Congratulations to Scottish director Irvine Allan whose short film, Daddy's Girl took the prestigious Jury Prize in Cannes, awarded by a jury headed by Liv Ullman. The top award, the Palme d'Or, went to Italian Nanni Moretti, for his film La Stanza Del Figlio (The Son's Room).
Irvine Allan, 44, was not in Cannes to receive his award because his partner, Annie George, who plays a Good Samaritan in the film, is due to give birth to their first child. Allan said from home in Edinburgh: "I'm absolutely thrilled and delighted. It's better than winning an Oscar. It's such an honour. I'm trembling about it all. Just to be shortlisted was enough in itself. "Annie is expecting a baby at any moment. It was too close so I had to decide whether it was Daddy's Girl over there or daddy's girl over here. I decided it was more important to be with my family."

Allan also paid tribute to John Maley who wrote Daddy's Girl, about seven-year-old Teenie, who is befriended by a friendly passer-by while sitting outside a pub in the rain, waiting for her father who is inside drinking. The 10-minute film was seen last year at the Edinburgh Film Festival and was made with the help of BBC2 and Scottish Screen under the banner of BBC2’s 10x10 short film scheme. It already has a track record of awards and nominations across the globe.
Irvine Allan, 43, was born in Dunoon and attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His other shorts include Skag in 1997, and Bully Bully Ballistic And My Daughter’s Face in 1998. John Archer, Scottish Screen’s chief executive, said it was an honour to be accepted by "the most important international film festival in the world. "It is really thrilling. The winning of the award is the icing on the cake. Short films make an excellent calling card for their directors and for everyone else involved. Attached to a feature film they can also reach a broad cinema audience. We shall be making sure that Daddy’s Girl gets exposure in the cinemas we support in Scotland."

The award to Allen for Daddy’s Girl follows hard on the heels of strong criticism from some sections of the Scottish Press who complained that Scotland was poorly represented in films shown at Cannes this year. Whilst Scotland may not have had any feature films competing for honours on this occasion, as Irving Allen’s award shows, it was well represented in Cannes by Scottish film talent.
Allan’s award follows the route taken by Scots film maker Lynne Ramsay, whose short Gasman won acclaim at Cannes before she went on to direct her first feature Ratcatcher, followed by her second feature, Morven Callar.