed by Peter Mullan before he went on to make Orphans, and Gasman (1997) by Lynne Ramsay, the director of Ratcatcher.

The success of Tartan Shorts led to the Scottish Film Production Fund setting up two other short film schemes, Prime Cuts and Gear Ghear (for Gaelic film making). Other schemes include Cineworks, by G-MAC, Newfoundland, an STV scheme which produces half - hour dramas broadcast on STV, and eightandahalf, a scheme set up by Antonine Productions shortly before the firm collapsed. Short film making is now the main way into film production for many people in Scotland.

The Scottish Film Production Fund also underwent major changes during this period. In 1996 / 97 the Fund merged with Scottish Screen Locations, the Scottish Film Training Trust and the Scottish Film and Television Archive to become Scottish Screen. Scottish Screen now has full responsibility for film production, and provided a model for the Film Council when the Westminster Parliament decided to merge the various British film bodies together in April 2000.

One of the biggest changes which took place during the 1990s was the introduction of new sources of funding into the industry. The most significant of these was the introduction of the National Lottery in 1995. Lottery funding for Scottish films was initially handled by the SFPF, before being handed over to Scottish Screen. The panel which originally distributed Lottery funds was based upon the Glasgow Film Fund. This body was established in 1992 by the Glasgow Development Agency, Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Regional Council, with financial assistance from the European Regional Development Fund.

The Film Fund had an annual budget of £160,000 which was used to help finance films which agreed to shoot in Glasgow. The first film which received assistance from the fund was Shallow Grave, the first film produced by the makers of Trainspotting. While both these films were set in Edinburgh all but a few location shots were filmed in Glasgow. The fund went on to finance a further 11 films, including My Name is Joe, Orphans, and The House of Mirth, before it too became a part of Scottish Screen.

In a related initiative Glasgow City Council also established the Glasgow Film Office. This is essentially a department of the council which has responsibility for attracting filmmakers to Glasgow and providing them with any assistance they might need in obtaining locations. The scheme was based upon the New York Film Office, and has had an involvement with all films shot in Glasgow since it was established. Subsequently various other local councils have set up similar departments, such as the Edinburgh Film Focus and Ayrshire Film Focus.

All of these various agencies and funds have collaborated over the last ten years to help develop a small but constant film industry in Scotland which produces material for both the cinema and television. While many of the films produced over the last decade have found varying degrees of success the standards of production have remained consistently high. With the Scottish Parliament showing an increasing interest in film production, and with the possibility of a film studio being built on the banks of the Clyde it is highly likely that the Scottish film industry will continue to grow and prosper in the years to come.