My EIFF 2008 preview
I guess I really should do this before the Edinburgh International Film Festival starts or it's not really a preview. Then it would just be a view.
This year sees the introduction of a new thread of cult movies, all coming under the umbrella title of "Under the Radar". These are the kind of things that tickle my fancy although some of them look like they might be a bit weird even for me. Interestingly some of these films will only be shown once, and not in the larger cinemas either, so expect these to sell out.
I'm not planning to see BIGGA THAN BEN or CRACK WILLOW, but I will be taking in BLOOD CAR (a car that runs on blood - not sure where that fits in with Al Gore's ideas but it's cheaper than petrol), SPIKE, STRANGE GIRLS and THE THIRD PINT, all of which sound very interesting. Together with the various horror films in the programme there looks like being a bumper crop of late night oddities this year, something that I felt last year's programme lacked.
Talking of horror films, that's another area I'm interested in so I'll be taking in all six of the movies under the "Night Moves" umbrella. CADAVER, JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY, MUM AND DAD, SHIVER, TIME CRIMES and TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD all look like fun, so it'll be interesting to see which one (and there always is at least one) ends up being a total let down. I've heard good things about TIME CRIMES though, a Spanish time-travel murder mystery type thing. Read the programme, it'll probably be a lot clearer.
I will also, as usual, be looking to take in anything with either a Scottish or Irish connection - the former because of my patriotic duty towards supporting Scottish cinema and the latter because, well, I just like Ireland.
On the Scottish front, I'll be checking out Brian Cox's personal appearance (along with his new film RED) and will be taking in STONE OF DESTINY too, which will either be a fun crime caper or a routinely mediocre British comedy.
From Ireland I'll be seeing HELEN, EDEN and FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU. The latter two were on at Dublin when I visited recently but I couldn't make it to either of them. I'll be missing, however, the world premiere of Irish comedy A FILM WITH ME IN IT, because it clashes with other stuff I want to see, including the other Irish stuff. Interestingly, FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU is accompanied by the short film NO REGRETS IN THE WEST, which will mean I'll be seeing that one for the third time. I believe there are a couple of other Irish shorts elsewhere in the programme but I don't think any of them are in my schedule. Still, it's nice to see short films getting a platform at places like EIFF all the same - not just in the shorts programmes but on bills with feature films too, which at least ensures that people who wouldn't think about shorts programmes will still get the chance to see them and maybe think about them more in future.
Jings, that last sentence was huge, wasn't it?
Another of my interests is of course documentary. I realise that this blog entry is starting to look like a complete index of all the films I'm going to see, which wasn't my intention so I'll just give a brief outline of a few.
There are a whole bunch of documentaries screening here that were on at HotDocs and while I'm in a position to recommend some of them (MAN ON WIRE, DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH) I'm also pleased that I'll get the chance to see a few I missed, including THREE MILES NORTH OF MOLKOM and MECHANICAL LOVE. Also looking interesting are ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (because a new Herzog film is always worth looking out for) and JESUS CHRIST SAVIOUR, because it features Herzog's partner/arch-nemesis Klaus Kinski. Kinski and Herzog are both mad as a barrel of stoats so both movies should be entertaining.
On top of that, there are some other interesting Q&A sessions (the legendary Ray Harryhausen, EIFF fave Shane Meadows and cinematographers extraordinaire Roger Deakins & Seamus Garvey). I'll also be checking out almost all of the Jeanne Moreau retrospective - JULES ET JIM being the most famous (nope, I've never seen it), QUERELLE being interesting because it's got Franco Nero in it (cult legend) and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK sounds nice too, since it bears an uncanny resemblance to KILL BILL.
As with most festivals, my choices always vary wildly when compared to most of the popular choices and award winners, so if you want to see the next big thing, make sure you also pick a whole bunch of films that I've not mentioned...
This year sees the introduction of a new thread of cult movies, all coming under the umbrella title of "Under the Radar". These are the kind of things that tickle my fancy although some of them look like they might be a bit weird even for me. Interestingly some of these films will only be shown once, and not in the larger cinemas either, so expect these to sell out.
I'm not planning to see BIGGA THAN BEN or CRACK WILLOW, but I will be taking in BLOOD CAR (a car that runs on blood - not sure where that fits in with Al Gore's ideas but it's cheaper than petrol), SPIKE, STRANGE GIRLS and THE THIRD PINT, all of which sound very interesting. Together with the various horror films in the programme there looks like being a bumper crop of late night oddities this year, something that I felt last year's programme lacked.
Talking of horror films, that's another area I'm interested in so I'll be taking in all six of the movies under the "Night Moves" umbrella. CADAVER, JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY, MUM AND DAD, SHIVER, TIME CRIMES and TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD all look like fun, so it'll be interesting to see which one (and there always is at least one) ends up being a total let down. I've heard good things about TIME CRIMES though, a Spanish time-travel murder mystery type thing. Read the programme, it'll probably be a lot clearer.
I will also, as usual, be looking to take in anything with either a Scottish or Irish connection - the former because of my patriotic duty towards supporting Scottish cinema and the latter because, well, I just like Ireland.
On the Scottish front, I'll be checking out Brian Cox's personal appearance (along with his new film RED) and will be taking in STONE OF DESTINY too, which will either be a fun crime caper or a routinely mediocre British comedy.
From Ireland I'll be seeing HELEN, EDEN and FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU. The latter two were on at Dublin when I visited recently but I couldn't make it to either of them. I'll be missing, however, the world premiere of Irish comedy A FILM WITH ME IN IT, because it clashes with other stuff I want to see, including the other Irish stuff. Interestingly, FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU is accompanied by the short film NO REGRETS IN THE WEST, which will mean I'll be seeing that one for the third time. I believe there are a couple of other Irish shorts elsewhere in the programme but I don't think any of them are in my schedule. Still, it's nice to see short films getting a platform at places like EIFF all the same - not just in the shorts programmes but on bills with feature films too, which at least ensures that people who wouldn't think about shorts programmes will still get the chance to see them and maybe think about them more in future.
Jings, that last sentence was huge, wasn't it?
Another of my interests is of course documentary. I realise that this blog entry is starting to look like a complete index of all the films I'm going to see, which wasn't my intention so I'll just give a brief outline of a few.
There are a whole bunch of documentaries screening here that were on at HotDocs and while I'm in a position to recommend some of them (MAN ON WIRE, DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH) I'm also pleased that I'll get the chance to see a few I missed, including THREE MILES NORTH OF MOLKOM and MECHANICAL LOVE. Also looking interesting are ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (because a new Herzog film is always worth looking out for) and JESUS CHRIST SAVIOUR, because it features Herzog's partner/arch-nemesis Klaus Kinski. Kinski and Herzog are both mad as a barrel of stoats so both movies should be entertaining.
On top of that, there are some other interesting Q&A sessions (the legendary Ray Harryhausen, EIFF fave Shane Meadows and cinematographers extraordinaire Roger Deakins & Seamus Garvey). I'll also be checking out almost all of the Jeanne Moreau retrospective - JULES ET JIM being the most famous (nope, I've never seen it), QUERELLE being interesting because it's got Franco Nero in it (cult legend) and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK sounds nice too, since it bears an uncanny resemblance to KILL BILL.
As with most festivals, my choices always vary wildly when compared to most of the popular choices and award winners, so if you want to see the next big thing, make sure you also pick a whole bunch of films that I've not mentioned...
Labels: documentaries, Edinburgh Film Festival, Film festivals, horror, Irish film, scottish film
posted by Alan at 7:02 pm
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