Portsoy aiming to play a Blinder as the top European filming location in industry awards

Aberdeenshire's very own Portsoy is one of five locations competing for the European Film Commission’s Network Location Award for 2022. 

The picturesque harbour and surrounding areas were a perfect fit for the period drama Peaky Blinders to film the season finale, doubling as a harbour in Canada. 

It’s up against filming locations in Switzerland, Greece, Germany and Croatia for the coveted award, with voting closes on January 31.

Aberdeenshire Council officers were heavily involved in securing the production and assisting with filming.

The town falls under the local Aberdeenshire Film Office which welcomed the production and were able to provide full access to the council-operated harbour for the shoot.

A combination of film office assistance and the support of eager local residents meant that the production was able to make the most of what the area had to offer as a base.

Thanks to the frozen-in-time architecture and beautifully-preserved Scottish port, they achieved the desired aesthetic at a time when department budgets were being squeezed.

Portsoy can offer productions an entirely private shoot, which was ideal for this project as set dressing was a giveaway to where the Peaky Blinders end up at the end of the series.

Marie Archer, Industry Support Executive with Creative Industries, said: “The Aberdeen City & Shire Film Office part of Aberdeenshire Council has been working to bring this production to the NE of Scotland since 2019. With the backdrop of Covid 19 and the current restrictions, we worked hard alongside the Portsoy community and the production company to enable filming to go ahead.

“It was tremendous seeing Portsoy on screen once again with many of our local community being employed as extras and supporting trades. We hope that lots of people will agree with us and vote for us as the top location for 2022!”

To register your vote, visit https://eufcn.com/location-award-2022/