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Festival coverage

Edinburgh International Film Festival

2002

Rabbit-Proof Fence walked away with the Audience Award
Rabbit-Proof Fence walked away with the Audience Award

The 56th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival kicked off with drama Morvern Callar and wrapped up with the Hollywood remake of Insomnia, starring Robin Williams and Al Pacino.

Among the celebrities who visited the city were Heather Graham, Jimi Mistry and Samantha Morton. Phillip Noyce's re-examination of the plight of Aborigines in Australia, Rabbit-Proof Fence, won the audience award, while gritty borstal-based drama Out Of Control snagged the Michael Powell Award For Best New British Feature. The Guardian New Director's Award went to Carlos Reygadas for Japon, while Marius Holst received a special mention for Dragonflies. Joachim Trier won The European Short Film Award: Prix UIP and The Kodak and Short Film Bureau Award for Best British Short Film for his film Procter, while the McLaren Animation Award for New British Animation went to An Eye For An Eye, produced and directed by Shynola with Ruth Lingford. The Saltire Society Greierson Award for Short Documentary went to Sky High, which was directed, produced and edited by Anna Jones.

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Latest reviews

  • Insomnia
    Review preview for Insomnia

    With some awesome location shots of the Arctic circle and a brooding score from David Julyan, Nolan’s picture oozes atmosphere.

    Stephen Carty · 4 out of 5
    Al Pacino is an LA detective come to Alaska to solve a teenage murder.
  • Bundy
    Review preview for Bundy

    The script does its best to make the audience uncomfortable - embarrassed, disgusted, socially repulsed - long before anything as sensational as murder occurs.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Biopic of serial killer Ted Bundy.
  • 8 Women
    Review preview for 8 Women

    Ozon's quirky French murder mystery-cum-comedy-cum-musical is a brilliant pastiche on so many genres, it has no right to be as entertaining as it is, or as gripping.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Eight women, one body and a house full of lies.
  • Spider
    Review preview for Spider

    For what is essentially a psychological horror film, Spider is remarkable for its quietness, its unassuming grace.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A man undergoes a mental collapse.
  • Intacto
    Review preview for Intacto

    It is opaque in the style of Seventies art house movies, with an energy that leaps out and shakes your bones.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    If luck is a commodity, it can be bought and sold.
  • The Happiness of the Katakuris
    Review preview for The Happiness of the Katakuris

    Small children would delight in this film, but most adults would be horrified by the thought of them seeing it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Running a guest house proves deathly for a family. Just as well they know a few good songs.
  • Buffalo Soldiers
    Review preview for Buffalo Soldiers

    At turns funny, violent, bitter and over the top, it's a curious little fable about boredom, risk-taking, and the frustration experienced by trained fighters in peacetime.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Cynical depiction of life as a US soldier in Germany, 1989.
  • Frailty
    Review preview for Frailty

    Instead of being driven by effects and action, Frailty holds your attention with utter disbelief. You can accept what is happening, but do you want to?

    Gator MacReady · 4.5 out of 5
    Bill Paxton’s kids think he’s gone nutzo in religious thriller about a serial axe murderer.
  • Sex Is Comedy
    Review preview for Sex Is Comedy

    Overflows with classic moments.

    Gabriella Trybalska · 4 out of 5
    A director struggles to shoot the sex scene central to her film.
  • Irreversible
    Review preview for Irreversible

    For all its confrontational posturing, there are moments when the film fails to take the leap into the abyss.

    Keith Hennessey Brown · 3.5 out of 5
    Brutal story of a violent rape, told in reverse. Now out to own in special collectors edition.

A–Z of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2002 reviews

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