Ginnie Atkinson is to join Ecosse Films as a consultant producer with a

remit to establish an active Scottish presence for the London-based

production company. Working from Edinburgh, she will serve as a talent

scout for the company.

"Basically, I am their 'Man in Havana', " she said. "They want a

presence in Scotland and it will be my job to identify individuals and

projects worth bringing to their attention, nurturing those and producing

them when they come to fruition."

Atkinson expects to take up her appointment after Cannes but will continue to serve as Managing Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. She also holds the screen rights to the classic Scots novel Sunset Song which director Terence Davies is currently adapting. Bob Last will produce and the project remains separate from her new arrangement with Ecosse.

Currently shooting the $25m Charlotte Gray, Ecosse has a strong film and television track record in Scotland that includes the Oscar-nominated Mrs Brown. Their ambitious Scottish production plans include the family film The Water Horse, a television version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Master Of Ballantrae for BBC Scotland and a $30m production on the 1745 Jacobite rising in which Jude Law will play Bonnie Prince Charlie.