I've had the pleasure of attending two film festivals since my obsession with movies began: London and Edinburgh. Despite the fact that London generally has the more popular films, showcasing everything from The Road and The Fantastic Mr. Fox to Oscar nominees A Serious Man and Up In The Air last year, I will always prefer the Edinburgh Film Festival.
After all, while it's great to see a huge film for the first time in the UK, like the experience I had with Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, there's nothing better than discovering a little independent movie which will later go on to be huge. Edinburgh was, for example, the first place in the UK to show The Hurt Locker last year, it also premiered the modern classic Let The Right One In in 2008, and brought Oscar winning documentary Man On Wire to the attention of film fanatics worldwide in 2007.
Sure, not everything you see will go on to be a classic, but there's also something wonderful in seeing a great little movie that may never see the light of day. Last year, one of my highlights was a New York set, low-budget film noir called The Missing Person. However, it never got a cinema release and is only available on limited DVD release in America.
Moreover, a film festival, in my opinion, should celebrate the art of making films. Edinburgh understands this and, therefore, not only offers viewers the chance to meet the directors, stars, producers, etc. following the screenings, but also offers them the opportunity to attend film-making courses, discussion events and animation training. This year, for example, there was a special event with various homegrown film-makers about British cinema and two years ago I myself participated in a similar thing with cinematographers Seamus McGarvy and Roger Deakins.
Lastly, unlike London, Edinburgh is a film festival for the fans. While London sold out last year before the tickets even went on sale to the general public - they were swept up instead by journalists, BFI members and corporations - Edinburgh allows anyone with an interest to attend their films. When I saw Toy Story 3 just a few days ago, I was delighted to see the screening was full of children and families. After all, these are the people who will see the movie when it hits cinemas, so why should they be denied to chance to go?
In the words of the great John Huston: "Edinburgh is the only festival worth a damn!"
0 comments:
Post a Comment