I knew I had to be somewhere yesterday morning as I flumped groggy eyed onto my hideously ugly and uncomfortable sofa and flipped on the daily propaganda and yes folks, David Laws is still resigned. But where do I have to be?
I scanned my brain and nothing. I scanned my diary. Nothing. I scanned my wallchart. Nothing. I scanned my mobile and there’s a message from my editor saying ‘Filmhouse 10am’. The time on the telly was 9.56a.m. ‘Oh S*@*^, oh bo**&^%’ (etc). Yes, a few mild expletives later I was hurtling across the town in pouring rain on my bike but I mellowed when it occurred to me that since it was raining so heavily, no one would notice my dishevelled, unshaven panic stricken appearance as everyone else would be wet too. Yes, once again like annual deja vu I had to move like the roadrunner to get the to press launch of this years Edinburgh International Film Festival where Hannah McGill, now in her third year as the artistic director announced the line up to myself and hundreds of journalists and photographers crammed into Filmhouse's main cinema.
After catching my breath and downing half a dozen complimentary coffees just so that I could see beyond my eyelids we were treated to a slick new ident that scrolled through the names of previous film festival big hitters (Easy Rider, Taxi Driver, Man on Wire, etc.) followed by a selection of clips from this year's line up.
Just from the clips that were shown, this year looks set to be a leaner but far stronger selection of work. The one that chiefly caught my eye as one to watch is an American war documentary Restrepo by filmmakers Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger. I expect we’ll have to see the film to know what the title refers to but it looked like a cross between Platoon and a Michael Moore flick. Hetherington and Junger were apparently embedded with 173rd Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan for 15months and have by all accounts got hold of some extraordinary footage, described in the programme as "perhaps the most intimate and unflinching examination yet of the processes of modern warfare".
I’m also looking forward to The People Versus George Lucas. As a huge Star Wars fan myself since the age of ten I can't wait to see this light-hearted documentary depicting the fans obsessive devotion to Lucas’ original trilogy and their utter contempt for his latest. Expect many embarrassing and hilarious clips of home made movie tributes with lightsabers a go go. I made one myself on Super 8 about 20 years on a stretch of wasteland near Blackfriars Street in the Old Town . Fortunately that footage does not appear in this film. However if you take a facemask and a shovel to the local landfill site and start digging, you may find it there.
Also looking very appealing is a series of films under the umbrella After the Wave, the title of this year’s retrospective strand covering forgotten, unseen and overlooked gems from the post ‘British new wave’ from ‘67 to ‘79. The cross section of work from this era is like a roll call of famous British directors including Stephen Frears, Michael Winner, Peter Watkins, Mike Hodges, Ken Russell and Michael Apted. A couple that tickle my fancy are the comedy thriller Pulp by Mike Hodges from 1972 with Michael Caine in dodgy geezer style from Get Carter whilst wearing Ipcress File specks and throwing around a lot of Alfie-esque charm. Cheeky charm will also be the order of the day in The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer from 1970 by director Kevin Billington and has to be seen simply because it stars Peter Cook looking so ridiculously young and handsome that he’s virtually Peter O Toole in Lawrence of Arabia. But this wont be a cinematic epic with a noble camel riding hero but a cheeky political satire and scripted no less by some of Monty Python’s finest minds.
Most shocking for me however is to discover there’s a Powell and Pressburger film from 1972 - The Boy who Turned Yellow which not only have I not seen but, aherm, I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never even heard of. There go my cineaste credentials casually flying out the open window like a scrap of paper on the wind.
Back to more contemporary choices the festival’s opening gala The Illusionist, the latest animated feature by Belleville Rendevous’ director Sylvain Chomet is an absolute must see. I have been frothing at the mouth for the last couple of years waiting to see this after catching his wonderful debut feature Belleville Rendevous. Based on an unfinished and unmade screenplay by the legendary Jacques Tati, The Illusionist (as in ‘magician’) is by all appearances as uniquely quirky and as achingly beautiful as his last opus.
Of added significance the film was made here in Edinburgh where much of the story takes place and some of the clips I glimpsed of a 1950’s Princes Street faithfully rendered with historical accuracy as well as an image of a character wandering up a part of Arthur’s Seat that I frequent myself gave me a shudder of happy recognition. Does it really take a filmmaker’s eye from abroad to see how stunningly cinematic our own city looks?
The Edinburgh connection doesn’t end with The Illusionist. Unusually, several films at this years event have strong ties to the city and happily for me, a delightful surprise is that a couple of them are by old friends and colleagues. Bafta winner Morag McKinnon who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art and lived here for many years brings her 2nd feature Donkeys to the Filmhouse on Sunday 20th June for its world premiere. With a title like that it must be about people who work in the film industry. It also forms the second part of an intended trilogy of films proposed by a Scottish-Danish co production alliance with Dogme-esque rules including re-using the same characters and actors in each film, the first of which was Andrea Arnold’s Red Road.
Another personal and Edinburgh connection is Diane Bell, now living in the States but graduated here at Edinburgh University and like McKinnon lived here for many years. Although I recall she was as passionate and geeky as I am about films I was as startled as I was delighted to see that she’s bringing her debut feature Obselidia to Edinburgh on June 21st for its International premiere. Obselidia was well received at The Sundance Film Festival earlier this year so I look forward to seeing it and catching up with Diane if she makes it over.
And the Edinburgh connections just keep on coming. Kate Dickie who appears in Morag McKinnon’s aforementioned Donkeys also stars in Outcast alongside James Nesbitt and directed by Colm McCarthy. This seemingly already hip horror flick is set in, yes you guessed it, our very own windy city with a UK premiere on the 19th June. You’d think someone might have noticed a film crew hanging around last year pursuing James Nesbitt about as he clutches a large knife but these filmmakers were obviously ninjas. Or perhaps it’s merely set in Edinburgh and was actually filmed on a giant greenscreen in Taiwan. We’ll have to wait and see. Regardless, its definitely one to catch.
And it doesn’t end there, Wayne Thallon’s A Spanking in Paradise has snuck up unnoticed on me too. Obviously I need to get out more often as I used to trip over film crews in action on a weekly basis at one point. In fact oddly enough, now that I think about it, I accidentally wandered into shot on a James Nesbitt drama that was being filmed behind The Royal Museum. They thought I was an extra but I was just walking past when they yelled ‘Cut, great, print it, that’s a wrap’. It will be odd to watch Outcast only to discover I’m in it. I digress somewhat.
Smartly back to A Spanking in Paradise which receives its world premiere on the 24th of June. Its apparently as dark as it is funny and set in Edinburgh’s seedy underworld. That sounds like its right up my street. Literally. The seedy underside of Edinburgh is just at the end of my street. I probably wandered into shot on that one too.
Finally in a very different vein is The Edge of Dreaming, a documentary by resident filmmaker Amy Hardie who works here with the Scottish Documentary Institute. Her film explores her own quest to understand the ‘science’ of what’s behind a dream she experienced that turned out to be a prophetic one. It sounds spiritual, supernatural and very intriguing and I have to admit, this kind of subject matter is also right up my street, just like the seedy underworld.
So we have an opening gala with a film set in period Edinburgh followed by a raft of films with strong city connections. Perhaps this film festival’s unusually large selection of UK talent heralds a long overdue new wave of emerging filmmakers but the beginning of a new wave of local talent as well. Lets hope so as Edinburgh must be one of the most cinematic cities on the globe. Even the film festival’s patron Sir Sean Connery once said many moons ago that Edinburgh was like one giant film set. If anyone should know it’s him. Time to get the cameras out folks.
My daily blog and reviews will begin on the 15th June and run throughout the Edinburgh Film Festival.
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