Edinburgh International film festival (EIFF) returned to the city last night, with the outer-Hebrides set mystery Silent Roar opening the festival. This year EIFF offers a streamlined programme running from 18 – 23 August after a year of uncertainty over the event’s fate.
It comes after the collapse of the festival’s parent company, the Centre for the Moving Image, in October. Since, there has been doubts over whether the world’s longest running film festival would survive another year. But, with the help of Screen Scotland and Edinburgh International Festival, EIFF has been allowed to continue.
Opening film Silent Roar is the debut feature by short-film director Johnny Barrington. Described as “a teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire” it won’t be your usual coming-age-of story.
Closing the festival is dreamy deadpan dramedy Freemont, a sensitive immigrant tale of an afghan refugee struggling to sleep after working as a translator for the US army. It stars Wali Zada in her breakout performance and Jeremy Allen-White hot off his Emmy-winning turn in The Bear.
EIFF Programme Highlights
Also featured in the festival’s line-up are a selection of world, international, UK and Scottish premieres. Highlights include Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up featuring Michelle Williams as a family-focused sculptor trying to balance the opening of her brand-new show with the daily stresses of family and friends.
Additionally, making its world premiere at EIFF is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The retelling from Hope Dickson Leach swaps London for Edinburgh in the gothic classic.
Meanwhile, in a retrospective strand of the programme, EIFF presents four new restorations of rebellious American independent filmmakers. This includes screenings of Dead Man’s Shoes, Drylongso, Tokyo Pop, Variety and Life is cheap…but toilet paper is expensive.
This year EIFF is also offering outdoor screenings in their Cinema Under The Stars programme. It mixes family favourites with auteur classics on the old college quad. Get your tickets to see Parasite, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and many more in the summer air.
For more information on what to expect at EIFF you can check out Brig’s summary of the programme.
EIFF runs from 18 -23 Aug. Tickets can be found at eif.co.uk and for more of brig’s coverage of the festival click here.
Featured Image Credit: Jonathan Boomer (j.boomer_photography)
Film and Tv Editor at Brig Newspaper. Currently studying Journalism and English at the University of Stirling
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