Edinburgh International Film Festival programme announced

Following the announcement at a press conference at Filmhouse in Edinburgh on May 7, Artistic Director Hannah McGill launched the final programme details for the 62nd edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) to a gathering of film journalists and filmmakers at the Century Club in London's West End. This year the Festival, which runs in its new slot of 18 – 29 June, will host fifteen World premieres including the Opening Night Gala, John Maybury’s THE EDGE OF LOVE starring Keira Knightley (ATONEMENT) and Sienna Miller (FACTORY GIRL). The Closing Night Gala will be the World premiere of FAINTHEART, a comedy by Vito Rocco starring Eddie Marsan (HAPPY-GO-LUCKY) Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson, co-creator of SPACED) and Ewan Bremner (HALLAM FOE). Both Opening and Closing Night Galas are British films by British filmmakers with British casts, many of whom are expected to attend the Festival. The EIFF also looks forward to welcoming back its two Patrons, Sir Sean Connery and Tilda Swinton, who will both attend the Festival this year.

The Festival will showcase one hundred and forty two feature-length films from twenty nine countries, including one hundred and thirteen new features of which fifteen are World premieres, fourteen are International premieres, six are European premieres and seventy two are UK premieres. Highlights include: the new Pixar title WALL·E screening as the Family Gala; Shane Meadows’ SOMERS TOWN and Duane Hopkins’ BETTER THINGS both in the British Gala section; Brad Anderson’s TRANSSIBERIAN and Isabel Coixet’s ELEGY both screening in the Gala section; a special preview of Terence Davies’ OF TIME AND CITY and the previously announced documentaries ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Werner Herzog, James Marsh’s MAN ON WIRE and Errol Morris’ STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.

Galas will include the World premiere of Mark Doherty’s A FILM WITH ME IN IT, José Padilha’s ELITE SQUAD (TROPA D’ELITE), Ira Sachs’ MARRIED LIFE, Bharat Nalluiri’s MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY and Jonathan Levine’s THE WACKNESS.

British Galas competing for the UK Film Council-sponsored Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature include Oliver Blackburn’s DONKEY PUNCH which will have its UK premiere, and the World premieres of Charles Martin Smith’s STONE OF DESTINY, Kenny Glenaan’s SUMMER, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s HELEN and Matthew Thompson’s DUMMY. UK titles will also compete for Best Performance in a British Film, sponsored by Premier Property Group (PPG). All films in the Gala and British Gala sections, as well as the Opening and Closing Galas, are eligible for the Standard Life Audience Award.

Artistic Director Hannah McGill added: "We have a terrifically exciting programme this year, which is the happy result of a very enthusiastic response from distributors and filmmakers. From powerful artistic and political statements to works of pure, escapist entertainment, I think this is a Festival that reflects an active, vibrant world film culture - and suits the diverse and daring tastes of our audience. I want to thank all the programmers who worked with me on putting this programme together, and I look forward to sharing it with audiences in June."

This year the Festival’s programme will be putting the spotlight on cinematography and will include a number of films particularly outstanding in this field. This is reflected by the In Person events, where guests taking part in onstage talks will include world renowned award-winning cinematographers Brian Tufano (TRAINSPOTTING) and Roger Deakins (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) who will be interviewed by Seamus McGarvey (ATONEMENT). Directors Shane Meadows (THIS IS ENGLAND) and Errol Morris (THE FOG OF WAR), legendary special effects master Ray Harryhausen (CLASH OF THE TITANS) and actor Brian Cox (THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) will also be participating in the In Person events. The Festival will also include a number of films where acclaimed cinematographers take the director’s chair: BEFORE THE RAINS by Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST) in the Gala section and the World premiere of WARSAW DARK by Christopher Doyle (HERO) in the Rosebud section.

FUJIAN BLUE by Robin Weng, GOD MAN DOG by Singing Chen and EDEN directed by Declan Rocks are some of the films which will also be presented in Rosebud, the showcase of films by first and second time directors which embody the spirit of the EIFF’s commitment to uncover new talent and maintain its reputation as a festival of discovery.

The new Under The Radar strand, promises to awaken the spirit of cult cinema, with two World premieres: Martin Radich’s CRACK WILLOW and Robert Beaucage’s SPIKE. Other World premieres include Bernard Rose’s THE KREUTZER SONATA in Directors’ Showcase, Steven Sheil’s MUM & DAD screening in the late-night section Night Moves, and Gideon Koppel’s documentary sleep furiously. TROUBLE SLEEPING, a feature from Edinburgh’s Theatre Workshop, and THE NEW TEN COMMANDMENTS, a series of short films marking the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights directed by an impressive lineup of filmmakers including Irvine Welsh, Mark Cousins and Tilda Swinton, will both play as Special Events.

The world-renowned Mirrorball section will showcase the finest music films and promos from around the globe and has five feature documentaries including BANANAZ, shot over seven years following the real people - Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn - behind the band Gorillaz. The Black Box strand represents cutting edge experimental filmmaking, including SEVEN INTELLECTUALS IN BAMBOO FOREST, a beautiful five part film by celebrated artist Yang Fadong.

The Festival will also celebrate the life and work of Shirley Clarke and Jeanne Moreau, in the previously announced Retrospectives. Highlights include screenings of Clarke’s A COOL WORLD and a rare showing of Orson Welles’ IMMORTAL STORY (UNE HISTOIRE IMMORTELLE). Legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen’s presence at the EIFF will be celebrated by a special screening of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.

2008 sees the return of FILM FESTIVAL UNDER THE STARS, the outdoor cinema experience set over two nights on the Mound, next to the National Gallery of Scotland. Open to the public as a free event, the EIFF is proud to welcome back a series of iconic films: Steven Spielberg’s ET: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL and Robert Zemeckis’ BACK TO THE FUTURE which had their UK Premieres at the EIFF in 1982 and 1985 respectively; and Baz Luhrmann’s STRICTLY BALLROOM, which was the Opening Night Gala in 1992. Also screening will be the inherently Scottish favourite LOCAL HERO by Bill Forsyth.

Animation is one of this year’s key themes and will feature heavily in the programme. A diverse collection of animated features including Pixar’s much anticipated WALL·E, the sweetly creepy FEAR(S) OF THE DARK (PEUR(S) DU NOIR) by comic book legend Charles Burns, the cartoon-noir IDIOTS AND ANGELS by Bill Plympton and an eclectic line-up of animated shorts. EIFF recognises the importance of nurturing talent, and provides opportunities to those who wish to learn from professionals skilled in their craft by hosting a series of workshops designed to educate and inspire budding animators.

In addition to the documentary and animation shorts at the Festival, EIFF continues to showcase the best of Scottish, UK and international shorts in a series of programmes which include Daniel Mulloy’s SON featuring Natalie Press, and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut SLAPPER with Iain Glen. From Scotland, Matt Palmer’s THE ISLAND was shot on the titular island in the Firth of Forth, while the international section showcases, among others, films from Mexico, Oscar® nominated Icelander Runar Runarsson’s return to the EIFF with LITTLE BIRDS, and SICK SEX from Justin Nowell, wryly portraying a man trying to persuade his ill girlfriend to have sex.

In association with Skillset, EIFF will host its second set of Trailblazers: new film talent selected from the EIFF programme and the graduating students of the twelve UK Skillset Screen Academies. The Trailblazers initiative demonstrates EIFF’s intention to identify new talent, providing a platform on which to present their work to an international audience, whilst offering an environment for them to interact and network with established industry professionals. After their selection as names to watch, last year’s Trailblazers collectively went on to win numerous awards and nominations. The line up last year included BAFTA nominee and BIFA winner Sam Riley (CONTROL), BIFA winner Toby Kebbell (CONTROL) and BIFA nominee Matthew Beard (AND WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?). Another of 2007’s Trailblazers, producer Rachel Connors, returns to the Festival this year with two films BANANAZ and FAINTHEART.

The full EIFF programme is now available in print or online at www.edfilmfest.org.uk

Box office for will open at noon on Friday 9 May, tickets available either online at www.edfilmfest.org.uk or from the credit card hotline: 0131 623 8030

SCI-FI-LONDON

SCI-FI-LONDON is over for another year and as all the staff and volunteers recover from the five days of fantastic films and little sleep, here's a look back at what was probably the best festival to date.

The usually plush foyer of the Apollo West End was transformed into a bullet-riddled Dead Space, courtesy of the festival's generous sponsor, EA Games. The entrance to the cinema was guarded by an unlikely alliance of Stormtroopers and Jedi Knights from the 99th Imperial Garrison, with people flocking to have their pictures taken with Darth Vader, his troops and a scantily-clad slave girl.



The opening night began with a gathering of British sci-fi literati for the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Awards. Rather than a maudlin affair following the author's passing earlier this year it was more a celebration of his greatness and his contribution to the world of both science fiction and real science. After a brief introduction from Tom Hunter, and Angie Edwards' touching, and inspiring, eulogy for the Award's patron, the Award was given to Richard Morgan for his novel Black Man.


While many chose to party, the opening night film, Marc Caro's DANTE 01, played to a sell-out audience. Click here to see video of the evening's events.

Thursday is the traditionally quiet night of the festival but with the shorts programme and three other great films (LA ANTENA, NETHERBEAST INCORPORATED and DAI NIPPONJIN) there were plenty of people coming out to see what was on offer.

The festival also had a surprise late entry when one of the festival's regular patrons happened to catch a 35mm print of THE DARK KNIGHT trailer that was thrown into the crowd attending the SPEED RACER premiere by someone dressed as The Joker. What made it all the more interesting was it had been etched on by "The Joker".

The end of the working week and what better way to escape the drudgery than with a sci-fi or fantasy film, and SFL had just the solution, with the slightly disturbing time-travel film SUSPENSION and the funny, and little bit scary animation DRAGONHUNTERS. The Stranger Than Fiction documentary strand took on heroic proportions with the world premiere of YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD HERO, which was supported by THE LAST LINE, a short film about Star Wars fans, attended by the film's director Suzanne Kai. The programme was rounded off by the British mockumentary, LEGION OF FIRE: CROYDON BRANCH and the short film SPLIT CITY. For hardcore fantasy fans, the UK premiere of one of the most expensive Russian films to date, WOLFHOUND proved a great draw. Epic in scale (and running time) it showed that Russia is a force to be reckoned with in the world of genre films.

With London becoming increasingly a 24-hour city, SCI-FI-LONDON made its contribution to this non-stop culture with its Saturday programme. The Festival is keen on encouraging local-grown talent to make uniquely British sci-fi. Our 48 Hour Film Challenge proved there is plenty of people with fresh ideas, and our sci-fi film school on Saturday morning was a chance for people to learn more from industry professionals in areas such as script development, producing, effects make-up and sound design. There was also a demonstration from sponsors MovieStorm of their 3D machinima software. MovieStorm are launching a sci-fi filmmaking competition, in conjunction with SCI-FI-LONDON, on May 8. If you want to take part, visit moviestorm.com for full details, download the free software and let your imagination run wild. The competition closes September 8, but don't leave it to the last minute.

Continuing with its support of British filmmaking the festival held a free test-screening of in-production film BABELDOM by Paul Bush. The previous film we supported in this way, CAPTAIN EAGER AND THE MARK OF VOTH, had its world premiere at last year's festival and has just finished a three week run at the ICA London, ahead of a limited national release.

The rest of the day was packed solid with films that were all well-attended, which is encouraging to see that there is an audience for small, independent sci-fi films that don't rely on big Hollywood budgets and marketing clout.

Unlike many other festivals, SCI-FI-LONDON doesn't get grants and relies solely on the generosity of its sponsors and the paying public. While this allows the festival to remain independent and show the films it wants to show, it does mean they can't invite the filmmakers as their guests, but each year they are fortunate to have filmmakers come and support their films at their own expense. This year the festival was lucky enough to have the brothers Matthew and Sean Kohnen come with their hilarious, and sometimes profound, zombie movie WASTING AWAY; a zombie flick from the zombie's point of view. Not only did they do very entertaining Q&As at both of the screenings, accompanied by one of the stars of the film, the lovely Julianna Robinson, but they also shared their Hollywood and low-budget filmmaking savvy with those attending the Saturday morning film school.

Of course, for most people SCI-FI-LONDON is about the now legendary all-nighters. As a diverse audience of almost 500 genre fans gather together for an intense eight hours of movies. Anime fans always make up the bulk of the audience, but the MST3K screenings always sell out first, especially with a unique screening of the John Travolta stinker BATTLEFIELD EARTH getting the treatment it deserves courtesy of rifftrax.com. As usual there were goodie bags with DVDs and the exclusive All-nighter Survivor badge and, of course, Red Bull and Purbecks ice-cream. While it is the films that attract the crowds it is the volunteers, who stay up all night without any films to watch, that make it a success - and not forgetting the anonymous projectionist without whom none of it would be possible.

Come Sunday morning, as the shifts changed, like the Warner Bros' coyote and sheep dog cartoons, the stunned and bewildered all-nighters headed home and an equally diverse new crowd moved in. Grungie filmmakers, coming to see their 48 Hour Film Challenge efforts projected on the big screen (and find out if they had won), mixed with children in fancy dress who were going to see THE WIZARD OF OZ. Both crowds were filled with eager anticipation, but the small ones got their faces painted.

This, the first SFL 48 Hour Challenge, was an experiment. The organisers did not know how many people would enter and what the output would be, but it proved to be a resounding success. With 137 teams initially signing up, 87 turning up on the day (the coldest weekend of the year) and 68 teams returning completed films within the time limit. There was a screening of 45 of the films the previous week, with the remainder being shown along with the final ten shortlisted movies. Generally the quality was very high, with imaginative uses of the props and supplied lines of dialogue, with the final ten being world-class shorts to match films shot over a much longer period and with more preparation - films that would easily fit into any festival shorts programme. Sitting through the screening it became pretty clear to most people which film was going to win, even before it was announced. And the results were (in reverse order):

Special Mention: Water's Edge by Quarkz
MovieStorm Award: Graph of Light
Third place: GLIB by The Next Wednesdays
Second place: Until Further Notice by Bretton
Winner: Factory Farmed by Rebel Alliance.

The winning film was a stunningly enigmatic piece with beautiful cinematography and subtle acting. It, along with the other winners, will be shown on the SciFi Channel's website www.scifi.co.uk very soon. The winning entry can be seen now on the Dutch SciFi Channel's YouTube page. All the films will be shown on sci-fi-london.tv in the very near future.


The winning team walked away with a Canon HV30 HDV camera (courtesy of Canon UK), Final Cut and Final Draft software (courtesy of movieScope magazine), VisionLab Studio software (courtesy of Fxhome). Other prizes included Archos players, software from Pinnacle and Film & Festivals magazine subscriptions.

The Challenge was a huge success and one that will be done again next year, only bigger and better.

A now well-established festival favourite is the SFL Pub Quiz. A chance to proudly show off how geeky you are, drink lots of free beer (courtesy of Baltika) and win stuff. The competition was tough this year with some truly testing questions interspersed with Festival Director Louis Savy, reading from the narcissistic autobiography of 2001 actor Gary Lockwood. For some it was hilarious, while others were comparing it with Vogon poetry. The winning team walked away with a bag of swag that included one of the ten Xbox 360s, with games (courtesy of EA) that were given away over the festival. In fact, throughout the festival, not including the all-nighter goody bags, the festival gave away Archos players, hundreds of DVDs, works of art, books, T-shirts and games, all thanks to their generous sponsors. So not only do you get to see great films but get something to take home as well.




This year there was another great closing night film in CHEMICAL WEDDING. This was the world premiere and although it was a much lower-key event than those usually held at the nearby Leicester Square, it was filled with people who wanted to see the film and not by people who wanted to be seen. Guests included the director and co-writer Julian Doyle, co-writer, rock legend and Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson and the film's star Simon Callow, playing a character as far removed from his portrayals of Charles Dickens as one could imagine. After the screening the three aforementioned guests held a lengthy Q&A with the audience, and another lucky person won an Xbox 360, this time signed by Bruce Dickinson.

And so ended another fantastic festival. And we can't wait to come back next year even bigger and better.

A full video report will be going online soon if you want to see what you missed out on. Or visit www.flickr.com/groups/sci-fi-london for photos.