Edinburgh International Film Festival
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The Edinburgh International Film Festival or EIFF is part of the Edinburgh Festival, which takes place every August, in Edinburgh, this year running from the 14th till the 27th. Established in 1947, it is the longest continually running film festival in the world. When it was started by the Edinburgh Film Guild (the oldest continually running Film Society in the world) it was only for documentaries. At the time there were only a couple of other Film Festivals in the world (Cannes and Venice). The festival shows a range of films from around the world and screens not only feature length films and documentaries, but also shorts, animations and music videos. The Grand Jury awards "The Micheal Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film" while the audience can vote for the "Standard Life Audience Award" and a panel made up of first time film-makers judges the "Skillset New Directors Award." There are also several awards given to short films. All films shown are U.K. premieres although many are also European or International Premiers. Sir Sean Connery is the honorary patron.
The venues are the Filmhouse, Cameo, Fountainpark Cineworld and The Dominion. Some of the events are run in The Sheraton Hotel. In Glasgow the Glasgow Film Theatre and Renfrew St Cineworld also participate. As of 2004 there are proposals for a new Filmhouse to be built, entitled Sean Connery Filmhouse, designed by architect Richard Murphy. It would be near to the existing one, have a greater capacity and be home to the festival. The current location favoured by Filmhouse is Festival Square in front of the Sheraton Hotel.
The Artistic Director since 2002 has been Shane Danielsen, and Ginnie Atkinson is the long-serving Managing Director.
In September 2006 Shane Danielson will step down with Hannah McGill taking over.
[edit] Categories
The Gala films have a well known actor or director attached to them. Rosebud films are by first or second time directors. The Directors' Showcase shows films by important directors from around the world. British Gala screens British Film productions. The Late Night Romps section shows action and horror films either from countries whose mainstream films are given little world wide release such as Japan, or by independent filmmakers. The Document part of the festival screens feature length and short documentaries. Retrospective shows films by an important director that many people will not have had the chance to see on the cinema screen. These have included Henri-Georges Clouzot and Michael Powell. Black Box shows abstract and artistic films. Mirrorball shows music videos from around the world and includes animated music videos. Reel Life features interviews with many important people in the cinema industry. The Short Films Program screens films that are not feature length and often shows several of these films at one time. The Animation section screens short films that are animated. Feature length animations are included in the main program, not this section.
[edit] 2006 Festival
Highlights of the festival this year include a screening of An Inconvenient Truth introduced in person by Al Gore, interviews with Arthur Penn, Steven Soderbergh, Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Smith, Charlize Theron, Iain Smith and Alan Arkin, although he has pulled out. Restrospectives on Mitchell Leisen and 'They Might be Giants - Other Voices for the New American Cinema.' The Opening Night Film is The Flying Scotsman and the Closing night film is Odd Man Out directed by Carol Reed. The UK prermiere of Clerks 2, Driving Lessons and a BAFTA interview with Sir Sean Connery are also anticipated.
