17/08/2006

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), which opened last Monday with the world premiere of Douglas Mackinnon’s The Flying Scotsman, will be able to fully enjoy its 60th anniversary and the presence of over 400 industry guests as the Scottish Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson announced that the festival will receive extra funding (£250,000) to celebrate this very special edition.

Ginnie Atkinson, Managing Director of the EIFF, said: "This extra funding is a much needed investment and is an acknowledgement of the EIFF’s importance in the arts in Scotland and internationally. It is much appreciated especially in our 60th year. This represents a significant increase in public funding, which enables us to maximise the impact of the festival and build for the future".

The world’s longest continually running film festival has put out an exceptional programme this year with the star-studded ‘Reel Life’ series of interviews that will welcome US directors Brian de Palma, Arthur Penn, Steven Soderbergh and Kevin Smith and Hollywood actors Alan Arkin, Charlize Theron and Sigourney Weaver.

As many as 16 sections make up the backbone of the festival’s programme, the key ones being the British Gala with its 13 UK productions in competition for the prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best UK film (including UK/French Colour Me Kubrick by Brian W Cook, the BBC Films productions Shoot The Messenger by Ngozi Onwurah and Snow Cake [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Marc Evans); the Directors Showcase and Rosebud, which are introducing a wide range of international films (including the UK premieres of Emmanuel Mouret’s French film Change of Address [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Eliane de Latour’s UK/French Birds of Heaven and the international premiere of Deep by Dutch filmmaker Simone van Dusseldorp).

As part of the Special Events, today’s panel discussion, hosted by the UK Film Council’s Distribution and Exhibition team, will be "Digital & Distribution, Building Audience Choice" and tomorrow, UK’s top screenwriter Tony Grisoni (Downfall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bernd Eichinger
interview: Joachim Fest
interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel
film profile], Brothers of the Head [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) will discuss his work as part of "the script factory at EIFF".

The Festival will close on August 27 with the screening of Carol Reed’s 1947 classic Odd Man Out. From September 1, Hannah McGill will replace current artistic director Shane Danielsen, who steps down after five years in the position.