Today, I head up to the 2011 Edinburgh Film Festival, one of world’s first international film festivals and still one of the most prominent in independent cinema. It’s the place where Oscar nominee Winter’s Bone received its UK premiere, where the Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker hit these shores for the first time and where Pixar’s modern classics Wall-E and Toy Story 3 both had their European galas. This year has seen the EIFF go through a huge change. But while the red carpets and award ceremonies may have sadly disappeared, it’s still promising to showcase a number of future hits worth keeping an eye on. So what will I be seeing there? What reviews can you expect on Napier’s News this week? Well, I’ve finally put together my schedule and you can click ‘Read More’ to see it!
Wednesday 15th June
- Bobby Fischer Against The World
The new film from Oscar nominee Liz Garbus explores the life of Bobby Fischer, a chess player who was elevated to rock star status at an early age and whose celebrity later drove him to the brink of sanity.
- Turin Horse
The final film from iconic European film-maker Bela Tarr is an exploration of Friedrich Nietzsche’s final months and a winner at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
- Our Day Will Come
A feature length adaptation of M.I.A’s powerful music video for ‘Born Free’ which stars Black Swan’s Vincent Cassel.
- The Guard
The brother of the director of In Bruges takes a leaf from his siblings book for this darkly comic buddy story focussing on a racist, hard-living Irish policeman and an FBI agent who has just arrived in the country. Starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.
Thursday 16th June
- Page Eight
Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon, Olivia Williams and Ralph Fiennes star in this British espionage thriller. Sir David Hare, writer of The Reader and The Hours, steps into the directing chair for the first time in almost two decades.
- Project Nim
James Marsh hopes to recreate the success of his Oscar winning Man On Wire with this surprising true story about a chimpanzee integrated into a family’s life with shocking results.
- Elite Squad 2
The sequel to the critically acclaimed Brazilian crime epic that has already been described as surpassing its predecessor. Think City Of God meets The Departed.
- The Bang Bang Club
Ryan Philippe and Malin Akerman star in this true story about photo journalists who put their lives on the line capture images of the apartheid in South Africa.
Friday 17th June
- Angel’s Crest
Jeremy Piven and Thomas Dekker lead an ensemble of actors through this drama that takes place in a small American town after a neglected young boy freezes to death and a local prosecutor attempts to see justice done to the father.
- Albatross
A coming-of-age hybrid of drama and comedy about a frustrated author and his relationships. It stars Felicity Jones, Julia Ormond and Sebastian Koch.
- King Of Devil’s Island
Swedish superstar Stellen Skarksgard stars in this harrowing true story about an island for delinquent young boys and how after years of abuse and torture they stood up and attempted to escape.
- Jack Goes Boating
Oscar winning actor of Doubt and Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman, provides his first feature as a director with Jack Goes Boating. An independent comedy with a large heart, he casts himself as a lonely limo driver who learns how to to swim before a big boating date with love interest Amy Ryan.
Saturday 18th June
- Troll Hunter
Slowly gathering word of mouth, this comedy/horror Norwegian creature feature about a group of film students who investigate a series of bear killings and stumble upon something beyond their wildest imagination is already being called a cult classic.
- Oliver Sherman
Winter’s Bone, The Road and The Assassination Of Jesse James actor Garrett Dillahunt finally gets a leading role in his psychological drama of a returning solider trying to adjust to normal life.
- Shut Up, Little Man
A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, this documentary tells the bizarre story of two flatmates who record their noisy neighbours and, in doing so, begin a phenomenon now recognised as one of pop culture’s first viral sensations.
- Calvet
Escaping a dark and violent lifestyle, Jean Marie Calvet turned to art. But there are some wounds that still remain open from that turbulent era of his life and so he sets out on a redemptive quest to find his 6 year old son whom he abandoned without a word. A true story with lots of potential.
Sunday 19th June
- Perfect Sense
Ewan McGreggor and Eva Green star in this emotionally charged romance set during the beginning of a pandemic robbing people of their sight. It comes from Young Adam and Hallam Foe director David MacKenzie.
- Bombay Beach
A dream-like hybrid of fiction and non-fiction set in the dilapidated town of Bombay Beach, California with original music from Bob Dylan and Beirut.
- Between Two Fires
The story of a mother who takes her daughter away from Belarus to escape a child trafficking ring, Between Two Fires promises to be hard-hitting yet provide a serious and important message.
- Arriety
The new film from Studio Ghibli and a Japanese anime version of The Borrowers. Do I need to say anymore?
Monday 20th June
- The Divide
Hitman director Xavier Gens returns with this post-apocalypic chiller about a group of people struggling to survive when the world ends.
- The Last Circus
Alex De La Iglesia won the Best Director award at the Venice Film Festival beating out Sofia Coppola and Darren Aronofsky. I’ll be seeing why with the film that won it for him: The Last Circus. A bizarre and unique action film about, well, insane clowns. Yep.
- My Brothers
From the writer of Somers Town comes a heartfelt and intimate comedy about three brothers travelling around Ireland in a borrowed van in order to replace the watch their father gave them on his deathbed.
- On The Shore
The French know how to do a great crime drama and so On The Shore, the story of an ageing police office haunted by relentless nightmares investigating the death of a young woman, is a must see at the EIFF.
Tuesday 21st June
- Meet Monica Velour
When awkward teenager Tobe travels to see the woman of his dreams – a 1980s pornography star – in person, he isn’t quite sure what to expect. However, who he meets is a single mother trying to make ends meet in the only way she can. What begins is an odd but touching friendship in this Kim Cattrall starring comedy.
- Stormhouse
The trailer is enough to keep you awake all night, so expectations are naturally high for this British horror flick about a military base housing a paranormal entity prior to the war in Iraq.
- The Green Wave
Picking up where Waltz With Bashir left off, The Green Wave is an animated re-telling of the 2009 Islamic Presidential Elections in which accusations of vote rigging and mass protest resulted in a violent response from the government militia.
Wednesday 22nd June
- A Better Life
New Moon and About A Boy director Chris Weitz helms this tale of a hard-working Mexican in East Los Angeles trying to protect and provide for his son.
- The Caller
True Blood’s Stephen Moyer and Twilight’s Rachelle Lefevre star in this paranormal horror movie about a woman receiving a series of strange phone calls upon moving into a new home.
- Bleak Night
Friendships and families are torn apart after the shocking death of a young boy in this Korean drama.
