Edinburgh International Film Festival has today announced two new exciting titles to join this year’s stellar line up of films, events and galas and its competition juries for Powell & Pressburger Award for Best Film, McLaren Short Film Award and McLaren Animation Award. 

Following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Camera First Film award, actor-turned-director Owen Kline’s outrageously funny debut Funny Pages unfolds within the landscape of independent comics whose lineage runs from Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar to Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware and continues in the tradition of films such as Ghost World and American Splendour. As an actor, Kline first made an impact as the younger sibling at the centre of a domestic hurricane in Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale opposite Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney and Jesse Eisenberg. 

Another title arriving to Edinburgh fresh from the Cannes Film Festival is My Super 8 Years. Annie Ernaux’s novels have recently been a source of inspiration for recent films Happening, Simple Passion and J’ai aimé vivre là and now, with the help of her son David Ernaux-Briot, the author revisits the 1970s through a fascinating documentary of family archives in The Super 8 Years. The film was presented at the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and this documentary explores how the microcosm of family life resonates with a decade of societal changes in France and far beyond, all set in a subtle and sublime voice-over by the filmmaker.

These additions follow recent programme arrivals, Reflection by Valentyn Vasyanovych, an essential story about a Ukrainian surgeon trying to navigate ordinary life as after a period in captivity at the hands of the Russian military in Eastern Ukraine, and One Day in Ukraine from filmmaker Volodymyr Tykhyy whose latest film pays tribute to the volunteers of Ukraine offers an unvarnished vision of contemporary life, seen through the daily routines of three separate groups of citizens in the country. Both screening as part of the festival’s partnership with the British Council and Ukrainian Institute.

Added to the film festival programme is a special preview screening with post-screening conversation for the new short documentary Little Warrior. Borne out of the confines of the Covid lockdown and the genuine connectivity that’s offered through technology, this inspiring tale charts the shared journey between Venezuelan boxer Johana Gómez and Scottish boxing trainer Gary Young.  Join director Paul Sng, editor Manuela Lupini, producer Sarah Drummond and executive producer Irvine Welsh in conversation after the screening.

The festival is excited to announce this year’s juries for The Powell & Pressburger Award for Best Feature Film, Mclaren Short Film Award and Mclaren Animation Award.

 

Juries

 

 

 

POWELL & PRESSBURGER AWARD FOR BEST FILM JURY

Jury President – Gaylene Gould  

Gaylene Gould is Founder & Creative Director of The Space To Come that creates interactive experiences and products that help people reflect and connect with themselves, others and the world.  Her projects have been commissioned by the Tate, V&A, Arts Catalyst, Vivid Projects, Selfridges, h club, Moderna Museet Sweden and BAM, New York.  She has been a cultural leader for 25 years heading up major cultural institutions and projects - predominantly in cinema including Head of Cinemas at BFI Southbank and a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival. She is also an arts broadcaster for the BBC, a published fiction writer and a facilitator.

Rosie Crerar  

Rosie is a Glasgow based film producer. Since 2016 she has been developing and producing a slate of features as one half of BFI Vision award-winning producing duo, barry crerar. Rosie is currently in post-production on feature GIRL wr/dir Adura Onashile and BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland. Recent productions include TIFF premiering NOBODY HAS TO KNOW wr/dir Bouli Lanners a co-pro between Belgium, Scotland & France to be released by Parkhouse Pictures in 2022, and BAFTA Scotland nominee, RUN wr/dir Scott Graham and BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland.  Next up is THE PARROT wr/dir Rupert Jones, co-writer / producer Matthieu de Braconier, in co-production with The Bureau Films due to shoot Spring 2023. Previously Rosie was Development & Production Executive at Screen Scotland, Acting Programme Manager for BFI London Film Festival, and producer of short films including Paris/Sexy wr/dir Ruth Paxton and Nocturn wr/dir Leanne Welham.

Sarah Winman  

Sarah Winman attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art during her previous incarnation as an actor. She went on to work in theatre, TV and film. She is the author of When God was a Rabbit, A Year of Marvellous Ways and Tin Man. Her most recent, Still Life, was published in June 2021. She has won many awards including the New Writer of the Year in the Galaxy National Book Awards and the inaugural InWords Literary Award (Australia). She lives in London.

MCLAREN ANIMATION AWARD JURY

Bastien Dubois  

Born in 1983, Bastien Dubois has a CGI diploma from Supinfocom in 2006. After he hitch-hiked from Lille to Istanbul, he had the idea of making an animated travelogue. His first independent film “Madagascar, a Journey Diary” was screened in more than 200 international festivals including Sundance and Hiroshima Film Festival. The film ultimately garnered an Oscar nomination in 2011. Bastien directed many films like “Faces From Places” or “Cargo Cult”. His last film "Souvenir Souvenir" is about his relationship with his grandfather who was a soldier during the war of independence of Algeria. The film has got numerous awards including the Annie Award, Sundance best animated.

Jennifer Zheng 

Jennifer Zheng (She/Her) grew up in Belfast where her dad cultivated her artistic talents by making her repeatedly draw the same egg for weeks, just like Leonardo da Vinci. He then moved her to copying headshots of Hollywood A-listers including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -unlike da Vinci. This paid off and now she is a BAFTA nominated, multi-award-winning Animation Director and Designer based in London. She is currently an Associate Creative Director at BUCK. 

Sue Loughlin 

After graduating from Liverpool art school with a first i went to the national film and TV school to specialise in animation. I spent some time directing short films and commercials in both LA and london for which i have won awards including from Clio, Cannes lions and d&AD and Mclaren. I have taught drawing and animation at RCA, NFTS, Farnham and Leicester. I have judged at BAFTA, EIFF animation and D&AD. I have been executive producer at production companies in London for the last 15 years and am currently EP at JELLY London. 

MCLAREN SHORT FILM JURY

Jury President - Raul Niño Zambrano 

Raul Niño Zambrano is the Head of Film Programmes at Sheffield DocFest. He was previously a Senior Programmer at IDFA where he started as a programmer in 2008. During his tenure at IDFA, Raul conducted a ground-breaking study on the position of women within the documentary world (The Female Gaze, 2014) and initiated the IDFA Queer Day. In addition to being a lead programmer on the overall selection, he curated such programmes as Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia and Cinema do Brasil. He has participated in many international festivals as a juror (Hot Docs, DocPoint, Guanajuato International Film Festival) and as an expert/tutor (DocMontevideo, FESPACO, If/Then Shorts Global Pitch, DocNet Southeast Asia, Guadalajara Doculab).

Raymah Tariq  

has worked in various arts and cinema exhibition roles since graduating the University of Edinburgh in 2013 and joined the Filmhouse Programming team in 2017.  Raymah works across all aspects of the Filmhouse programme and has curated retrospectives; the most notable being the themed ‘Noirvember’ double bills which take place each November. Raymah also worked in partnership with the Goethe Institut to programme and deliver the Fokus Film Festival in 2017, and in 2018 was selected to attend Berlinale as part of their Visitors Programme, an opportunity focused around connecting with other international delegates, filmmakers, and Berlinale programmers.

Sean Dunn  

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Sean attended Columbia University’s Film program in New York City, where he graduated with an MFA in Film Directing. His thesis film, BRITISH BY THE GRACE OF GOD, premiered at Locarno Film Festival and went on to win international awards. His next short film KINGDOM COME was supported by Screen Scotland and the BFI NETWORK, premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2019. As a Producer he has worked on films that have screened internationally, including the Sundance, Chicago, and London film festivals. He is currently developing his first feature with BBC Film. 

 

The newly re-imaged The Powell & Pressburger Award for Best Feature Film is composed of 11 films from UK, Irish and International talents that honours imagination and creativity in filmmaking. The films selected for our 2022 competition are daring, eclectic and genuinely speak to the creativity that’s central to the works of our award’s namesakes – Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.  

 

The critically acclaimed feature debut from Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells, Aftersun opens this year’s festival, fresh from winning First Prize when it premiered as part of International Critics’ Week during this year’s Cannes Film Festival.  

Fresh from a World Premiere at Cannes in May, Jan Gassmann’s 99 Moons is an erotic drama about insatiable chemistry. A sensorial, sensual drama about the frenzy of sexual obsession and the push-and-pull of a toxic relationship.  

Scottish animators Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson star in and co-direct the World Premiere presentation of the inventive documentary A Cat Called Dom.   

Peter Strickland’s latest dark comedy Flux Gourmet starring Asa Butterfield and Gwendoline Christie depicts a performance art trio participating in an artist residency at the Sonic Catering Institute. An irresistible ode to the perils of creativity, the film premiered at Berlin earlier this year. 

Flávia Neves’ refreshingly bold and impressively accomplished directorial debut Fogaréu explores Brazil’s brutal colonial past with insidious goings on in her hometown of Goiás in central Brazil.  

Married co-Directors Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum’s documentary Husband on their own marital angst follows Professor Devorah Baum visit to New York to give readings of her new book on feelings, particularly bad feelings, and how we should feel them fully. The meta commentary is a riot of humour and middle age neuroses in this World Premiere presentation.  

Part surreal comedy, part love letter to Filipino action flicks, Martika Ramirez Escobar’s debut feature Leonor Will Never Die is as unclassifiable as it is tender. Escobar was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, 

Andrew Legge’s WW2-set debut feature LOLA starring Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini and featuring an original score and songs by The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon centres on sisters who build a machine called LOLA which can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future.  

Nazareth-born Palestinian filmmaker Maha Haj won the Un Certain Regard Best Screenplay Prize at Cannes for her second feature Mediterranean Fever which charts the unlikely bond between two very different Arab family men living in the Israeli port city of Haifa in this wry examination of mental illness and masculinity.  

Sinead O’Connor was not the first or last female pop star to be adored and demonised with equal vigour. Focusing on a five-year period between 1987 and 1992, Kathryn Ferguson’s documentary Nothing Compares shows us the artistry and emotion behind a trailblazing artist made controversial because of her refusal to compromise.  

Starring Andrea Riseborough in a knock-out physical performance, Director Amanda Kramer’s Please Baby Please (whose Give Me Pity! also plays EIFF) presents a hyperstylised exploration of queer desire and masculinity, featuring dance, BDSM fantasy, poetry and violence…and a killer cameo from Demi Moore.