Festival artistic director promises ‘visionary’ opening film at launch
EDINBURGH International Film Festival artistic director Chris Fujiwara launched this year’s prog ramme yesterday with the promise of a “visionary” opening film, personal appearances by Elijah Wood, Ugly Betty’s America Ferrara and Don Johnson of eighties cop drama Miami Vice, and retrospectives of German and Iranian cinema.
But it may be Anthony Baxter’s A Dangerous Game, a documentary about Donald Trump’s resort at the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire, and the UK premiere of Welcome to New York, Abel Ferrara’s film about the for mer IMF managing director Dominique StraussKahn s t ar r i ng Gerard Depardieu, that draw all of the heat this June.
The former is critical of Alex Salmond’s role in the battle between residents and Mr Trump while the latter, though highly praised at Cannes this month, has also drawn talk of legal action from its subject while Mr Strauss-Kahn’s for mer wife, Anne Sinclair, played in the film by Jacqueline Bissett, has described the film as “degrading and defamatory.”
Now in his third year in charge, Mr Fujiwara said he believed that the festival had cemented its position as a champion of British filmmakers and as a home for innovative international cinema.
“We’re not just about showing films in front of a passive audience,” he said.
“We want to create opportunities for people to really be challenged by films.”
Mr Fujiwara added that the rising success of Glasgow’s film festival was not a problem for Edinburgh. I think we serve different audiences. We’re friends with Glasgow.
“This year’s festival will show 156 films from 47 countries.” The festival will open with London gangster thriller Hyena.
SEX, zombies, Scottish engineering, Dylan Thomas, Iran, Culloden, Darth Vader and squirrels. It can only be the Edinburgh International Film Festival, running from June 18-29.
Unveiling the programme yesterday, EIFF artistic director Chris Fujiwara said film festivals had to be “challenging, provocative and responsive”, and some of the choices certainly reflect that boldness. Fresh from dropping jaws in Cannes, for example, will be Welcome to New
York. Starring Gerard Depardieu as “Monsieur Devereaux”, Welcome... is the tale of a high flying finance chief from France who runs into trouble while on a trip to the Big Apple. One can only wonder where that idea came from. Less controversial will be
Castles in the Sky, Gillies Mackinnon’s biopic of Robert Watson-Watt, the Scotsman who invented radar. It looks the perfect part for renaissance man Eddie Izzard, playing the engineer whose work was fundamental to victory in the Second World War. Staying with biopics, Set Fire to
the Stars homes in on Dylan Thomas during a week of readings in New York. Celyn Jones plays the poet, with Elijah Wood co-starring and music by Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals. Wood will be in the capital for the premiere.
Among the 156 features there are 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 95 UK premieres. Into the last category falls a much anticipated look at A Most Wanted Man, the adaptation of John le Carre’s spy novel directed by Anton Corbijn and starring Willem Dafoe and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. In the directors’ showcase strand is
Snowpiercer, an eco-drama with a difference by Bong Joon-Ho. This year’s big family gala is
The Nut Job, an animated heist movie with a cast of squirrels, dogs, rats and other creatures voiced by humans including Liam Neeson and Maya Rudolph. Children will also enjoy Island of
Lemurs: Madagascar, an IMAX documentary. Morgan Freeman narrates.
If zombies will live forever in your heart, a place will have to be found for Life after Beth, billed as a “laugh out loud zom rom com”. Anna Kendrick, Dane DeHaan (last seen in The Amazing SpiderMan) and John C Reilly will be among those battling the blood, gore and mayhem. Similarly not for those of a nervous disposition is Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno, in which student do-gooders try to save the rainforest only to land themselves in danger.
Showing as part of the always strong American Dreams strand is Palo Alto, the directorial debut of Gia Coppola, whose surname at least will be familiar. Set in San Francisco, the coming of age stories covered come from a collection by James Franco, who also stars.
Also showing as part of the American Dreams strand is X/Y, a study of friendship in New York starring America Ferrera, and
Cold in July, Jim Mickle’s revenge thriller with Don Johnson and Sam Shephard.
This year’s festival opens with the world premiere of Hyena, Gerard Johnson’s London-set gangster thriller. For something completely different, bag a ticket for the closing gala, We’ll Never
Have Paris, a smart romantic comedy written by and starring Simon Helberg of The Big Bang Theory fame.
The best documentary award returns this year, with films in the running including My Red Shoes, the story of a family before, during and after the revolution in Iran, Garnet’s Gold, the tale of a search for Bonnie Prince Charlie’s treasure, and Manakamana, set on a cable car in Nepal.
Care to name the greatest movie of all time? Empire readers have and the winner is Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, which will be given a special screening at the festival. Fancy dress among the audience optional.
Another treasure from the past is Culloden, Peter Watkins’ still thought-provoking study of the battle, first released in 1964. Subject matter of a rather more up-to-date nature is covered in A Dangerous Game. Anthony Baxter, helmer of the awardwinning You’ve Been Trumped, returns to the subject of golf courses and a certain American tycoon. Filmhouse members can book tickets from 10am today. Booking opens to the public at 10am on June 2. Tickets: www.edfilmfest.org.uk; telephone 0131 623 8030; or visit Filmhouse, Cineworld Fountain Park, Edinburgh, or the Festival Theatre