Edinburgh International Film Festival

Best of the Fest programme at Edinburgh International Film Festival

Sponsored by The List

25 Jun 2008

The List sponsors the Best of the Fest, as this Sunday provides you with a second chance to catch the best films screening at the EIFF

Physical graffiti as The Wackness comes to Edinburgh International Film Festival

23 Jun 2008

Friday 20th June 2008 saw Festival Square, Edinburgh transformed into an enormous technicolor homage to graffiti, breakdancing and hip hop culture to mark the UK premiere of film The Wackness at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Metro Ecosse film competition winners screening

20 Jun 2008

Metro Ecosse and The List will be screening the winning films of 2007 'One Minute Wonders' competition on Thursday 26th June 2008 at 1.30pm at Cineworld, Fountain Park, Edinburgh. The screening will last approximately 15 minutes. Free tickets are…

WALL-E - Angus MacLane interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Could you fall in love with a robot? Animation studio Pixar is betting that you will. The little metal critter with designs on your heart is called WALL-E, and this summer, he’ll be giving Indiana Jones and Carrie Bradshaw a run for their money at the…

Man on Wire - James Marsh interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Philippe Petit was the man who dared to walk a tightrope between the Twin Towers. Director James Marsh tells Kaleem Aftab how he made a film of this incredible feat

14 Kilometres (14 Kilometros)

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

This issue-driven Spanish drama isn’t afraid to draw on several stock clichés of the well-trodden road movie genre. Three Africans undertake the arduous journey from Niger to Spain, crossing deserts, trying to get through corrupt border controls and…

Before The Rains

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Santosh Sivan, US/India) 98min Set against the backdrop of the decline of the British empire and growth of the nationalist movement in southern India in 1937, this tale of forbidden love between an English spice merchant (Linus Roache) and a local…

Bigga Than Ben: A Russian's Guide to Ripping Off London

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(SA Halewood, UK) 85min Allegedly based on the diary of a young Moscovite who came to London in the late 1990s, Bigga than Ben is, for the majority of its running time, a distracting black comedy. Cobakka (Ben Barnes) and Spiker (Andrei Chadov) are a…

Death Defying Acts

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Gillian Armstrong, UK, Australia) 97min It’s 1926, and the world tour of escape artist Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) brings him to Edinburgh. There he’s charmed by local con-artist Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who poses as a psychic to put…

Donkey Punch

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Oliver Blackburn, UK) 99min New British director Oliver Blackburn marks himself out as a name to watch in this misogynistic horror set in Marbella. When three lasses from Leeds (Sian Breckin, Jaime Winstone and Nichola Burley) decide to board a yacht…

Eat, For This is My Body

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Michelange Quay, Haiti/France) 105min Quay’s semi-abstract look at colonial elements in Haiti is comparable to two 1980s touchstones, Marion Hänsel’s Dust and Claire Denis’ Chocolat. While there is an impressive opening shot that glides over the…

Elite Squad (Tropa D'Elite)

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(José Padilha, Brazil) 118min Based on Luiz Eduardo Soares’ bestseller, Elite Squad is a favela thriller from the director of 2002 documentary Bus 174. It’s 1997 in Rio de Janeiro, months before a visit from Pope John Paul II. The rundown housing…

Fears of the Dark

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Various, France) 85min This episodic animation is destined for cult status. Five respected graphic novelists have each penned a story detailing what made them scared at night. Dogs, mad girls and silence all feature strongly. Each story has then been…

Jesus Christ Saviour

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Peter Geyer, Germany) 84min At the beginning of Werner Herzog’s engrossing documentary homage to his favourite actor and nemesis Klaus Kinski, My Best Fiend, there is a tantalising glimpse of Kinski performing his infamous 1971 Jesus concert. Finally…

Matter of fact - Documentaries at the EIFF

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

When the Edinburgh International Film Festival opened its doors for the first time in 1947, documentary films were the only things on the menu. Much has changed since then, but the EIFF has continued its commitment to the feature documentary form. Every…

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Steven Sebring, USA) 109min Patti Smith, the singer-poet and one-time ‘godmother of punk’, bares her soul in this intimate self-portrait, culled from over 11 years of filming with her friend, the photographer Steve Sebring. Beginning in 1995, the film…

Shiver (Eskalofrio)

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Isidro Ortiz, Spain) 91min Once again Spain is proving to be a breeding ground for newly discovered horror talent. Isidro Ortiz puts in his most satisfying feature yet as paranoia and the old staple of something lurking in the woods are brought into…

Somers Town

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Shane Meadows, UK) 75min While Shane Meadows’ last outing, This is England, showed the racist side of British nationalism, his follow-up, the black-and-white Somers Town, demonstrates just how nice the Brits can be to immigrants. Starting life as a…

Standard Operating Procedure

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Errol Morris, USA) 116min The great documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line and The Fog of War) turns his investigative eye towards the atrocities at Abu Ghraib. The coup of the film is that Morris interviews some of the soldiers who…

The Visitor - Thomas McCarthy interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Thomas McCarthy works as an actor or a writer or a director, but feels that to do all three jobs in one film would be a little too much for him to take. As an actor, despite turns in such stellar productions as Syriana, All The Kings Men and Flags of…

Tiramisu

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Paula van der Oest, Netherlands) 90min Abandoned by her theatre director husband for a younger woman, middle-aged actress and retail therapy junkie Anne seems unconcerned by the impending loss of the Amsterdam houseboat she and her long-suffering…

The Wackness

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Jonathan Levine, USA) 110min Jonathan Levine’s follow-up to his superior teen horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is just as assured a film, although this wigged-out high school movie is greatly enriched by being a far more personal project.

Edinburgh International Film Festival short film highlights

10 Jun 2008

Edinburgh-based short film organisation Shoot First pick out their highlights from the Edinburgh International Film Festival short film programme.

Kiera Knightley and Sienna Miller set for Edinburgh premiere of The Edge of Love

9 Jun 2008

Edinburgh International Film Festival opening night film The Edge of Love will see the film's director John Maybury joined by headliners Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys together with writer Sharman Macdonald on the red carpet.

Best of the Edinburgh International Film Festival

6 Jun 2008

When the 62nd Edinburgh Film Festival begins on 18th June it will be more than the just the programme of films and number of celebrity appearances that is under scrutiny. This year is also the first for the festival in its new home in the cultural…

The Edge of Love - Sharman Macdonald interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

5 Jun 2008

At the programme launch of the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival artistic director Hannah McGill thanked the makers of The Edge of Love for providing her with the perfect opening night film. What McGill no doubt meant by this was that The Edge…

Edinburgh International Film Festival - Jeanne Moreau

5 Jun 2008

Born between the wars to an English chorus girl mother and a French restaurateur father, Jeanne Moreau was born to play what feminist film critic Molly Haskell called ‘the glorious fantasy, appealing to both sexes, to men as eternal mistress, to women…

Chris Waitt interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

5 Jun 2008

If someone gave you money to interview all your exes and find out what you did wrong in those relationships, would you do it? Filmmaker Chris Waitt didn’t hang around for an offer and approached Warp X with the pitch for his documentary A Complete…

Edinburgh International Film Festival - LGBT

5 Jun 2008

LGBT-INTEREST CINEMA Various venues, Edinburgh, Wed 18–Sun 29 Jun This year’s EIFF programme includes a handful of intriguing films featuring gay characters or themes. If it’s a mix of high camp, glamour and drama you’re after, look no further than…

Festivals

5 Jun 2008

Until 8 June Leith Festival Various venues, Leith, Edinburgh, prices vary www.leithfestival.com Leith Festival showcases its trademark brew of home-grown talent and big name headliners with over 100 musical acts, 50 comedians and a dozen visual…

Edinburgh International Film Festival line up revealed

8 May 2008

The Edinburgh International Film Festival took a step closer to positioning itself as June's must-see event this week, with the launch of next month's much-anticipated EIFF programme. The festival's artistic director, Hannah McGill, caused a stir late…

Short film competition winners announced

8 May 2008

The List and Metro Ecosse are pleased to announce the winners of our short film competition. They are Heather Day with Big Mistake, wildlife guide Jan Storie’s Learning Curves and schoolteacher Margherita Still's Milk Girl. Their films will premiere…

Edinburgh International Film Festival announces 'Under the Radar' events

28 Apr 2008

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced a new strand entitled Under the Radar. This new section, said a Festival statement, 'will celebrate the true spirit of ‘cult’ film and will screen six feature films including two World, two…

Glamour expected at EIFF Opening Gala

24 Apr 2008

Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller will inject some glamour into this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, following the announcement that they are to join The Edge of Love director John Maybury on the red carpet at the festival’s Opening Night…

Edinburgh International Film Festival's documentary strand announced

21 Apr 2008

Chris Waitt's A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, James Marsh's Man on Wire and Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure are among the 22 documentaries which will be presented at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival. Also among…

Edge of Love to open Edinburgh International Film Festival

15 Apr 2008

The Edge of Love, starring Keira Knightly and Sienna Miller, will open this year's Edinburgh Film Festival. The film, directed by John Maybury, will be the Opening Gala at this year's Festival, which runs from 18 to 29 June. It looks at the passion…

Edinburgh International Film Festival wins Lottery funding

17 Mar 2008

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has just announced a significant boost to its funding over the next three years. As part of the UK Film Council's Film Festival Strategy, the EIFF will receive £1.88m of Lottery money between now and…

Jeanne Moreau to get Retrospective at Edinburgh International Film Festival

28 Feb 2008

French screen star Jeanne Moreau is to be the subject of a special retrospective at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Festival director Hannah McGill said Moreau showed ‘exactly the sort of trailblazing spirit, boldness and intelligence…

Edinburgh Film Festival programmers on the prowl

14 Feb 2008

Edinburgh International Film Festival programmers have been out in force in recent weeks. Festival director Hannah McGill has been scouting at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals, while other members of the team were spotted at the Rotterdam and…

Curtains up for Film Festival

16 Aug 2007

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) commenced last night at Edinburgh’s Cineworld in Fountain Park with the UK premiere of David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe. Organisers of the film festival felt that Hallam Foe, shot on location in Edinburgh and…

Penny Thompson

News

17 Jul 2007

Penny Thompson 1950-2007 We were saddened to hear of the death of Penny Thomson, regular List contributor, film producer and former director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). Born in Manila, Penny led a peripatic…