Edinburgh International Film Festival

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Edinburgh, United Kingdom June 2009, TBA
Call for Entry Deadline: February 2009, TBA
features, animation and shorts: February 18, 2008. For Mirrorball the deadline is April 2, 2008.
Festival Data:
- Established: 1947
- Genre: General
- Attendance: 54000
- Media Attendance: 400
- Accredited Industry Attendance: 670
- Total Number of Films Submitted: 1000
- Total Number of Films Screened: 200
- Total Screenings: 324
- # of Shorts Screened: 75
- # of Features Screened: 125
- Accreditations: BAFTA, EFA
- Competitive
- Has Panels
Festival Website:
www.edfilmfest.org.uk
Festival Description:

Started in 1947, the EIFF is one of the true homes of innovative and exciting cinema. For over half-a-century, the Festival has presented some of cinema's most important and exciting moments and played host to the world's greatest filmmakers.

The longest continually running film festival in the world, it has come a long way from its beginnings as a documentary-based festival established in the wake of World War II. Its spirit was and is bold and its focus international: in the early years, it premiered such timeless classics as Robert Flaherty's Louisiana Story, Roberto Rossellini's Germany Year Zero and Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu Monogatari.

During the 1960s, EIFF introduced the Retrospective. Years ahead of its time, the Festival re-evaluated and paid tribute to the diverse talents of John Huston, Sam Fuller, Douglas Sirk and even a young Martin Scorsese.

In the 70s and 80s, the Festival consolidated its reputation as a pioneering force for UK audiences, screening films from the New German Cinema, the new wave of American Independents, homages to the masters of Japanese Cinema, pioneering studies of black and feminist filmmakers. Festival audiences were able to witness masterpieces from across the whole spectrum of film culture - from Spielberg's ET: The Extraterrestrial, to Abel Gance's silent classic Napoleon - complete with a full orchestral score. New talents were nurtured - Bill Forsyth, Stephen Soderbergh - and gems like My Beautiful Launderette discovered.

The last ten years have seen a strengthening of the critical fortunes of the Festival through the strong artistic direction of Mark Cousins, Lizzie Francke, Shane Danielsen and currently Hannah McGill, all of whom have exhibited not only a continuity of passion and commitment to excellent cinema from home and abroad but the very necessary evaluative perspective that skilled curation brings.
Film Submissions:
- Call for Entry: http:/ / www.edfilmfest.org.uk/ submissions/ submission-forms/
Email: info(at)edfilmfest.org.uk

Phone: (44) 0 131 623 8030

Fax: (44) 0 131 229 2550

Mailing Address: 88 Lothian Road
Edinburgh, Scotland EH3 9BZ
UK

Email:	info(at)edfilmfest.org.uk
Phone:	(44) 0 131 623 8030
Fax:	(44) 0 131 229 2550
Mailing Address:	88 Lothian Road Edinburgh, Scotland EH3 9BZ UK

JUL 01 12:11PM FFW Festival Editor writes:

Another Successful Year for the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival Closes with Award Winners Announced

The 62nd EIFF concluded with today's awards ceremony which saw "Somers Town" winning the Michael Powell Award, and Robert Carlyle walking away as best actor for his performance in Summer.

Bittersweet drama "Somers Town" scooped EIFF’s top prize this year at today’s awards ceremony presented by patron Sir Sean Connery.

The Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film quadrupled in value this year.

The Michael Powell Jury, led by actor Danny Huston, recognized Shane Meadows' latest as “the freshest, most imaginative maverick work, deserving of the Award.”

“After viewing an impressive selection of films and a long deliberation we, the Jury, unanimously agreed that the award would go to 'Somers Town.'”

The prestigious PPG Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film was handed to the multifaceted Robert Carlyle for his striking rendering of a man in conflict with his past in Summer. The Jury commended his work as “a flawless performance in a great, uncompromising film that touches the heart.”

The champion that emerged from the historically hefty documentary strand was Werner Herzog’s "Encounters at the End of the World." The Best Documentary Award Jury, chaired by Seamus McGarvey, commented: “the documentaries competing for this award were, in many cases, exemplary.”

“It was a powerful shortlist of contrasting styles and experience, but in the end there was one film which we all agreed was the outstanding entry, a poetic vision but one with an unflinching gaze focusing on an area which should concern us all.”

But it was another documentary that won over the public’s heart and the Standard Life Audience Award.

"Man on Wire," directed by James Marsh, is a thrilling reconstruction of daredevil Philippe Petit’s scheme to walk a high-wire strung between the twin towers of the former World Trade Centre.

Its first European screening on Thursday received a standing ovation and it was with equal enthusiasm that its audiences rewarded the film in their votes.

See below for the full list of award winners.

Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film sponsored by the UK Film Council:
"Somers Town"
Director: Shane Meadows

PPG Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film
Robert Carlyle for "Summer"

Standard Life Audience Award: "Man on Wire"
Director: James Marsh

Best Documentary Award: "Encounters at the End of the World"
Director: Werner Herzog

Skillset New Directors Award: Marianna Palka for "Good Dick"

UK Film Council Award for Best British Short Film: "Son" Director: Daniel Mulloy

European Film Academy Short Film 2008 – Prix UIP: "2 Birds"
Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson

Scottish Short Documentary Award supported by Baillie Gifford: "Christmas with Dad"
Director: Conor McCormack

McLaren Award for New British Animation in partnership with BBC Film Network: "Space Travel According to John" Director: Jamie Stone & Anders Jedenfors

Mirrorball Best British Music Video Award: "Happiness" by Goldfrapp
Director: Dougal Wilson
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