EIFF is delighted to welcome critic Neil to the programming team. He gives us a glimpse into his hectic schedule and film life.

What was your experience of EIFF before joining the team?

Neil Young: I started attending as a member of the public in 1997, before I started writing reviews or programming for festivals, and the first film I saw was Lost Highway. Appropriately enough, I drove up and down from Sunderland on the evening of the screening, and on the way back it was a "Lynchian" experience zooming along the roads in the darkness. The screening itself had a slightly surreal touch when a baby started crying halfway through and had to be carried out - I am sure Lynch would have approved!

Do you have a favourite memory from a previous festival?

NY: The best memories are when you know little about a film or expect nothing from it, and then are blown away. Bill Paxton's Frailty in 2002 was one that I was particularly amazed by, having gone in expecting a mainstream-ish American thriller. Film festivals should be about discoveries and surprises, and Edinburgh has yielded more than its share for me over the years I have been attending.

How is the Festival regarded by those in the industry?

NY: Historic and respected! I'm not exactly impartial, but I do think that it is known as THE British festival to visit by programmers and journalists "on the continent" and further afield, and of course there are very few festivals that can claim even a quarter of what Edinburgh can offer in terms of pedigree (all the way back to 1947) and the "stunning-ness" of its location. Did I just make up a new word?!

What does your day consist of when programming at a festival?

NY: I feel guilty if I don't see at least four films - and you can squeeze in six or seven provided you plan carefully and avoid 3 hour Romanian war movies... But part of the fun of festivals is comparing notes with other attendees - especially at a behemoth-sized event like Berlin (where I am writing these responses).

How many films do you watch each year?

NY: In the cinema, at least 300, with quite a few more on DVD. But I do still like to pay and go and see stuff with "live" audiences at my local multiplex. The audiences at Sunderland's city centre Empire are as critical as the press screening crowds in Berlin and Cannes! I only get tired of bad movies - luckily, there are still enough really good ones out there to make it worthwhile.

Do you have a favourite genre?

NY: I started off as a kid obsessed with horror movies - from Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi all the way through to the "video nasties" like The Evil Dead. And I still have a soft spot for the genre, and will always give the likes of John Carpenter and Dario Argento a chance when everyone else seems to have written them off. Horror is still the most economic way for young directors to make a splash, and you can tell any kind of story - political, psychological, whatever - using horror. Just look at George Romero (a great Edinburgh guest) a couple of years ago!

What do you plan to bring to the Festival?

NY: Films that people want to see, and when they have seen them, they want to tell their friends about.

You can search through Neil's huge catalogue of reviews on the excellent Jigsaw Lounge website, www.jigsawlounge.co.uk.