Friday 19 June

How to Make the Most of a Film Festival

10:00 at the Sheraton Hotel

A panel of industry professionals from a range of different roles to help delegates make the best use of their time, whether you are a programmer, producer, filmmaker, film buyer or even just starting out.

Moderated by Mia Bays (Missing in Action Films & Film London Microwave Executive)

Speakers include:
Rachel Robey (producer Better Things, London to Brighton)
Grainne Humphreys (director Jamesons Dublin International Film Festival)
Jo Blair (programmer, City Screen)

Technology Focus present: Painting with Light

12:00 at the Sheraton Hotel

Delegates were invited to attend an additional Special Screening as part of EIFF Technology Focus: Painting with Light Directed & Produced by Craig McCall.

The documentary is about the late great Jack Cardiff BSC, who shot acclaimed movies as The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death and The African Queen.

Painting with Light reveals the influences behind Jack's stunning, Oscar winning cinematography on the classic British film Black Narcissus.  Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker Powell and actress Kathleen Byron (Sister Ruth) among others, explain the unique power and timeless allure of this masterpiece which brought him to the top of his profession, making his mane synonymous with Technicolor photography and widely recognised as the greatest cinematographer of all time.

The screening was followed by a brief Q&A with Craig McCall.

Expo Agent 121s

12:00 at the Sheraton Hotel

Supported by the Scottish Government

Delegates were given the chance to book time with a visiting US agent. Find out more about international representation from top Hollywood agents, the ins and outs of the talent business across the pond and what you should be looking for in representation.

The agent available for 121 slots on Friday 19 June was Andrew Weitz (WME Entertainment).

Scottish Screen presents: Pushing Buttons

14:30 at the Sheraton Hotel

Filmmakers have been pushing audiences’ buttons for years but now audiences are pressing on, searching for narratives from a whole range of different sources and platforms.

This seminar focused on cyber-realism and how storytelling is changing in the cybernetic age.

In the course of the last 30 years, many of us have become practised at pressing buttons and rapidly responding to a barrage of electronic messages on computer games, the internet, email and mobile phones. Is it possible that our enthusiasm for this new medium is changing the kinds of stories that we want to watch?

Using clips and examples including The Wire, Lost, Memento, James Harkin, the author of Cyburbia: The Dangerous Idea That’s Changing How We Live and Who We Are, argues that new and sophisticated kinds of stories which engage our restless cybernetic sensibilities can be found under our noses in mainstream contemporary cinema and television. He presents the four elements of what he calls cyber-realism, and considers both its opportunities and the problems it presents.

James Harkin writes regularly for The Financial Times and The Guardian and is Director of Talks at the ICA in London. Between 1996 and 1999 he taught and lectured in social and political theory at the University of Oxford, after which he worked as a social forecaster or “futurologist” for a variety of different agencies and think-tanks around the world.

Cyburbia: The Dangerous Idea That’s Changing How We Live and Who We Are was published in February 2009 by Little, Brown and in April by Knopf in Canada.

C4 Coming Up & Touchpaper TV present: Making the Move from TV to Features

16:00 at the Sheraton Hotel

Making the jump from TV to feature films is no mean feat.

Join emerging talent Tom Harper (dir. The Scouting Book for Boys), graduate of the Coming Up scheme, in conversation with Elinor Day, Coming Up’s producer and ex Film4 executive (Warrior, Charlotte Gray), Cloud Nine Films producer Ivana MacKinnon (The Scouting Book for Boys, Slumdog Millionnaire, The Descent) and Coming Up Executive Producer Emma Burge (Shameless) to discuss the ins and outs of feature and TV development, the opportunities and challenges of working to a scheme structure and how to make the most of your
big break.

Moderated by Kate Croft, Head of Touchpaper Scotland.

Scottish Screen presents: Hair of the Dog

18:30 - 19:30 at the Delegate Centre Cafe Bar

Special daily events especially for industry delegates: Scottish Screen invites you to take a breather, drink and chat with other film industry professionals.

Scottish Screen hosts these informal networking evenings for delegates, each around a different theme and sponsored by industry organisations.

Friday's networking event on the 19 was on Short Film Distribution – in association with UK Film Council and its Completion Fund.