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Festival coverage

Edinburgh International Film Festival

20 June – 1 July 2018

Kelly Macdonald in Puzzle
Kelly Macdonald in Puzzle

The 72nd edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival ran from June 20 to July 1 and opened with Marc Turtletaub's Puzzle.

The festival's three-strand retrospective was entitled Time of the Signs: Chasing the American Zeitgeist - it is split into subsections, American Woman: Female Directors in American Cinema; American Exposé: The Media in Mainstream American Cinema; and The American Nightmare: Horror in Mainstream American Cinema.

Calibre won the Michael Powell Award.

Other years (27)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Radiance
    Review preview for Radiance

    It’s a love story of sorts, but one which demands a lot more of its protagonists – and its audience – than most of its ilk.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A writer of film versions for the visually impaired falls for a photographer who is losing his eyesight, together they learn to see the radiant world.
  • Smooth Talk
    Review preview for Smooth Talk

    It is comforting to keep in mind that the devil cannot cross your threshold without an invitation.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A free-spirited teenager has an encounter with a dangerous man.
  • Princess Emmy
    Review preview for Princess Emmy

    The main source of tension here is between the two girls and their one-upmanship is well handled but even older child audiences are likely to find the general lack of any sort of danger a bit of a turn off.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    A young princess with a secret gift is put to the test.
  • Those Who Are Fine
    Review preview for Those Who Are Fine

    Taut, tense, perhaps less constructed than engineered.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    A call centre worker begins to work a scam on the elderly.
  • Unicorn Store
    Review preview for Unicorn Store

    There will be someone, many, out there who will love it.

    Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
    A unicorn-obsessed woman meets a salesman who claims he can supply her with one of her own if she fulfils a series of chores.
  • Piercing
    Review preview for Piercing

    Without a doubt, Pesce is one of the most exciting young directors to emerge in recent years.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A man seeks out an unsuspecting stranger to help him purge the dark torments of his past. His plan goes awry when he encounters a woman with plans of her own. A playful psycho-thriller game of cat-and-mouse.
  • Two For Joy
    Review preview for Two For Joy

    Ramsey is likely to emerge as one of the standout talents of her generation.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A family struggling with bereavement try to find solace on a caravan holiday.
  • An Elephant Sitting Still
    Review preview for An Elephant Sitting Still

    Despite its grey, flat light and general melancholy punctured by menace, An Elephant Sitting Still is, by the end considerably more optimistic than it first appears about humanity.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    The lives of four people cross over the course of a day in China.
  • Woman Up!
    Review preview for Woman Up!

    There's a certain degree of decompression in its storytelling, and a willingness to jump in time and space, and though the two are strong there's a weird sense that these are the highlights and story beats of a much longer television drama.

    Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
    An ambitious woman treads a dangerous path as she attempts to crash the corporate boys’ club.
  • Possum
    Review preview for Possum

    The poem and whole tone of the film evokes Ted Hughes’ The Crow anthology.

    Emilia Rolewicz · 2.5 out of 5
    A disgraced children's puppeteer is forced to face up to his wicked stepfather.

A–Z of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018 reviews

Features

  • Unnatural pleasures
    Nicolas Pesce on working with Christopher Abbott and Mia Wasikowski and channelling Hitchcock in Piercing
  • The public Eye
    C'est La Vie! star Haïdara on the art of comedy, her rising career and fighting racial stereotypes
  • Seeing a progression
    Marc Turtletaub on Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman and Puzzle
  • Keeping up appearances
    Marcello Martinessi on cultural conservatism and filmmaking honesty in The Heiresses
  • A different space
    Kelly Macdonald on working with Marc Turtletaub on Puzzle
  • In there somewhere
    Kelly Macdonald on her character in Marc Turtletaub's Puzzle
  • Everyday poetry
    Marc Turtletaub on Mike Leigh, Alfonso Cuarón, and the screenplay and locations for Puzzle
  • The image maker
    Tiffany Bartok on Isabella Rossellini, Tori Amos and Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story
  • Creative spirit
    Haifaa Al-Mansour takes a feminist perspective on Mary Shelley
  • Race against time
    Finlay Pretsell on cycling, David Millar and Time Trial
  • Making up is hard to do
    Tiffany Bartok on Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story
  • Unreal belonging
    Gustavo Pizzi and Karine Teles discuss Loveling and portraying families on screen
  • A sensory experience
    Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi on kaleidoscope eyes and The Gospel According To André
  • Style and grace
    Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi on The Gospel According To André
  • Putting island in doc
    Gabrielle Brady on the challenges of shooting Island Of The Hungry Ghosts
  • Fitting music to the Puzzle
    Dustin O'Halloran talks about his latest score.
  • Keeping score
    Director Giorgio Ferrero on music and memory in his documentary hybrid Beautiful Things.
  • Romero - master of the macabre
    Veteran director on zombies, religion and genocide.
  • Creature feature
    Legendary animator Ray Harryhausen talks about his life and work.

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