The Georgian Kitchen at Callendar House
A character-led visitor experience film for Falkirk Council
Client: Falkirk Council
Year: 2025
Location: Callendar House, Falkirk
Format: Short visitor experience film, 07:51
Fort Film Services: Creative, production, direction, cinematography, edit, colour
The Brief
Falkirk Council commissioned Fort Film to produce a short, character-led film for Callendar House's new visitor experience room. The film plays as visitors arrive, setting the scene before they enter the historic Georgian Kitchen itself. We were asked to make something warm, immediate, and accessible — a piece that worked for the widest possible range of visitors, including D/deaf, hard-of-hearing, and neurodivergent audiences.
The Approach
We built the film around Maggie — a spirited kitchen maid preparing for a grand banquet — to give visitors a way into the space that felt human rather than archival. Accessibility shaped every part of the production, from the clarity of the visuals to the strength of the sound design and the integration of captioning. The result is a film designed to be read multiple ways at once: visually, aurally, and through caption support, without any of those modes feeling like an afterthought.
The Outcome
The film now forms part of Callendar House's reimagined visitor journey, playing in the experience room before visitors enter the Georgian Kitchen.
"Working with Fort Film on this project was an excellent experience.
The film they produced was gorgeous, showcasing impressive attention to detail, thorough research and preparation, a creative eye and strong cinematic technique.
We are beyond pleased with the project as a whole."
— Anna Mayhew, Cultural Coordinator, Falkirk Council
Credits
Director, Cinematographer & Editor: Alan McIlrath
Writer, Performer and Accessibility Consultant: Rachel Still (playing Maggie)
Callendar House Team: Anna Mayhew & Gary Bolam
