A LOOK at what's on at Edinburgh cinemas over the coming week.
Wednesday sees the red carpet unfurl once more at the Fountainpark Cineworld as the 63rd Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) gets under way. For two weeks we'll be able to watch big name movies, documentaries and short films from around the
globe, while actors and directors will take the hot seat for interviews and seminars.
My EIFF memories are numerous: queuing for hours outside the Filmhouse each year on the day the box office opened to get tickets before they sold out . . .
The buzz in the air just before Sean Connery's BAFTA interview . . .
And watching as Sigourney Weaver tried to hide from fans in the disabled toilets of the Cineworld as security took too long to get to her out of the building, just a few of them.
Today's EIFF may be renowned for its variety and celebrity, but rewind to 1947, when the first event took place, and we can see that a very different cinematic celebration occurred in the Capital.
While the year saw controversial Gregory Peck drama Gentleman's Agreement take the award for Best Picture at the Oscars and James Mason classic Odd Man Out win Best British Film at the BAFTA's, it also saw the launch of the snappily titled Edinburgh International Film Festival: 1st International Festival of Documentary Films alongside the first annual Edinburgh International Festival.
The EIFF's original remit was to bring documentary films to a wider audience, its vision championed by directors such as John Grierson and animation pioneer Norman McLaren.
Early audiences were introduced to the work of filmmakers Roberto Rossellini and Robert Flaherty, plus a host of others from around the world.
Over the next decade, as the festival grew in stature, fiction films were introduced to the line-up while the idea to present audiences with retrospectives of classic films and directors became a firm fixture in the festival's line-up.
By the 1980s the EIFF was premiering films such as ET: The Extraterrestrial, while future big name directors Steven Soderbergh, Bill Forsyth and Stephen Frears were becoming better known, thanks to their Edinburgh publicity.
In 2009, with new film festivals seemingly popping up every year somewhere around the globe, the EIFF remains a major event in the filmgoing calendar.
This year's line-up is a belter, with less focus on flashy blockbusters and more on the importance of high quality writing, directing and acting from UK and international filmmakers.
Luckily the festival's roots aren't forgotten this year, with documentary still at the heart of the programme.
Big River Man looks like one not to be missed, The One Man Village could be a moving watch, while the Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening puts local talent up on the big screen for one night only.
Starting on Tuesday I'll be covering the festival on the Evening News website in a dedicated blog, posting my thoughts on new films straight after I've seen them so you know what to watch and what to avoid.
Here's to a memorable fortnight.
• Visit
www.itsonitsgone.com for more film previews and reviews
The full article contains 532 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
