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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2019

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019

World Perspectives

Programme

20 films · 7 reviews

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Acute Misfortune

Portrait of Australian painter Adam Cullen, tracking the relationship between the artist and his biographer.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Thomas M Wright; Writer: Erik Jensen, Thomas M. Wright; Stars: Daniel Henshall, Toby Wallace, Gillian Jones, Geneviève Lemon, Max Cullen, Daniel Aguiar, James Bell, Rowland Holmes, Steve Mouzakis, Joanne Samuel, Ian Fitch, Daniel Henshall, Toby Wallace, Gillian Jones, Geneviève Lemon)

International premiere

Astronaut

Review preview for Astronaut

Astronaut is a charming fable given life by Dreyfuss' spirited performance.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A lonely widower's dream of going into space is reignited by a nationwide contest.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Shelagh McLeod; Writer: Shelagh McLeod; Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Lyriq Bent, Colm Feore, Krista Bridges, Art Hindle, Richie Lawrence, Graham Greene, Jennifer Phipps, Joan Gregson, Mimi Kuzyk, Paulino Nunes, Colin Mochrie, Karen LeBlanc, Lori Hallier, Maria Ricossa)

Full review See: Interview with Shelagh McLeod about Astronaut

World premiere

Bodies At Rest

Review preview for Bodies At Rest

There's a lot of things going on here, but it's a talented cast and crew playing firmly within a set of genre tropes, not painting by numbers.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
Action adventure sees a morgue taken over by gunmen.

(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2019; Director: Renny Harlin; Writer: David Lesser; Stars: Nick Cheung, Richie Jen, Zi Yang, Nick Cheung, Richie Jen, Zi Yang)

Full review

UK premiere

Bulbul Can Sing

Review preview for Bulbul Can Sing

The territory that it takes the film to makes the last third is rushed in comparison to what has gone before, where the simplicity of the storyline provided the perfect backdrop for complex emotions.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Portrait of a trio of friends struggling with the expectations of adults and tradition in their village community.

(Country: India; Year: 2018; Director: Rima Das; Writer: Rima Das; Stars: Pakija Begam, Arnali Das, Manabendra Das, Manoranjan Das, Bonita Thakuriya, Pakija Begam, Arnali Das, Manabendra Das, Manoranjan Das, Bonita Thakuriya)

Full review

UK premiere

Chippa

A young boy leaves his unhappy home on the streets of Kolkata to find someone who can read him a letter written by the father he has never known.

(Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Safdar Rahman; Writer: Safdar Rahman; Stars: Sunny Pawar, Ronjini Chakraborty, Veer Rajwant Singh, Joyraj Bhattacharya, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Tanaji Dasgupta, Sumeet Thakur, Mala Mukherjee, Kajol Sambhu, Satish Prakash Shaw, Gautam Sarkar, Sanjeeb, Aamir Anjum, Biswajit Das, Om Prakash)

UK premiere

Extreme Job

When a police narcotics team go undercover in a fried-chicken shop, they discover a surprising talent for cooking.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2019; Director: Lee Byeong-heon; Writer: Bae Se-Young; Stars: Ryu Seung-yong, Lee Hanee)

UK premiere

The Fall Of The American Empire

An over-educated delivery guy finds himself caught up in a robbery. Should he take the money and run?

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Denys Arcand; Writer: Denys Arcand; Stars: Maxim Roy, Vincent Leclerc, Maripier Morin, Rémy Girard, Claude Legault, Alexandre Landry, Yan England, Ayana O'Shun, Paul Doucet, Louis Morissette, Pierre Curzi, Anoulith Sintharaphone, James Hyndman, Florence Longpré, Benoît Brière)

UK premiere

Firecrackers

Lou and her best friend Chantal plan to get out of their isolated, run-down town but when they embark on an act of revenge, the consequences are devastating.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Jasmin Mozaffari; Writer: Jasmin Mozaffari; Stars: Michaela Kurimsky, Karena Evans, Callum Thompson, David Kingston, Tamara LeClair, Scott Cleland, Dylan Mask, Gabe Meacher, Robert Cormier, Tarick Glancy, Karleena Kelly, Devon Mary Doherty, Jorja Cadence, David Parisian, Matthew MacCallum)

UK premiere

The Flip Side

A superstar British actor causes trouble when he re-enters the life of a chef, five years after they had a film-set romance.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Marion Pilowsky; Writer: Marion Pilowsky, Lee Sellars; Stars: Eddie Izzard, Hugh Sheridan, Vanessa Guide, Tina Bursill, Luke McKenzie, Tiriel Mora, Susie Youssef, Jodie Dry, Carmel Johnson, Emily Taheny, Jenna Sutch, Mark Saturno, Stefanie Rossi, Lochlin Maybury, Lucy Lehmann)

International premiere

The Grizzlies

Based on a true story, this tells the tale of a group of Inuit students who learn lacrosse.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Miranda de Pencier; Writer: Moira Walley-Beckett, Graham Yost; Stars: Jack Anawak, Fred Bailey, Seth Burke, Mary Buscemi, Tantoo Cardinal, Mayala Chapman, Christopher Church, Colton Clause, Spencer Dewar, Brad Fraser, Ippiksaut Friesen, Colton Hart, Looee Ishulutaq, Innosar Issakiark, Mary Itorcheak)

European premiere

The Longest Night (La Mala Noche)

An abused sex worker fights back.

(Country: Ecuador, Mexico; Year: 2019; Director: Gabriela Calvache; Writer: Gabriela Calvache; Stars: Noëlle Schönwald, Cristian Mercado, Jaime Tamariz, Diego Mignone, Noëlle Schönwald, Cristian Mercado, Jaime Tamariz, Diego Mignone)

UK premiere

Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu)

Review preview for Manta Ray

The film remains mysterious without being confusing - you don't need to grasp every detail to understand its metaphors and message and its enigmatic aura invites repeat viewings.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A fisherman finds an injured refugee and tries to help him.

(Country: Thailand, France, China; Year: 2018; Director: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; Writer: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; Stars: Aphisit Hama, Wanlop Rungkamjad, Rasmee Wayrana, Aphisit Hama, Wanlop Rungkamjad, Rasmee Wayrana)

Full review

UK premiere

Photograph

Review preview for Photograph

Everything about Batra's film is constructed around longing.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two lives intersect in Mumbai and go along together. A struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develops a connection that transforms them in ways that they could not expect.

(Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Ritesh Batra; Writer: Ritesh Batra; Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Abdul Quadir Amin, Denzil Smith, Saharsh Kumar Shukla, Ashok Pathak, Sunil Shakya, Robin Das, Sanjay Kumar Sonu,)

Full review See: Interview with Ritesh Batra about Photograph

UK premiere

The Red Phallus

Caught between a married lover and a domineering father, Sangay’s life is hemmed in on all sides.

(Country: Bhutan, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Tashi Gyeltshen; Stars: Tshering Euden, Singye, Dorji Gyeltshen)

UK premiere

Samurai Marathon

A feudal lord organises a marathon to train his samurais.

(Country: Japan, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Bernard Rose; Writer: Akihiro Dobashi, Bernard Rose, Hiroshi Saitô, Kikumi Yamagishi; Stars: Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu, Mirai Moriyama, Shôta Sometani, Munetaka Aoki, Ryu Kohata, Yûta Koseki, Motoki Fukami, Shinsuke Kato, Joey Iwanaga, Ruka Wakabayashi, Naoto Takenaka, Mariko Tsutsui, Mugi Kadowaki, Junko Abe)

European premiere

Top End Wedding

Review preview for Top End Wedding

Blair's sharp injection of pace helps to zip past any cliches so fast that you don't have much time to register them.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A couple mount a hunt for a bride-to-be's AWOL mum, so that they can can tie the knot.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Wayne Blair; Writer: Miranda Tapsell, Joshua Tyler; Stars: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox, Huw Higginson, Travis Jeffery, Shari Sebbens, Ursula Yovich, Elaine Crombie, Matt Crook, Atmiya Patel, Taylor Wiese, Dalara Williams, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox, Miranda Tapsell)

Full review See: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Wayne Blair and Joshua Tyler talk about Top End Wedding

UK premiere

Undertow

Drama about the fractured relationship between two women.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Miranda Nation; Writer: Miranda Nation; Stars: Olivia DeJonge, Josh Helman, Laura Gordon, Rob Collins, Chris Gibson, Christopher Farrell, Michael McCallum, Slavko Zwirn, Chris Gonsalves, Jeff Gobbels, Josh Hayes, Martin Blum, Tim K Williams, Olivia DeJonge, Josh Helman)

International premiere

Unstoppable

A mild-mannered fish seller turns to his violent past after his wife is kidnapped.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2018; Director: Kim Min-Ho; Writer: Kim Min-Ho; Stars: Don Lee, Song Ji-hyo)

UK premiere

Vai

Review preview for Vai

The first thing that stands out about the film is the ease with which we can recognise Vai despite her being played by a different actress each time.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A portmanteau feature film by nine female Pacific filmmakers and filmed on seven Pacific islands. It is about the journey of empowerment through culture over the lifetime of one woman, Vai.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2019; Director: Becs Arahanga, Amberley Jo Aumua, Matasila Freshwater, Dianna Fuemana, Miria George, Ofa Guttenbeil, Marina McCartney, Nicole Whippy, Sharon Whippy)

Full review

UK premiere

Venezia

A woman wanders the streets of Venice alone as the mystery of her situation is gradually revealed.

(Country: Argentina, France, Italy; Year: 2019; Director: Rodrigo Guerrero; Writer: Rodrigo Guerrero; Stars: Margherita Mannino, Paula Lussi, Margherita Mannino, Paula Lussi)

World premiere