Stenhousemuir actor Lily McGuire wins Best Newcomer award at film festival

The 18-year-old won the award last weekend for her lead role in the Scottish short film Faithful.

Lily was recognised for her part as Vaila in the short at the two-day festival in Doncaster.

And there was further success for Lily and the team behind Faithful when the film was named Best Short Horror/Fantasy and Best Short Film 2026 at the festival.

Lucy Linger won joint silver for Best Director and Gary Hollywood won bronze for Best Supporting Actor.

Lily first began working on the film when she was 15 and a pupil at Larbert High. She has now recently completed her first year at university in Aberdeen where she is studying law.

Mum Sharon McGuire says she is “so proud” of Lily and was delighted to be able to join her at the Sykehouse Film Festival for the celebrations.

She said: “It was a very very good weekend for Faithful and the team.

"Fraser and Lucy have been entering the film into different festivals and it was up for six awards at this one.

"We went initially thinking Lily would be up against others for Best Newcomer, but she got a judges’ honorary award as they were so impressed by her performance.

"We were quite blown away by that. Lily was beside herself.

"It’s just so nice to see the film and Lily being recognised in that way by like minded people who have an interest and a knowledge of the industry.

"It was a wonderful day and we were in really good company. There were a lot of lovely people and it was a great opportunity for Lily.”

Written by film-maker Fraser Coull, Faithful aims to preserve Scotland’s myths and legends for generations to come.

The short follows young Vaila (Lily) as she bravely runs into the woods after lights out in the hope that she’ll find the mythical Cù-Sìth, a Grim Reaper Fairy Dog who will drag you to The Otherworld if you hear it howling three times. Vaila hopes to find the dog so that it will lead her to her mother who she lost years previously.

Starring alongside Lily in the short – which is currently available to watch on the STV Player – are a number of familiar Scottish faces, including Gary: Tank Commander’s Greg McHugh, Mrs Brown’s Boys actor Gary Hollywood, River City and Balamory star Juliet Cadzow and Fresh Meat's Kimberley Nixon.

Faithful is directed by Lucy Linger and produced by Valerie Andrews and Lindsay Dowell.

In order to produce the film, the team raised around £15,000 to pay the cast and crew and to cover the costs of production. They also received a contribution from sponsor Simon Webster and a grant from Kiran’s Trust – a charity which celebrates the creative arts and sport – as well as support from over 100 members of the public through the project’s crowdfunding campaigns.

Lily, a former Carron Primary pupil, started to pursue an interest in musical theatre at a young age as a member of Sunny Stars before joining Big Bad Wolf Theatre Company. Faithful was her first on screen acting role.