The 30 Best Films Set in Scotland

When we think of films set in Scotland, two images usually come to mind: the sweeping Hollywood epic and the gritty social realist drama. The iconic titles are all there — from Braveheart to Trainspotting — and you’ll find them in this guide as well. But stopping at those would miss the full picture.

Because the true cinematic identity of Scotland lives elsewhere too: in its independent cinema. This is where the country’s most vibrant and surprising filmmaking takes shape, a lineage that stretches across more than a century, from early silent experiments to the new directors redefining Scotland on screen today. It’s a cinema made of surreal comedies born from unemployment, visual poetry pulled from urban decay, and pagan horrors emerging from the most remote islands.

This guide isn’t just a list of films that use Scotland as a picturesque backdrop. It’s a journey into the heart of Scottish cinema itself: from the universally known classics to the most honest and daring independent productions. From Glasgow to Edinburgh, from the Highlands to the Orkney Islands, these are the films that truly define a nation.

The Origins: Scottish Cinema Before Cinema

Before there was an industry, there were artisans. The first attempts at a Scottish narrative cinema came not from studios, but from local photographers and enthusiasts. These films are crucial artifacts, the genesis of an indigenous identity that refused to be just a set for London or Hollywood.

Mairi, the Romance of a Highland Maiden (1912)

A silent short, often cited as the first Scottish narrative feature. Filmed in Inverness by a local photographer, Andrew Paterson, and starring local amateur actors, it tells a simple story of love and rivalry set, of course, in the Highlands.

This film is a fundamental starting point. It is the genesis of indigenous Scottish cinema. Its “amateur” nature and its total reliance on the North Kessock landscape establish a template that would last for a century: Scotland is not just a setting, but the subject itself, filmed by those who belong to it, far from the major studios and their fantasies.

The Life of Robert Burns (1926)

An ambitious silent biopic produced by the Scottish Film Academy. The film, of which only fragments survive, attempted to illustrate episodes from the life of the Scottish national bard and his works, using local actors and “splendid” landscapes as backdrops for the poetry.

Like Mairi, this film is a conscious attempt to forge a national cinematic identity. The choice of Robert Burns is highly significant: it is an attempt to reclaim Scottish literary culture through the new and powerful medium of film. Its “one-off” status and mixed critical reception at the time highlight the initial struggle of Scottish independent cinema to find its own autonomous path.

The Poet’s Eye: The Artist’s Cinema

Before the great explosion of auteur cinema, a solitary and fiercely independent figure was creating film-poems in the most remote islands. This is the root of the Scottish underground.

A Portrait of Ga (1952)

A poetic and “fiercely independent” short film by the pioneer Margaret Tait. It is an intimate, five-minute portrait of her mother and her home in Orkney. The film lovingly captures small daily gestures, like unwrapping a sticky sweet or smoking a cigarette in the wind.

Margaret Tait is perhaps the most important figure in all of Scottish underground cinema. Rejecting conventional narrative, she creates a cinematic “haiku.” The Scottish setting here is not an epic landscape, but a tactile, personal, and lived-in space. This film, made “entirely outside the system,” establishes the vein of Scottish artist’s cinema and directly influenced, decades later, directors of the caliber of Lynne Ramsay.

Dark Folklore and Horror in the Isles

Scotland, with its remote islands, blood-soaked history, and ancient traditions, is fertile ground for folk-horror and the psychological thriller. In these obscure films shot in Scotland, geographical isolation becomes a mirror for psychological isolation. The islands are not places of beauty, but traps; not refuges, but crucibles that force a confrontation with dark forces, be they pagan, supernatural, or internal.

Whisky Galore! (1949)

Based on a true story, this Ealing Comedies classic is set during World War II on a fictitious Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides. When a ship carrying 50,000 cases of whisky runs aground, the thirsty, ration-bound islanders conspire to “salvage” the precious cargo.

While a light comedy, this film is a potent act of cultural rebellion. It’s Scotland (the cunning islanders) against England (the bureaucratic, rigid Captain Waggett). The Scottish setting is fundamental: the island’s isolation allows this micro-society to operate by its own rules. It is the genesis of Scottish cult cinema, a film that defines Scottish identity as communal, astute, and inherently anti-authoritarian.

The Wicker Man (1973)

A pious and rigid police sergeant, Howie, travels to the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle to investigate a girl’s disappearance. He finds a pagan community that smilingly denies the girl’s existence, leading him to a fatal clash between his Christianity and their ancient spring rituals.

This is the apex of British folk-horror and a key film for understanding the use of Scotland in genre cinema. The Scottish setting is essential: the remote islands are presented as “outside of time” and the moral jurisdiction of the mainland. The film brilliantly contrasts modern, Christian Scotland (Howie) with a pagan, ancient, and terrifying Scotland (the islanders), creating a Scottish cult cinema classic that has become a global phenomenon.

Let Us Prey (2014)

A tense, low-budget horror-thriller set in a remote Scottish police station. The arrival of a mysterious stranger coincides with a series of violent and inexplicable events, forcing the few cops and prisoners to confront their own sins on a night of apocalyptic chaos.

An excellent example of “Tartan Noir” that bravely veers into supernatural horror. The Scottish setting, here, is claustrophobic. The film uses the isolation of a small town (shot in and around Glasgow, but set as if on the edge of the world) to create a moral hell. Scotland is not a landscape, but a purgatory where every soul must face judgment.

She Will (2021)

An aging film star goes to a healing retreat in the Scottish Highlands after a double mastectomy. There, the mystical forces of the land—once a place of brutal witch burnings—merge with her psychological trauma, unleashing a vengeful power against the director who abused her years before.

A feminist folk-horror work that uses the Scottish landscape in an incredibly powerful way. The Highlands are not just a picturesque backdrop but a living archive of female pain and repressed power. The film directly connects the forgotten history of witch burnings in Scotland to the #MeToo movement, suggesting the Scottish soil itself is imbued with a memory that demands justice.

The Birth of “New Scottish Cinema”: Comedy, Crisis, and Identity

The 1970s and 80s saw the birth of a true indigenous Scottish cinema, led by seminal figures like Bill Douglas and Bill Forsyth. These directors created a unique cinematic identity, far from gritty English realism, defined by low-budget, eccentric humor, and a deep sense of place. Bill Forsyth’s wave of films, in particular, represented a radical shift: where British independent cinema was dominated by political “miserabilism,” Forsyth chose comedy as a subversive act. He took Scottish social problems (unemployment, marginalization) and transformed them into surreal fables, creating a unique cinematic identity: resilient, ironic, and brilliant.

The Bill Douglas Trilogy (1972-1978)

A series of three autobiographical films—My Childhood, My Ain Folk, My Way Home—made on a “shoestring budget” by the BFI. The films recount the harrowing life of the director, Jamie, growing up in extreme poverty in a post-war Scottish mining village.

This trilogy is an absolute and painful landmark. It is the dark, lyrical side of Scottish independence. Douglas uses the Scottish setting (the village of Newcraighall) as a landscape of emotional desolation. His austere, monochrome style is the antithesis of “Tartanry” and any romanticism. It is one of the most honest and powerful portraits of Scottish working-class life, a work “vital in the development of Scottish cinema.”

Just Another Saturday (1975)

Originally a “Play for Today” for the BBC, this Peter McDougall film offers a “hard and brutal” look at sectarian violence in Glasgow. It follows a young man (played by a young Billy Connolly) during his enthusiastic participation in an Orange Order parade, which ends in a shocking revelation.

A seminal film that unveiled the raw and complex reality of Glasgow’s sectarianism to the rest of the UK. The urban Scottish setting is central: the parade through the city streets is not a celebration, but a march of division and intimidation. It is an essential piece of Scottish social realism, exposing the city’s internal wounds with courage.

That Sinking Feeling (1979)

Bill Forsyth’s “ultra low-budget” (£5,000) debut feature. A group of unemployed Glasgow teenagers, led by the dreamer Ronnie, devise an absurd and seemingly brilliant plan: to steal a warehouse full of stainless steel sinks.

This film is the milestone of “New Scottish Cinema.” Made with a cast of non-professional actors from the Glasgow Youth Theatre, it transforms the despair of youth unemployment into a surreal, charming, and almost innocent comedy. It is the birth certificate of Glasgow’s “magical realism,” defining Forsyth’s unique style and his subversive approach to social problems.

Gregory’s Girl (1981)

Bill Forsyth’s second film. Set in the Scottish new town of Cumbernauld, it follows Gregory, an awkward, football-mad teenager, who falls for Dorothy, the new, talented center-forward on the school football team who has taken his place.

An immortal classic of Scottish cult cinema. Forsyth uses the modernist, geometric setting of Cumbernauld to create one of the sweetest, smartest, and most bizarre teenage romantic comedies ever. The film gently subverts gender expectations (the girl is the unbeatable athlete) and offers an affectionate, indelible portrait of Scottish suburban life, far from any stereotype.

Local Hero (1983)

An American oil company executive (“Mac“) is sent to a remote, picturesque Scottish fishing village (Ferness) to buy the entire town in order to build a refinery. Mac, a city man, slowly falls under the spell of the place, the sky, and its eccentric inhabitants.

Bill Forsyth’s masterpiece. This film directly addresses the clash between modernity (the oil industry) and tradition (the Scottish village). But it avoids clichés: the villagers are more than happy to sell and become millionaires. The Scottish setting is magical without being fantasy; it is a place that changes people. Mark Knopfler’s soundtrack has become part of Scotland’s cultural DNA.

Comfort and Joy (1984)

Bill Forsyth’s last purely Scottish film. A Glasgow radio DJ, whose life is falling apart after his kleptomaniac girlfriend leaves him just before Christmas, accidentally finds himself mediating a feud between two rival Italian ice-cream van families.

An underrated gem and a love letter to Glasgow. Forsyth uses the “ice cream wars” as an absurdly comic conflict to explore depression, loneliness, and human connection. The Scottish setting here is urban, wintry, and melancholic. The film perfectly captures the mix of sadness and absurd humor that defines the city.

Restless Natives (1985)

A low-budget cult comedy. Two Edinburgh lads, jobless and bored, become unlikely modern-day “Robin Hoods.” Wearing clown and wolf masks, they begin to “gently” rob tourist buses in the Highlands with toy guns and itching powder.

This film perfectly captures the spirit of the Forsyth era. It’s a social critique (endemic youth unemployment) disguised as a charming, freewheeling comedy. The Scottish setting is used iconically: the vast Highland landscapes become the theater for these comic robberies, turning the protagonists into tourist attractions themselves. The Big Country soundtrack is legendary.

Scotland Seen from Outside: Auteur Visions

Scotland has not only been the subject of indigenous directors but also an essential canvas for foreign independent films shot in Scotland. Great international auteurs have found in its extreme lands, its weather, and its light a philosophical “non-place.” They don’t choose Scotland for its “Scottishness,” but for its elemental and mythical qualities: an arena where humanity, or the alien, is stripped bare and tested against primal forces.

Breaking the Waves (1996)

Lars von Trier’s devastating masterpiece. Set in a rigid Calvinist community on the northwest coast of Scotland in the 1970s. The young and psychologically fragile Bess marries Jan, an oil rig worker. When he is paralyzed, he encourages her to have relations with other men and tell him about them, as an act of faith.

A devastating film. Von Trier specifically chose Scotland, particularly the Isle of Skye, for its “romantic” landscape and its austere, oppressive religious tradition. The Scottish setting is the antagonist: its raw beauty and its patriarchal faith crush Bess’s radical, almost divine “goodness.” It is a European independent film that uses Scotland as a religious parable.

Regeneration (1997)

Based on the novel by Pat Barker, the film is set in the Craiglockhart war hospital in Edinburgh during World War I. It follows the meeting between war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen and the psychologist Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, who tries to cure their shell shock.

A British independent film of rare intelligence. The Scottish setting (Edinburgh) is used as a place of truce and convalescence, far from the French front. But it is a deceptive peace. The hospital becomes a microcosm where a different battle is fought: the one for mental health and against the absurdity of war. Scotland is a psychological refuge, a place of healing and torment.

Raw Realism and “Tartan Noir”: Living and Dying in Glasgow

Starting in the 1990s, a new wave of directors redefined Scotland’s image, moving away from Forsyth’s charm and embracing a raw, often brutal, Glasgow-centric realism. This movement gave birth to “Tartan Noir” and a cinema of desperate poetry. Shallow Grave (set in Edinburgh) kicked off the cynicism, but it was Glasgow that became the center of a “trinity” of authors who define modern Scottish cinema: Ken Loach (the political perspective), Peter Mullan (the psychological), and Lynne Ramsay (the poetic).

Shallow Grave (1994)

Danny Boyle’s explosive debut. Three egocentric, bourgeois flatmates in Edinburgh interview a new tenant, who dies shortly after of an overdose in their flat, leaving behind a suitcase full of money. They decide to keep the money and dismember the body, unleashing a spiral of paranoia and murder.

This film kicked off the ’90s British film boom. The Scottish setting (Edinburgh’s elegant New Town) is used with ironic cynicism. The city’s Georgian, respectable facade hides a moral rot. It is the film that defined “Tartan Noir” for cinema: stylish, ruthless, modern, and steeped in black humor.

Orphans (1998)

The directorial debut of actor Peter Mullan. Set in Glasgow, the film follows four siblings on the night before their mother’s funeral. A storm rages over the city, and each sibling faces a surreal and disastrous night of grief, violence, misfortune, and absurd comedy.

A masterpiece of black humor and pain. This is Mullan’s psychological vision: Glasgow is not just a setting, but a chaotic emotional landscape. It’s a film that “mixes realist drama, wildly absurd humour, and moving social observation.” It rejects all sentimentality, offering a powerful and deeply Scottish portrait of working-class mourning.

My Name Is Joe (1998)

Directed by Ken Loach and set in one of Glasgow’s toughest neighborhoods. Joe Kavanagh, a recovering alcoholic on unemployment, falls in love with Sarah, a health visitor. Their relationship is threatened when Joe is dragged back into the criminal world to protect his indebted friend.

One of Ken Loach’s most powerful films, his political vision. Peter Mullan won Best Actor at Cannes for his raw performance. The film is a perfect example of Loach’s social realism applied to the Scottish context. It shows Glasgow’s economic desperation, but also the humanity, dignity, and resilience of its inhabitants. The setting is a character that determines destiny.

Ratcatcher (1999)

Lynne Ramsay’s hypnotic directorial debut. Set in a Glasgow housing estate during the long 1973 binmen’s strike. The film follows 12-year-old James, haunted by a dark secret, as he navigates the filthy canals, piles of rubbish, and his dreams of escaping to a new house.

This is the poetic vision. It is not simple social realism; it is “visual poetry.” Ramsay finds a surreal and “visually haunting” beauty in the squalor. The Scottish setting is a purgatory of refuse and repressed dreams. An extraordinary first feature that established Ramsay as one of the most original voices in world cinema, a true spiritual heir to Margaret Tait.

Morvern Callar (2002)

Lynne Ramsay’s enigmatic second film. Morvern, a supermarket clerk in a small Scottish port town (Oban), wakes up on Christmas morning to find her boyfriend has died by suicide. He has left her an unpublished novel. She erases his name, puts hers on it, and uses his money to flee with her friend to Ibiza.

A film about identity, grief, and escape. Scotland here is the starting point: a cold, gray, silent, and paralyzed place to flee from. The act of stealing the novel is an act of erasing her old life. Ramsay contrasts the bleak Scottish winter with the chaotic, sun-drenched hedonism of Ibiza, using the setting to map Morvern’s psychological and existential journey.

Sweet Sixteen (2002)

Another powerful Scottish drama from Ken Loach. Set in Greenock, a town on the Clyde scarred by unemployment. Liam, a teenager, desperately tries to scrape together money to buy a caravan for his mother, who is about to be released from prison, but ends up sucked into the world of drug dealing.

A heartbreaking film and another example of Loach’s political vision. Loach uses the Scottish setting (Greenock) to show the tragic lack of opportunities for young people. The “sweet sixteen” of the title is a bitter irony. As in My Name Is Joe, the Scottish setting is not picturesque, but a socio-economic labyrinth from which it is almost impossible to escape. It launched the career of Martin Compston.

16 Years of Alcohol (2003)

A stylized independent drama set in Edinburgh. The film follows Frankie, a member of a violent skinhead gang, and his struggle to change his life after falling in love. The film explores his troubled childhood, his addiction to violence and alcohol, and his attempt at redemption.

A visually audacious film that moves away from raw realism to embrace a more theatrical and lyrical aesthetic. The Scottish setting (Edinburgh) is shown in its less tourist-friendly, more brutal corners. It is a film about Scottish toxic masculinity, connecting the culture of gang violence to an emotional void and a desperate search for meaning. A dark and underrated work.

Red Road (2006)

Andrea Arnold’s directorial debut. Set in Glasgow, the film follows Jackie, a CCTV operator who watches life in a dilapidated housing estate (the infamous Red Road flats). Her obsessive life takes a turn when she sees a man on her screen she never wanted to see again.

A tense psychological thriller and a piece of social cinema. The film (a Scottish-Danish co-production) uses Glasgow’s brutalist architecture as a panoptic labyrinth. Scotland here is a landscape of surveillance, voyeurism, and trauma. The setting is not just a backdrop, but the very mechanism of the plot and the revenge.

Neds (2010)

Peter Mullan’s third feature film. Set in 1970s Glasgow, it follows John, a bright, academic boy who, after being betrayed by the education system and his dysfunctional family, slides into a life of violence by joining a gang of “Neds” (Non-Educated Delinquents).

A deeply personal and brutal work from Mullan, his second psychological exploration. Drawing on his own youth, Mullan explores the roots of youth violence in Glasgow. The film analyzes how gang culture, the failure of the school system, and post-industrial masculinity combine to destroy potential. It is an unflinching and powerful portrait.

The Angels’ Share (2012)

A comedy-drama from Ken Loach. Set in Glasgow, the film follows Robbie, a young father and small-time delinquent desperately trying to turn his life around. After narrowly avoiding prison, he discovers an unexpected talent: an extraordinary sensitivity for whisky tasting.

A return by Loach to a lighter, almost Forsyth-esque tone, bringing things full circle. The film unites the harsh social realism of Glasgow with a heist-movie comedy set in the refined world of Highland distilleries. The Scottish setting is used to contrast the two worlds: urban poverty and the liquid wealth of the Highlands.

Modern Frontiers: The New Scottish Directors

Scottish independent cinema is alive and well, as evidenced by the selections at the Glasgow Film Festival. The modern Scottish indie films 2020-2025 continue to explore classic themes (isolation, identity, landscape) through new lenses. The new generation is returning to the islands, but not for folk-horror. Today, the islands are used as a bureaucratic purgatory for refugees or as a place of therapy and healing from modern life.

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (2007)

A revolutionary film, it is one of the first feature films shot almost entirely in Scottish Gaelic. Set on the Isle of Skye, the film uses a frame narrative: a man tells a friend the mythical and folkloric stories of his childhood and ancestors to cope with a family loss.

A film of immense cultural importance. It is a deliberate attempt to use cinema to preserve and revitalize the Gaelic language. The Scottish setting (Skye) is not just a backdrop but the film’s beating heart, a place where myth, memory, and reality intertwine. It is independent cinema in the purest sense: made by the community, for the community.

Scheme Birds (2019)

A “searingly honest” documentary directed by two Swedish filmmakers. The film follows four years in the life of Gemma, a teenager growing up on an estate in Motherwell, once the heart of Scotland’s steel industry. The film follows her as she confronts violence, teenage pregnancy, and broken dreams.

The spiritual heir to Ratcatcher and Neds in documentary form. This film captures the reality of post-industrial life in Scotland. The setting (Motherwell) is a cemetery of industrial dreams. It is a raw and intimate, yet empathetic, look at a generation “left behind,” showing the resilience and humor needed to survive.

Limbo (2020)

A “witty and poignant” comedy-drama by Ben Sharrock. Set on a fictional, remote Scottish island (filmed on Uist), the film follows a group of refugees, including Omar, a Syrian musician, as they await the outcome of their asylum claims, battling boredom and surreal cultural isolation.

A brilliant film that critics have compared to Bill Forsyth. Sharrock uses the Scottish setting (the “desolate and beautifully stark” landscape) to create an existential limbo. The film’s deadpan humor arises from the clash between the global refugee crisis and the eccentric isolation of the Hebrides. It is contemporary social cinema at its best, using the landscape as purgatory.

The Outrun (2024)

Based on the acclaimed memoir by Amy Liptrot. Rona (played by Saoirse Ronan) returns to her childhood home in the remote Orkney Islands after hitting rock bottom with alcohol addiction in London. There, she tries to rebuild her life, reconnecting with the wild landscape, the fauna, and the community.

A powerful example of a modern Scottish indie film. Like Limbo, it uses the islands as a central setting. But here, nature is not a purgatory; it is a cure. The Scottish landscape, with its wildlife and immense skies, becomes an integral part of Rona’s recovery and sobriety. It is an inversion of the trope: salvation is not fleeing Scotland, but returning to it.