Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2009
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26 films · 20 reviews
This is an ambitious and brave project which, if it doesn't quite reach the heights it might, is still a worthwhile watch.
(Country: US, Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew; Writer: Rasselas Lakew, Davey Frankel, Mikael Aemiro Awake; Stars: Rasselas Lakew, Dag Malmberg, Ruta Gedmintas, Abba Waka Dessalegn)
World Premiere
(Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Ina Weisse; Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Josef Bierbichler, Sandra Hüller)
UK Premiere
Although it is beautiful to look at, it goes on doing that for an hour and a half.
(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Mary Sweeney; Writer: Mary Sweeney; Stars: Sabrina S. Sutherland, Justin Daering, Lee Ernst, James Pickering, Patrick S. Sweeney, Jonathan West, Barney Sweeney, Flora Coker, Ruth Schudson, Michael Fuss, Brenda DeVita, Brian Liston, Rick Sherman, Joseph Filmanowicz, Peter Morse)
World Premiere
(Country: France, Denmark; Year: 2009; Director: Juliette Garcias; Writer: Juliette Garcias; Stars: Anaïs Demoustier, Bruno Todeschini, Nade Dieu, Alexandra Fleischer, Stéphane Chivot, Véronique Nordey, Marie-Françoise Audollent, Cyril Troley, Hélène López de la Torre)
UK Premiere
(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Mark Devenport; Writer: Tony Claassen, Mark Devenport; Stars: Jonathan Phillips, Steven Sheil, Micaiah Dring, Phil Smeeton, Gregory Chisholm, Rupert Procter, Mark Devenport, Chris Cooke, Will Tristram, Tony Claassen, Shaun Mechen, Penn Linfield, Yvonne Varnier, Jai Abbott, Dean Palo)
World Premiere
Here is a story that evokes Brazil from the inside out.
(Country: Italy, Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Marco Bechis; Writer: Marco Bechis, Luiz Bolognesi, Lara Fremder; Stars: Claudio Santamaria, Alicélia Batista Cabreira, Chiara Caselli, Abrísio da Silva Pedro, Matheus Nachtergaele, Ambrósio Vilhava, Ademilson Concianza Verga, Leonardo Medeiros, Eliane Juca da Silva, Fabiane Pereira da Silva, Taiane Arce, César Chedid, Temily Comar, Nelson Concianza, Luciane da Silva) , Official site
UK Premiere
Although Yang's directorial debut is overlong and unecessarily laboured in the early section, he is genuinely bringing something fresh to the table in terms of the atmosphere he creates.
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2009; Director: Lee Hwan, Yang Ik-June, Kim Kkobbi; Writer: Yang Ik-June; Stars: Yang Ik-June, Jeong Man-shik, Kim Gol-bi) , Trailer
UK Premiere
This is a film likely to divide viewers.
(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2009; Director: Esther Rots; Writer: Esther Rots; Stars: Rifka Lodeizen, Wim Opbrouck, Chris Borowski)
UK Premiere
Displays some of the finer stylistic points of modern German cinema.
(Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Thomas Sieben; Writer: Christian Lyra, Thomas Sieben; Stars: Ken Duken, Franziska Weisz, Josef Heynert, Jan Uplegger)
UK Premiere
The film deserves praise for its maturity around sexuality.
(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez; Writer: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Davy Rothbart; Stars: Brian Geraghty, Kel O'Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeanette Brox, Jenna Gavigan, Kathryn Aselton, Danielle Lozeau, Lucas CorVatta, Lauren Petzke, Allison Hensel, Leandro Di Salvo, Daniel J Gonzales, Tavia Schwartz, Z Ray Wakeman)
International Premiere
Where it succeeds is in its blend of dark humour with tragic circumstances.
(Country: Sweden; Year: 2009; Director: Per Hanefjord; Writer: Per Hanefjord; Stars: Sara Arnia, Anna Azcárate, Örjan Landström, Jimmy Lindström)
International Premiere
It is the central love story - beautifully realised both in terms of camerawork and acting - that underpins all the rest of the directorial flourishes.
(Country: Argentina, France, Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Lucía Puenzo; Writer: Lucía Puenzo; Stars: Inés Efron, Mariela Vitale, Carlos Bardem, Pep Munné, Arnaldo André, Diego Velázquez, Julián Doregger, Sandra Guida)
UK Premiere
That which is seen is beautiful, that which is unseen intriguing.
(Country: China; Year: 2008; Director: Ye Zhao; Writer: Ye Zhao; Stars: Yuan-Sheng Liu, Zhi-Zhong Li)
UK Premiere
Strickland reveals an eye for landscape and place that for me recalled early Werner Herzog.
(Country: Romania, UK, Hungary; Year: 2009; Director: Peter Strickland; Writer: Peter Strickland, Peter Strickland; Stars: Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Sebastian Marina, Melinda Kántor)
UK Premiere
We need to see more diversity from the Iranian filmmakers here in the West.
(Country: Iran; Year: 2008; Director: Panahbarkhoda Rezaee)
UK Premiere
Catalina Saavedra gives a wonderful performance as the frustrated Raquel.
(Country: Chile; Year: 2008; Director: Sebastián Silva; Writer: Sebastián Silva, Pedro Peirano; Stars: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Alejandro Goic, Anita Reeves, Del?na Guzmán)
UK Premiere
(Country: Algeria, France; Year: 2008; Director: Lyes Salem; Writer: Lyes Salem, Nathalie Saugeon; Stars: Lyes Salem, Sarah Reguieg, Mohamed Bouchaïb, Rym Takoucht, Merouane Zmirli, Mourad Khen)
UK Premiere
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Baek Seung-Bin; Stars: Lee Ju-Seung, Yoo Ha-Bok, Park Myung-Shin, Kim Byul)
UK Premiere
Testing a family for breaking points within a comic framework is not exactly new territory, but Watt's scripting is sharp and she plays fast and loose with audience expectation in the cliche department.
(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Sarah Watt; Writer: Sarah Watt; Stars: Sacha Horler, Matt Day, Jonathan Segat, Portia Bradley, Roy Davies, Catherine Hill, Sonya Suares, Petru Gheorghiu, Eddie Baroo, Travis Cotton, Fred Whitlock, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Lauren Mikkor, Chloe Guymer, Katie Wall)
International Premiere
In terms of the look, there are plenty of striking images, enhanced by the monochrome look, but the story could use more meat.
(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2009; Director: Leon Dai; Stars: Chen Wen-Pin, Chao Yo-Hsuan, Lin Chih-Ju, Ma Ting-Ni)
UK Premiere
Pomegranates And Myrrh is concerned with living within the Palestinian diaspora, and living within a situation you have no power to change.
(Country: Palestine; Year: 2008; Director: Najwa Najjar; Writer: Najwa Najjar; Stars: Hiam Abbass, Yasmine Elmasri, Ali Sliman, Ahmad Abu Sal'oum, Ashraf Farah, Lufuf Nuweiser, Lea Tsmeal, Walid Abdul Salam, Manal Awad, Samia Kuzmoz)
UK Premiere
This is a vivid portrait of the landscape of the Americas, picking apart every step of the migrant’s journey.
(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Cary Fukunaga; Writer: Cary Fukunaga; Stars: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Luis Fernando Peña, Diana García)
European Premiere
The film could be criticised for its fairytale aspects but, in some ways, Municipality's constant lucky escape from peril only serves to make you more aware of the very real threats that exist on the streets.
(Country: India; Year: 2008; Director: Irlan Kamal; Stars: Master Shams, Master Shalman, Master Fayaaz, Master Jafar, Baby Almas, Barry John, Raghubir Yadav) , Official site
World Premiere
This is a cold and sombre environment from which is borne a cold and sombre film.
(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Jonathan auf der Heide; Stars: Oscar Redding, Jason Glover, Thomas Wright, Paul Ashcroft, Arthur Angel, Mark Winter) , Official site
International Premiere
(Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Writer: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Stars: Neil Leiper, Emma Hartley Miller, Kate Dickie, Paul Thomas Hickey, David Hayman, Gary Lewis, Alan Tripney)
World Premiere
This is a sad little film that makes two thick planks look interesting.
(Country: Ireland/UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tom Hall; Writer: Arthur Mathews; Stars: Ardal O'Hanlon, Ewen Bremner, Owen Roe, Morwenna Banks, Don Wycherley)
World Premiere
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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