EIDD artistic director unveils the 2016 programme
The Edinburgh International Film Festival will be celebrating its 70thedition with a remake of the Ealing classic Whisky Galore!, late night horrors, widescreen epics and a first look at the sequel to Finding Nemo.
The 70th EIFF will show films will showcase a total of 161 features from 46 countries, including: 22 World premieres, five international premieres, 17 European premieres and 85 UK premieres.
Unveiling the programme, EIFF artistic director Mark Adams said: “It is a real thrill to unveil this year's programme and I am looking forward to showcasing so many great films and welcoming so many talented filmmakers to our 70th edition. As always we like to offer an incredibly broad range of work to ensure there is always something for everyone – from mesmeric retrospectives through to absorbing new short films, to 130 new features from 46 countries, rest assured this year's EIFF will challenge, provoke and entertain audiences in equal measure.”
The festival opens on 15 June with Jason Connery’s Tommy’s Honour and closes on 26 June with Gillies Mackinnon’s remake of the classic Ealing comedy Whisky Galore! The EIFF will also host the UK premiere of the Disney-Pixar animation Finding Dory.
In a tribute to this year’s milestone edition, EIFF plays host to 70/70 Vision: a series of screenings of iconic films in their original widescreen 70mm format. The programme includes Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia; Jacques Tati’s Playtime; and Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar-winner Dersu Uzala.
Other classics on the programme include the Royal Scottish National Orchestra live performance of the score of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial live at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and the world premiere of a 4K restoration of Highlander, celebrating its 30th anniversary that will be attended by actor Clancy Brown.
The Best Of British strand will include 12 titles that will compete for the Michael Powell Award. They include opening film Tommy’s Honour, David Blair’s Blackpool-set drama Away; Charles Henri Belleville’s backpacker thriller Jet Trash; and The Library Suicides, the debut feature of director Euros Lyn, whose TV work includes Sherlock and Doctor Who.
The Michael Powell Powell Award for Best British Feature Film
Tommy’s Honour - Jason Connery
Away - David Blair
Brakes - Mercedes Grower
The Library Suicides (Y Llyfrgell) - Euros Lyn
Macbeth Unhinged - Angus Macfadyen
Moon Dogs - Philip John
Pale Star - Graeme Maley
A Patch of Fog - Michael Lennox
Pikadero - Ben Sharrock
Seat in Shadow - Henry Coombes
Starfish - Bill Clark
The White King - Alex Helfrecht, Jorg Tittel
There will be personal appearances by: US indie filmmaker Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Chasing Amy, who will be showing his new film Yoga Hosers; Kim Catrall, star of Sex & The City actress Kim Cattrall; French actor Dominque Pinon, star of Amelie; and Jeremy Thomas, producer of films such as The Last Emperor.
The American Dreams strand will include: Rebecca Miller’s Maggie’s Plan, a rom-com starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Julianna Moore; Meg Ryan’s drectorial debut Ithica, about a teenager delivering telegrams during World War II; and Rod Burnett’s comedy The Fundamentals of Caring, starring Paul Rudd and British actor Craig Roberts, star of Submarine.
The European Perspectives strand features films by: Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi (Black); Florian Gallenberge (The Colony); Jihane Chouaib (Go Home); Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (The Homecoming); Kadri Köusaar (Mother); and Balazs Juszt (The Man who was Thursday).
The World Perspectives strand includes the European premieres of: Laos-set thriller River from Canadian Jamie M Dagg; Indian indie director Q's coming-of-age comedy Brahman Naman; Indian female buddy-comedy Angry Indian Goddesses from Pan Nalin; Jon Cassar’s western Forsaken, starring father and son Donald and Kiefer Sutherland; Diego Luna’s hog farmer comedy Mr. Pig, starring Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph; and Oliver Schmitz’s courtroom conflict Shepherds and Butchers, starring featuring Andrea Riseborough and Steve Coogan.
International Feature Film Competition
The Actor - Satoko Yokohama (Japan)
Brahman Naman - Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee) (India)
A Conspiracy Of Faith - Hans Petter Moland (Denmark-Germany-Norway)
The Fundamentals Of Caring - Rob Burnett (USA)
Go Home - Jihane Chouaib (France-Switzerland-Belgium)
Halal Love (And Sex) - Assad Fouladkar (Germany-Lebanon)
Hunt For The Wilderpeople - Taika Waititi (New Zealand)
The Lure - Agnieszka Smoczynska (Poland)
Saint Amour - Benoit Delepine, Gustave Kerven (France-Belgium)
Sand Storm - Elite Zexer (Israel)
Sparrows - Runar Runarsson (Iceland-Denmark-Croatia)
Suntan - Argyris Papadimitropoulos (Greece)
The Director’s Showcase will feature the work of various auteurs, including: Isabel Coixet (Endless Night); Hans Petter Moland (A Conspiracy of Faith); Arturo Ripstein (Bleak Street); Ira Sachs (Little Men); Guiseppe Tornatore (The Correspondence); and Thomas Vinterberg (The Commune).
The competitive international competition highlights filmmaking from around the world that EIFF programmers term “imaginative, innovative and deserving of wider recognition”. Returning for a second year will be ‘Doc of the Day’, a selection of documentaries supported by an event.
Best Documentary Feature Film
Becoming Zlatan (De unge Zlatan) - Frefrik Gertten, Magnus Gertten
Brothers (Brodre) - Aslaug Holm
Bugs - Andreas Johnsen
The First Monday In May - Andrew Rossi
Gary Numan: Android In La La Land - Steve Read, Rob Alexander
Homo Sapiens - Nikolaus Geyrgalter
The Islands And The Whales - Mike Day
The Lovers And The Despot - Ross Adam, Robert Cannan
The Pretty Ones - Melisa Liebenthal
Shadow World - John Grimonprez
Sick (Bolesno) - Hrvoje Mabic
Under The Sun (V luchakh solnca) - Vitaly Mansky
As the sun sets, attention turns to Night Moves, EIFF’s annual look at the chilling, bloody side of cinema. Screenings include: the World premiere of Nirpal Bhogal’s homegrown horror First Born; European premiere of horror anthology Holidays, featuring an offering In Person participant Kevin Smith; and UK-first showings of swords and skis epic The Last Kingfrom Nils Gaup; and Anna Biller’s sexploitation tribute The Love Witch. There will also be a screening of the 1973 Japanese cult anime Belladonna of Sadness from Eiichi Yamamoto, co-presented by EIFF and Scotland Loves Anime.
Cinéma du Look will see EIFF focus on the work of stylish French directors who dazzled cinemagoers throughout the 1980s and into the ’90s. The strand will show: Luc Besson’s The Big Blue, La Femme Nikia and Subway; Leo Carax’s Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and Mauvais Sang; and Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Betty Blue and Diva.
Audience Award
Adult Life Skills - Rachel Tunnard
The Carer - Janos Edelenyi
A Conspiracy Of Faith - Hans Petter Moland
The First Monday In May - Andrew Rossi
Forsaken - Jon Cassar
The Fundamentals Of Caring - Rob Burnett
Hunt For The Wilderpeople - Taika Waititi
Irreplaceable - Thomas Lilti
Ithaca - Meg Ryan
Little Men - Ira Sachs
Maggie’s Plan - Rebecca Miller
A Man Called Ove - Hannes Holm
Moon Dogs - Philip John
Mr. Pig - Diego Luna
Audiences will also be invited to trace the cinematic roots of the current wave of superhero blockbusters, POW!!! Live Action Comic Strip Adaptations: The First Generation traces the evolution of the live comic strip adaptation in cinema. It assembles cult titles including: Roger Vadim’s Barbarella; Leslie H Martinson’s Batman: The Movie; Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik; Robert Altman’s Popeye; and two rarely screened Japanese classics based on Manga comic strips, Kenji Misumi’s Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and Junya Sato’s Golgo 13.
Other highlights include the launch of Filmhouse presents Adapting Miss Highsmith, a journey into the work of one of the most adapted-for-cinema authors of all-time, a project that will roll out across the UK post-Festival. The programme will feature an illustrated talk by Patricia Highsmith’s biographer Joan Schenkar.
There will also be free Film Fest in the City screenings in St Andrew Square Garden screenings for Film Fest in the City. No ticket is required to see the likes of: The Muppets; The Breakfast Club; Minions; Mad Max: Fury Road; Finding Nemo; Pitch Perfect; Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens; and a dance-along screening of Grease.
Whisky Galore!
Natalie Usher, director of Screen at Creative Scotland, said: “EIFF provides an excellent platform to connect Scotland’s filmmakers with new markets, raising their international profile. The industry programme offers a vital opportunity for professional exchange and dialogue, a chance to maintain existing relationships, initiate new ones and spark off new projects and ideas.”