Behind the Spurtle: Director Constantine Costi Talks The Golden Spurtle at the 2025 Edinburgh International Film Festival
Constantine Costi, director of THE GOLDEN SPURTLE at our interview at EIFF 2025
“The Golden Spurtle” is a heartwarming documentary about the World Porridge Championship in Carrbridge, Scotland. Directed by Constantine Costi, the film captures not just the quirky competition, but also the deep sense of community, tradition, and legacy that surrounds it. The film had its UK premiere at the 2025 Edinburgh International Film Festival, where Amanda Rogers from Cinetopia sat down with Costi for this exclusive interview. The film will be released across the UK starting 12th September 2025, distributed by Dogwoof.
Amanda Rogers (AR): We're here with Constantine Costi, the director of The Golden Spurtle. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Constantine Costi (CC): Great to be here.
AR: Yes, I hear you just came to Edinburgh via Sydney.
CC: Yeah, a short trip and yeah.
AR: Your film is very much about Scotland, though. And I really loved the fact that it portrays a small town and almost its entirety, but getting ready for the big festival that comes in every year. That's very important. So why did you pick this town in particular, and how did you even find out about it?
CC: Yeah, I think the village was just screaming out to be documented, really. I mean, it's such a picturesque, gorgeous place full of like, hilarious, charming locals. So what's not to love... We follow an Australian competitor, Toby Wilson, who told us about this competition... I just sort of went on my own, largely unannounced, knocking on doors and met Charlie Miller, who's the chief of the event... I was completely enamoured not only by the joyful absurdity of making a porridge competition happen year after year, but also a deeper story about legacy... What do you do with your remaining years?
Image from The Golden Spurtle
AR: Yeah, absolutely. And I think Charlie specifically is such a... absolutely lovely character and such a great sort of main protagonist. And so how did you get him to agree to be so widely focused on in this film?
CC: Yeah, Charlie and I really, over the... I did about three or four trips in total to Carrbridge, and we developed quite a close bond... When I first met him, I knocked on his door off the back of a fleeting email. He was sitting there with a cup of tea on one hand, a biscuit on the other, and leaned in his dry Scottish accent and said, "What are your intentions?" I was like, "Well, Charlie, we'll just kind of build this together."... We went in with a spirit of collaboration... made it clear we weren't interested in taking the Mickey out of people... wanted to laugh with people, not at people... I feel like Charlie definitely developed an instinct for what we were going to do... He kind of saw this as his canvas... In a way, it felt like I was co-directing with the village... He was so up for anything... It was a joy.
AR: Yeah, and I love those moments when you're sharing the different people in the town, you know, kind of like the before they start... It makes it feel very natural, I feel, and everyone seemed to have... a great pride for their town and their history...
CC: Yeah, completely. And I think part of the joy as well was us being a mainly Australian team... So these kind of outsiders rocked up... People were really willing to open their doors... share what they're proud about about their village... It was kind of like we spent half of our time at the pub having cups of tea in people's houses as much as we did making a film... Hopefully, that shines through, this gentle intimacy... which I think is kind of special.
AR: Absolutely, and you could tell, you had a really strong rapport with everyone. I did notice you picked a few people out. I mean, obviously the Australian taco chef. But I recognised Tracy because of other events we've done in Edinburgh... and her pug! But how did you choose some of the other characters? I think particularly the London character.
CC: Yeah, we couldn't track everybody... About 30 people enter the competition... Credit to Rebecca LeMond, the producer, who had a very strong instinct for who was going to be interesting... The great gift from the porridge gods was that so many people we followed made it to the final... We had no control over who's going to make the final, but it was perfect.
AR: We were very happy with the winner!
CC: And yeah, what a perfect person to win... someone who speaks to the enduring power of community and tradition... It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, you can participate.
AR: So you've had it at CPH:DOX. Was that the world premiere?
CC: That was the world premiere.
AR: Right, okay. And then it's been in Sydney as well... How do you feel about bringing it to Scottish audiences?
CC: There's the fear, isn't it? It's like, "Oh my goodness, we're depicting something that people know so intimately and cherish so much." But overall, I'm excited... We had nothing but adoration and love for the community... It's kind of nice to share it with local audiences... I'm sure we'll have a different response, with all of the in-jokes... a few things that would go over an Australian or Danish audience’s head... A Scottish audience will have a stronger instinct for that kind of tongue-in-cheek humour.
AR: Oh, completely. I totally feel that way. But I also think the way you shot it was very... I loved the 4:3 aspect. It really brought a beauty to... I mean, it's obviously beautiful land, but it gives it this sort of extra special presence with a sense of nostalgia.
CC: Completely. We were keen on reflecting how we felt about the village and how we saw it... It felt like the best way of capturing the spirit of the place.
AR: Great. So, it's premiering here in Edinburgh, but it will be distributed across the UK, correct?
CC: That's right. The wider release in the UK is 12th September.
AR: Well, thank you so much for taking your time. It was really lovely, and we really loved your film.
CC: Thank you!
To watch the full interview, please see below.
The Golden Spurtle will be distributed by Dogwoof across the UK from 12th of September
