The Edinburgh International Film Festival has named the first of its eight guest curators, as it continues its revamp and restructuring.
Artistic advisors Mark Cousins and Lynda Miles said: “Our suggestions try to make Edinburgh the most distinctive film fest in the world, possibly the most spirited and brainiest. For the last month we’ve been working behind the scenes trying to get the film and culture world to join in this rethink.
“This is a big rethink in the EIFF’s history. We’ve called it All That Heaven Allows.
“So, in our 65th year, to get the juices going we have asked great people in the world of culture – film, music, art, design, etc – to join our experiment and pitch in ideas for themes, days, moments and events.
“Some of them will come to the Festival, but what we want are their brains, their taste, their spirit - not their celebrity or any of that secondary mould."
The guest curators announced so far are:
- Actress and director Isabella Rossellini (The Saddest Music In The World, Wild At Heart)
- Director Gus Van Sant (Milk, My Private Idaho)
- Independent filmmaker Sara Driver (You Are Not I) and director Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise)
- Author Alan Warner (Morvern Caller)
- Singer/song-writer Mike Skinner
- Director/writer Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Blissfully Yours)
- Composer Clint Mansell (Black Swan, Moon
- Music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus
EIFF says programme announcements will be "necessary piecemeal" but we can expect further updates around March 1. Watch this space.
