Edinburgh – Day 5

Every film festival is proud of its history, Edinburgh no less than others. Rightly so, because having launched in 1947, it's now the longest continuously running film festival in the world (although a couple of other festivals began earlier, they stopped for a while during World War Two). Sometimes that sense of history applies to particular filmmakers. Edinburgh has a special place in its heart for Ken Loach and obviously the feeling is mutual because, during his introduction last night to the UK Premiere of Ae Fond Kiss, Loach namechecked Edinburgh as "the most important film festival in the UK". That's certainly true when you're talking about the current state of British cinema, as every year a selection of our country's finest battle it out for the prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature. In 2004, there's strong new work from Shane Meadows, Richard Eyre, Pawel Pawlikowski, Antonia Bird and others, with Loach also in the running for his latest collaboration with screenwriter Paul Laverty (My Name Is Joe, Sweet Sixteen). The public reaction to the Edinburgh screening of Ae Fond Kiss bore out press reviews that this was a lighter, more romantic Loach. Granted, it tackles subjects of racism and religion as a Glaswegian Muslim man falls in love with an Irish Catholic schoolteacher, but the audience clearly warmed to the intimacy of the love story. The subsequent party in cool bar Indigo Yard was definitely the sexiest, best-dressed affair of the festival so far. In fact, the fusion of saris and kilts that filled the room not only looked fantastic, it underlined the positive themes of the film. Leading the fashion parade were stars Atta Yaqub (whose kilt-and-jacket combination favoured a thin red pinstripe instead of tartan, with red flashes on his socks to match) and Eva Birthistle (gorgeous in ivory white). Fair enough, Loach was more conservatively dressed - although 'conservative' isn't exactly a word that applies to this particular left-wing filmmaker, as will no doubt become clear when he takes part in the Festival's annual BAFTA Interview later this afternoon. That notion of festival history raised its head on a more personal level at the Ae Fond Kiss party. In one corner, there's Loach. And here is Ae Fond Kiss writer Paul Laverty. Beside him is his wife, Spanish director Iciar Bollain, whose multi-award winning domestic abuse drama Take My Eyes also plays at this year's festival. Laverty and Bollain met while acting in Loach's Spanish Civil War epic Land And Freedom, which opened the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1995 - one of the greatest nights at the Festival in recent memory. It all fits together perfecty. Looking at those sporrans scattered around the room, it suddenly becomes clear why there's a scene in Bollain's movie featuring a Scottish-style wedding in Spain. Fact meets fiction and, at the moment, Edinburgh is the lynchpin. Flashforward - Highlights for Tuesday *House Of The Tiger King (UGC, 5.15pm) * Documentary on a real-life Indiana Jones-style adventurer and his Rambo-style Vietnam Vet guide who are searching for the lost Inca city of gold accompanied by Swedish filmmaker David Flamholc. *Spy Bound (UGC, 8pm) * Husband and wife Vincent Cassel and Monica Belluci team up for the first time since Irreversible for this European riff on the espionage thriller. *Mirrorball: Performance (Filmhouse, 10.30pm) *A selection of music videos that push the band themselves to the forefront, including Franz Ferdinand (Take Me Out) and Scissor Sisters (Laura). The programme also features two new videos (for Steriogram and The Vines) made by Michel Gondry after Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.