The film festival has entered its second week, after the action-packed middle weekend. To kick things off, today saw Liv Ullmann in town to promote Faithless. The film is based on a script by Ingmar Bergman, and Ullmann will be talking about her experiences of working with Bergman later in the week, as part of the Reel Life discussions.
Also still in town is up-and-coming actor Daniel Craig who appeared with director Simon Cellan Jones for the premiere of Some Voices.
Sony Celebrates Digital Filmmaking
Sony threw a large party to celebrate the increased uptake of this new film medium. A large number of shorts in this year's festival have been shot using the DV format, and the use of the internet and DVD as digital transmission formats for film are being discussed in a series of industry events starting today.
There are also three contrasting features shot using digital cameras screening at the festival. Daybreak, shot locally in Edinburgh uses this new technology to tell a very modern tale. One Life Stand, filmed in Glasgow, uses crisp black-and-white digital images to tell a relationship driven story. Part of the mystery surrounding this film is its budget which filmmaker May Miles Thomas would only describe coyly as "smaller than your average British film". Lastly, there's Time Code 2000, which really showcases digital filmmaking and provides a perfect example of what you can do with a larger amount of money. Unfortunately for Sony, the cameras used for this film are from Kodak.
Connery Puts In The Call
Sean Connery, Patron of the Film Festival, gave George Clooney a call to try and persuade him to attend the premiere of the Coen Brothers' latest movie, O Brother Where Art Thou? Apparently, Clooney was extremely excited: because he'd just received a call from the big man himself. Unfortunately, despite the batsignal, he still won't be coming along...