MOVIE lovers will soon be making their way to Hawick - as it bids to become Scotland's first Film Town.

The hugely successful Alchemy Film and Arts festival people are extending their calendar to include a year-round programme of big- and small-screen delights.

On Friday they unveiled details of events and activities that will underscore the historic centre of the cashmere industry’s position as a leading film town.

Once Upon A Time in Hawick will celebrate the town’s rich history and look to its future through exhibitions and screenings, as well as opportunities for participation and education.

Michael Pattison, creative director of Alchemy Film & Arts said: "Once Upon A Time in Hawick places Hawick and its communities at the centre of a major artistic programme, bringing audiences together to exchange stories about the town’s past and to share ideas about its future.

“Through the project we will be exploring the identities, industries and stories of Hawick, focusing on the town’s unique landscape and history, threading together a celebratory look at the mills - which are central to Hawick’s industrial history - and the town’s cultures to imagine a future of creativity regeneration and growth.”

Once Upon A Time in Hawick was launched with a screening of a newly digitally mastered print of From Wool to Wearer, a 1913 film about Peter Scott Knitwear, which is held at the Scottish Borders Archive in Hawick’s Heritage Hub.

And a centrepiece of Once Upon A Time in Hawick will be the 10th annual Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, from April 3 to May 4.

Mr Pattison added: "This year sees the 10th edition of what has become one of Europe’s leading film events and has put Hawick on the international cultural map.

"We have an exciting programme which will bring filmmakers from across the world to Hawick to explore image-making in relation to place, cultural identity and collective memory.”

Throughout the year there will be an ongoing programme of participatory events.

Experts will work with the communities in and around Hawick on a wide range of projects including film-making and digital skills workshops, the outcomes of which will be shared through exhibitions and screenings.

There will be the creation of an archive of films made in Hawick over the last 100 or so years, and the 2020 Hawick Pictorial, gathering the year in Hawick on film, something which hasn't been done in Hawick in 20 years and will complement the archive of pictorials from the 1960s, 1970, 1980 and 2000.

An exhibition on Hawick’s film industry from the late 1800s to the present day will also be developed.

Hawick provost Watson McAteer said: "Alchemy Film & Arts have been an integral part of the life of Hawick for the past 10 years bringing international and UK visitors to the town and community.

"This highly creative and original organisation have placed Hawick on the international stage as Scotland’s Film town.

“I am delighted that Alchemy’s new project for 2020, Once Upon a Time in Hawick, will be exploring the identities, industries and stories of Hawick ultimately bringing our historic and cultural heritage alive through discussion and monthly film screenings. This is a fantastic tribute to Hawick and I would encourage active local support to this wonderful project destined to create something unique and special for our historic town”

The first events in Once Upon a Time in Hawick will include a screening on February 21 of Sons of Heroes, 1963 - a re-enactment of the 1514 Battle of Hornshole which was made in Hawick by Hawick Film and Video Group.

During March 12 to 14 a project will be held with artists Anna Raczynski and Ed Webb-Ingall,which will feature film-making workshops and screenings of the films made as well as a screening of Raczynski’s The Movie Makers.

And later in the same month, March 16 to 20, there will be screenings of 1970 Hawick Pictorial.

Sean Greenhorn from Screen Scotland added: “Once Upon a Time in Hawick will enable Alchemy Film & Arts to truly work within the fabric of the town, using new equipment to respond to their surroundings, working with local groups to empower them to share their memories and engage with conversations about the future of Hawick.”