I have been coming on and off to the Edinburgh International Film Festival for about 5 years and now in their 60th year, I took a job working at the festival organizing their Industry Events. Since I arrived in Edinburgh there has been - quite rightly- a bit of a fuss about the 60th birthday of the festival. There was a lovely fancy birthday party last week hosted by the festival's patron, Sir Sean Connery and attended by the likes of Kevin Smith, Charlize Theron, Robbie Coltrane, Gabriel Byrne and Brian DePalma and the Filmhouse which is the premiere venue for the festival and a long running arthouse cinema hosted EIFF screening series highlighting films and filmmakers from the past 59 years.
With all of the hullabaloo, lots and lots of people (including yours truly) have been quite reflective about the films that they saw here for the very first time. In its 60-year history, the EIFF has shown a tremendous amount of really exceptional work by filmmakers well known then and now. Everyone from Scorsese to Tarkovsky to Denis to Soderbergh have screened here. They were one of the first festivals to do retrospectives which covered the wor of everyone from John Huston to Kirk Douglass to this year's Mitchell Leisen. Though not every film has been great or well received at the festival, it has been my experience at both in the past and this year that I have walked out of the cinema glad I went in. By no means have I loved everything I have seen but there always a lovely sense of emotional adventure here - i am moved, angry, disapppointed, turned on or disgusted and these are feelings that often barely register when I go to other festivals.
I saw Amores Perros here – a film that startled me and made me ravenous for Mexican Cinema; I saw Claire Denis’ Trouble Every Day – a film that took me away from and brought me back to my love of vampire flicks all at the same time and it was at EIFF that I first saw Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love – a film that moves me everytime I think of it. It was for me irrefutably one of the best film festival moments of my life. For that experience alone, the Edinburgh International Film Festival will always hold a special place in my heart.
Beginning in 1947 as a documentary festival, the EIFF has premiered and screened a great number of the classics from Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev to Bertolucci's The Conformist to Hopper's Easy Rider. It is a festival known for its sometimes obscure eclecticism something I find very refreshing in these days of recycling of the same films by the same directors. This year marks the departure of Shane Danielsen, my friend and often controversial Artistic Director. During his five years at the festival, he has brought his uniqueness of vision and taste without ever worrying that people might not like it or might not come - again, a rarity in the festival world. Shane has always had faith in the audience. He knew that they would alwyas find their way to the work. I wish him godspeed in his new endeavors.
Keeping it indie,
Julie
With all of the hullabaloo, lots and lots of people (including yours truly) have been quite reflective about the films that they saw here for the very first time. In its 60-year history, the EIFF has shown a tremendous amount of really exceptional work by filmmakers well known then and now. Everyone from Scorsese to Tarkovsky to Denis to Soderbergh have screened here. They were one of the first festivals to do retrospectives which covered the wor of everyone from John Huston to Kirk Douglass to this year's Mitchell Leisen. Though not every film has been great or well received at the festival, it has been my experience at both in the past and this year that I have walked out of the cinema glad I went in. By no means have I loved everything I have seen but there always a lovely sense of emotional adventure here - i am moved, angry, disapppointed, turned on or disgusted and these are feelings that often barely register when I go to other festivals.
I saw Amores Perros here – a film that startled me and made me ravenous for Mexican Cinema; I saw Claire Denis’ Trouble Every Day – a film that took me away from and brought me back to my love of vampire flicks all at the same time and it was at EIFF that I first saw Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love – a film that moves me everytime I think of it. It was for me irrefutably one of the best film festival moments of my life. For that experience alone, the Edinburgh International Film Festival will always hold a special place in my heart.
Beginning in 1947 as a documentary festival, the EIFF has premiered and screened a great number of the classics from Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev to Bertolucci's The Conformist to Hopper's Easy Rider. It is a festival known for its sometimes obscure eclecticism something I find very refreshing in these days of recycling of the same films by the same directors. This year marks the departure of Shane Danielsen, my friend and often controversial Artistic Director. During his five years at the festival, he has brought his uniqueness of vision and taste without ever worrying that people might not like it or might not come - again, a rarity in the festival world. Shane has always had faith in the audience. He knew that they would alwyas find their way to the work. I wish him godspeed in his new endeavors.
Keeping it indie,
Julie
posted by indieIN | 3:55 AM
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