A NEW feature documentary following the rise of Scottish direct-action group This Is Rigged is being finished as a tribute to its late director, Christopher McGill, who died earlier this month after a battle with cancer.
Now in post-production and crowdfunding to finish, the documentary titled Don't Be Alarmed shows the director embedded with This Is Rigged, following them as they staged campaigns across the country in protest against oil and gas licenses and food poverty.
In December 2022, three women from Glasgow began spray-painting the This is Rigged social media handle around the city inspired by the methods of Otpor, a 1990s Serbian anti-authoritarianism group which began as a civic protest group, eventually turning into a movement.
In six weeks, the three friends built their reach to have around 60 members active in Glasgow, going on to reach across Scotland.
They gained further attention through a string of high-profile direct actions: spraying red paint across the entrance to the Scottish Parliament in protest at "political failure" to oppose new oil and gas licensing, disrupting First Minister's Questions for several consecutive weeks – on one occasion nine times in a single sitting – pouring porridge and jam on a bust of Queen Victoria at Kelvingrove, staging a sit-in at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, smashing the glass case housing the Wallace Sword, stealing 1200 tattie scones to distribute to the public, targeting the Stone of Destiny at Edinburgh Castle in protest against food poverty, and occuping Grangemouth oil refinery.
Speaking to The National, producer Franziska Bloder Aguayo explained how personal the project has become following the death of director Christopher McGill.
“Chris brought me on to the project just over a year ago and even through his illness, he and I have been working very closely ever since to get the funding required to finish the film,” she shared.
McGill, she said, was "a queer working class Scottish filmmaker with a focus on socially engaging films and focusing on marginalised perspectives," whose credits include the Grierson Award-shortlisted short Is It Me (2021) and the Bafta-nominated feature documentary Rebel Dykes (2021), on which he served as co-director. He passed away on July 4, 2026.
"This film is his legacy," Aguayo said.
"I am fully aware throughout this interview that I keep saying 'we,'" she added.
"Chris is very much still part of this process. It wouldn't exist without him... We spoke so much about what this film will be about, where he wanted to take it and what he wanted to do with it, even as he was in hospice. So, he is very much still at the core of everything we're doing."
According to Bloder Aguayo, McGill first approached This Is Rigged directly, attending one of their meetings and building trust over time.
"He understood that he had to start filming with the group as soon as possible, even without funding. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have captured this incredible story. He found TiR by going to one of their meetings and immediately saw this incredible story of humanity, rebellion, and creativity," she said.
"He always described it as a 'coming of age of an activist group.'"
But, how do you build trust with activists breaking the law?
"The group took a long time to trust the filmmakers," Bloder Aguayo explained. "There is a long history of police infiltrating activist groups. This Is Rigged initially suspected Chris was undercover police! But Chris kept on coming along and slowly trust was built."
Over two years, and while undergoing chemotherapy, McGill filmed with the group regularly, supported by a small crew of volunteers – and activists themselves filmed some of their own actions.
"The footage captured doesn't only include the flashy actions, but also soup nights, meetings, preparing actions, court visits and sit-down interviews with some of the activists," Bloder Aguayo said.
Where news reports have tended to focus on individual stunts, Bloder Aguayo said the film captures the group's evolution over time.
"We're with the group from the start, when they had a lot of energy and optimism about what they were doing. To realising what they are up against and moving their focus from climate action to the cost-of-living crisis, and recognising these as connected issues," she said.
"As time goes on, the contributors face not just burnout and broken friendships, but also the constant threat of arrest. We see them grow up as activists right in front of our eyes."
She said the documentary would also reflect "the very real-life legal implications of what it means to be an activist in the UK in 2026, particularly amidst a legislative crackdown on protesters."
The film is now fully shot, but the team is crowdfunding to complete post-production. At the time of writing, they have raised £14,721 out of a target of £20,000.
"We've shot the film, so we have all the footage. Now we just need the funds to get it made into a finished film," Bloder Aguayo said. "This will include the edit, colour grading, sound design, music, and more... Part of the funding will go into festival submission costs."
The team also hopes to screen the finished documentary widely once complete.
"We want to travel with it to festivals around Scotland and the UK, and maybe even beyond if possible. But we also want to make it accessible to community and activist spaces, and educational facilities, to facilitate conversations around the subjects," she said.
Reflecting on the making, she said: "It's been difficult to journey along with these young people as they put everything into a cause that most people broadly agree with: that we have to start taking action around climate change and social equality.
"And yet they are getting punished for it, by the courts, by the press, and by the public. This is a big through-line in the film and something this film will address."
Asked what she would say to those who might dismiss the group's disruptive tactics outright, Bloder Aguayo urged empathy over immediate judgement.
"When a group of people shout about something, it's always worth listening to and digging deeper," she said.
"Most of the time I realise that their worries and anxieties are anchored in something very real ... Empathy, conversation, and critically engaging with each other is always worth our time."
She believes the public still only sees a fraction of who these activists are.
"There is probably a lot that the public misunderstands about direct action or activist groups such as This is Rigged. And it's probably because all we see are the loud, shouty parts, the flashy actions, the inconvenient interruptions to our everyday lives," she said.
"That's what we're trying to do with this film – we're trying to uncover the layers and provide a personal, intimate insight into who these people are and what drives them."
