Cast
Sophie Lawson
Isla
Sophie was 8 when she made her first TV appearance on CBeebies. Since then she has been involved in a number of exciting projects including recent supporting artist roles in upcoming feature films Man & Witch and The Lost King . She was awarded the ACS Rising Star Award at the 2021 Scottish Short Film Festival for her role as Shauna in ‘Chips’, also starring Peter Mullan. Sophie is studying acting at the RCS (Junior Conservatoire), and loves performing with youth theatre club Harlequin. In her spare time she likes nothing more than hanging out with her friends, making slime and snuggling up with Alfie the cockapoo!
Aaliyah Kallys
Danni
Aaliyah Kallys is a 14 year old British-African who developed a passion for acting when she was nine years old. Blood Sisters is her first film, but hopes it will open doors for many more. Aaliyah is currently in her 3rd year in high school in Scotland and she also models and acts part time.
Sharon Young
Tamara
Sharon trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has since worked across Theatre, Film and TV appearing in shows like Shetland, Outlander and The Scotts.
Jack Stewart
Greg
I started acting in 2019 with my first job being Jealous Alan a short which went on to be BAFTA nominated that year. Since then I have done a few TV jobs such as ‘Casualty’ and ‘Outlander’ and in 2020 spent two months in Latvia on my first feature film called ‘The Piper’.
Lulubelle Neilson
Elle
LULUBELLE NEILSON is an eleven year old actress who loves being on stage and screen. Currently starring as Morticia in The Addams Family, Lulubelle is also a member of Edinburgh Dance Academy. Lulubelle has appeared in television adverts and plays the role of Elle in Blood Sisters and in December will appear on stage singing with pop sensation G4.
Dylan Neilson
Cam
Dylan Neilson is an 18 year old actor. Dylan’s love of acting began in the theatre where he was a member of The Scottish Youth Theatre and Edinburgh Acting School. He began his interest in Film Acting when he was cast in feature film "Tommy’s Honour” directed by Jason Connery. Since then Dylan has gone on to have parts in commercials and television series Outlander. He recently completed a diploma in “Acting for Screen” at Pinewood Studios with the Actor’s Studio. In 2022, Dylan is enrolled on a further acting for screen course with New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.
Crew
Nomi
Director
Nomi graduated with a degree in performance from The London Academy of Performing Arts. Nomi wrote, directed and acted in a number of award winning fringe plays as well New Writing at The Traverse Theatre. She directed the New York off-broadway hits “The Donkey Show” and “The Karaoke Show” in their successful UK runs.
Nomi moved into filmmaking setting up the production service company Filming Scotland and then White Stag films. As a working actress, Nomi has a great affinity working with actors on set and enabling their best performance. A lover of original and diverse films and content, Nomi is always developing interesting new ideas in drama and comedy through writing and directing.
David Neilson
Producer
David is a Scottish based producer who has been working in the industry for over twenty years. In that time he has worked on numerous Films, TV shows and commercials as well as producing a slate of critically acclaimed short films. In 2019 he established White Stag Films to focus on the development of new Film & TV
Laura Dinnett
DOP
Laura has spent the last 13 years working her way through the camera department from Camera trainee right up to Director of Photography. After learning from some of the biggest DPs in the industry she has taken these skills and put her own spin on them. Her biggest motivation is pushing the boundaries of how to use interesting imagery to tell a story, explore a character’s experience or state of mind. ‘I am always looking for interesting stories and directors to collaborate with in order to find something striking and special’.
Lewis Wardrop
Producer
Lewis is a producer at White Stag Films where he is supporting the development and finance of the company’s diverse slate of projects.
He has previously produced a number of successful short films, including Kevin Pickering’s 2016 Scottish Film Talent Network funded short, Close to the Bone which received a Jury’s ‘Special Mention’ in the short film category at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017
Lewis participated in the 2019 SFTN Creative Producers scheme and was selected for the 2018 EIFF Talent Lab.
Gail Bowman
Production Designer
Gail is an Edinburgh based Production Designer with a life long passion for film, art and design. She graduated with Honours in Interior & Environmental Design from DJCAD in Dundee, and then with a Masters in Production Design for Film & Television from Kingston University, London. She spent six years in London, beginning as an art department assistant for STV and then working with a visual display team creating props, dressing and designing window schemes and setting up large scale installations. After moving back up to Scotland, Gail was offered an opportunity to be the Production Designer on an independent feature film in Edinburgh, which would see the start of her career, leading to some wonderful friendships in her home country. Since then Gail has worked on a large number of short films (including a Scottish BAFTA winner), commercials and TV series and is currently continuing to progress within the Scottish film industry.
Ciara MacTaggart
Composer
Ciara has been playing music since she was a child growing up in Scotland. All the women in her family were musicians, leading to a life full of melodies and harmonies.
She spent her youth learning and performing traditional Scottish music in instruments such as accordion and whistle. However, she recently started incorporating her long love for singing and song writing accompanying herself on guitar and piano. Her laid back, folky singer-songwriter style evokes timeless tales and emotion.
She lives on the West Coast of Scotland gigging and tutoring music. You can also find her playing in the band ‘Tàlan’ a toe-tapping trio of traditional music.
New original singer songwriter material is due for 2022. Follow Ciara’s music on Instagram @ciaramactaggart_
