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| There will be a retrospective of the work of animator Elizabeth Hobbs, whose shorts include The Emperor |
Among the films set in Scotland are comedic horror/musical Anna And The Apocalypse, which was largely shot in and around Glasgow and Matt Palmer’s debut thriller Calibre, which is set against the backdrop of Beecraigs Country Park acting as the Scottish Highlands, stars Scottish actor Jack Lowden (England Is Mine, Dunkirk).
Shauna Macdonald, will be among the Scottish stars on the big screen, in horror/thriller White Chamber, directed by Paul Raschid, while Tommy Flanagan appears in Michael Noer’s crime drama Papillon and James Cosmo stars in Anthony Byrne’s In Darkness alongside Natalie Dormer and Emily Ratajkowski. As has been previously announced, Kelly Macdonald stars in the festival’s opening film Puzzle.
EIFF artistic director Mark Adams said: “Edinburgh International Film Festival is renowned around the world for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema and Scottish talent has always been at the heart of that. The Festival’s programme always helps shine the light on to Scottish themes, performances and filmmakers, and I am thrilled that once again we can celebrate this high-level of craftsmanship in past and present Scottish work in our 72nd year.”
Other films with a homegrown connection include Scottish produced pop-art drama Make Me Up, by Glasgow-based video artist Rachel Maclean, Kevin Macdonald’s documentary Whitney, and Almost Fashionable: A Film About Travis, a documentary directed by the front man of Scottish band Travis, Fran Healy. Fran and the other band members will be in attendance for the film’s world premiere. Scottish director and former Michael Powell Award winner for Gas Attack, Kenny Glenaan, returns with Dirt Road To Lafayette, written by James Kelman, which follows a father and son’s journey from Scotland to North Alabama to visit their American/Scots relatives will also receive its world premiere at the festival.
Additional Scottish documentaries, include Emma Davie and Peter Mettler’s Becoming Animal, Finlay Prestell’s Time Trial (including a Q&A with cycling star David Millar) and Ece Ger’s Meeting Jim - about Jim Haynes, the man who co-founded the Traverse. Edinburgh-based documentarian and EIFF Honorary Patron Mark Cousins, will also introduce two of his latest projects The Eyes Of Orson Welles, which premiered in Cannes last week, and Storm In My Heart.
Scott Donaldson, Acting Director of Screen at Creative Scotland said: “We are incredibly proud of the strength and depth of Scottish talent showcased in this year’s EIFF programme. As ever the dedicated team at EIFF have pulled together a dynamic and exciting selection of Scottish titles across many different genres, from feature films and documentaries to animation and artists film. We look forward to Scottish audiences getting a chance to enjoy, be inspired by and celebrate these films.”
A preview of Gaelic TV show Bannan is also in the programme, along with a retrospective screening of Maurice Hatton’s Long Shot, which was filmed during the 1977 edition of the festival. Bill Forsyth will also introduce a screening of his classic Local Hero and take part in an extended Q&A. There will also be a special event, Behind the Curtain: Women & EIFF, which will be hosted by former director Lynda Myles, who was the world’s first female director of a film festival, and archives manager and deputy head of special collections at Edinburgh University Rachel Hosker.
A selection of Scottish-linked animations are confirmed for this year’s programme including Dorte Bengtson’s family film Vitello, written by Kim Fupz Aakeson and produced by Anders Berthelsen and former EIFF chair Bob Last, featuring Doon Mackichan in the role of Mother. A sneak preview of Red Kite's animated feature Princess Emmy, voiced by a host of Scottish actors, including John Hannah, will also screen. Animator Elizabeth Hobbs will be in Edinburgh to present a screening of her short animations. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, Hobbs has a long history with EIFF and will present Elizabeth Hobbs: A Retrospective of Animated Work. There will also be numerous Scottish shorts, including Blue Christmas by Scottish director Charlotte Wells, Tom Chick’s Monument: Parts One And Two, Anna Stoltzmann’s My Head On The Mountain, Evi Tsiligaridou’s These Are My Hands and Francesco Rufini’s Dogma.
The Scottish Documentary Institute’s short film programme Bridging the Gap - Love will also screen, plus there will be shorts from the Scottish Film Talent, including 12 Point Kill, Bunny, I Was Here, Lift Share, My Loneliness Is Killing Me, None Of The Above and Tomorrow Might Be The Day. SFTN short animation Widdershins will also screen as part of The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1 alongside Laundromat, a graduate film from Edinburgh College of Art's Bafta winning Animation course, directed by Madeleine Sayers.
The full programme of the 72nd Edinburgh International Film Festival will be announced on Wednesday 23 May. Tickets go on sale to Filmhouse Members on Wednesday 23 May at noon and on sale to the public on Friday 25 May at 10am.
