The 60th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) will sprint off the starting line on Monday 17 August with the World Premiere of a movie based on the life story of cyclist Graham Obree. The Flying Scotsman – produced by the makers of Rob Roy – stars Johnny Lee Miller as Obree, who overcame personal tragedy and sporting derision before designing his own lightweight bike and going on to smash the world one-hour cycling record. Brian Cox, Laura Fraser and Billy Boyd also feature among the cast.
In order to celebrate its landmark 60th, EIFF boasts a stronger-than-usual line-up of Hollywood names for its ‘Reel Life’ public Q&A sessions. Topping the bill is the festival’s patron, Sean Connery, who will discuss his career at a BAFTA live event on Friday 25 August. Other stars dropping into town include Sigourney Weaver, Charlize Theron and actor Alan Arkin. Steven Soderbergh has promised to take two days off shooting Ocean’s 13 in order to fly to Edinburgh and back for a one-off event, while Kevin Smith will throw some profanities into the air during a session tying in with the UK Premiere of Clerks II.
Two retrospectives showcase the lighter and darker aspects of classic American cinema. Director Mitchell Leisen – who worked with Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges in their screwball screenwriting days - is ripe for reappraisal. Meanwhile the lesser-known side of Hollywood 70s cinema will be examined in a strand called They Might Be Giants. Avoiding the likes of Coppola, Scorsese and Altman, this programme from Hollywood’s golden decade includes Walter Hill’s The Driver, Peter Hyams’ Busting, George Romero’s The Crazies and John Carpenter’s Dark Star. Rarities in the same series include Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To, Alan Arkin’s Little Murders, Monte Hellman’s Cockfighter and blaxploitation flicks Across 110th Street and The Spook Who Sat By The Door.
As diverse as ever, Edinburgh will screen a strong selection of documentaries, international films from first-time directors and recent British films competing for the Michael Powell Award. The Mirrorball strand showcases cutting-edge music videos, while talents for the future can be spotted among the shorts programmes. Big-name gala premieres take in Driving Lessons, Little Miss Sunshine, The Night Listener, The Oh In Ohio, Sherrybaby, Art School Confidential, Hoodwinked, Snow Cake, The Killing Of John Lennon and Al Gore’s climate change doc An Inconvenient Truth. Festivities come to a close on Sunday 27 August with a screening of the new digitally-restored print of Odd Man Out, released in 1947 – the same year that all of this Edinburgh movie madness began.
ALAN MORRISON