Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009

A selection of bite-sized films from around the globe... a good place to spot the feature film directors of tomorrow.

View other Edinburgh International Film Festival Films by strand: Black Box, British Gala, Director's Showcase, Document, Film Festival Under The Stars, Gala, Night Moves, Retrospective: Roger Corman, Rosebud, Special Screenings, Under The Radar

Bits And Pieces Bits And Pieces
Bits And Pieces and Pets In Pots
28.IV.81 Bedouin Spark (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Christopher Harris)
Experimental short.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
3 Year Compression (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Kirsty Dootson)
Showing as part of experimental showcase focussing on "creating new sensual experiences".
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
93 (100 Metros) (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Julián de Tavira; Writer: Julián de Tavira, based on the play Victoria Station by Harold Pinter; Stars: Rodrigo Vazquez, Hector Holden)
A cab driver and his dispatcher converse, but each seems to be keeping secrets.
Mexican Shorts
Albert’s Speech (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Richard Fenwick; Writer: Richard Fenwick; Stars: Nicholas Burns, Stuart Laing, Di Botcher, Steve Oram, Katie Lyons, Tim Healy), Official Site
A look at a best man's plight from the inside out.
McLaren Animation 2
Aanaatt (Country: UK, Japan, Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Max Hattler)
Futuristic stop-motion animation.
International Animation 1
In Girum In Girum
In Girum and You’re The Stranger Here
Autumnal (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Scott Nyerges), Official Site
Abstract short considers life in flux.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Adha Cup (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sarmad Masud; Writer: Sarmad Masud; Stars: Rez Kempton, Ace Bhatti, Balvinder Sopal, Jeff Mirza, Jas Steven Singh)
Two lazy social workers who reluctantly agree to reunite the cast of a legendary amateur Bollywood musical.
Coming Up Scheme
After Tomorrow (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Emma Sullivan)
A guesthouse owner doesn't want James to leave...
UK Shorts 2
Akbulak (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Tatiana Korol; Writer: Tatiana Korol; Stars: Janina Rudenska, Sergey Vidrashku, Milla Kaminskya)
Eight years after moving from Russia to Germany, 17-year-old Olja spends her summer holidays with her grandmother in a Russian village.
Trailblazing Shorts
All The House (Haditha Massacre) (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Caroline Koebel), Official Site
Consideration of the November 19, 2005 killing by US Marines of 24 unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
Screening with Nakba.
Round Round
Round and Sweet Mother
Along With The Phoenix (Country: Russian Federation, Netherlands; Year: 2008; Director: Masha Godovannaya)
Experimental short.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Andheri (Country: India, US; Year: 2008; Director: Sushrut Jain), Official Site
The plight of a live-in maid in India.
International Shorts 1: Trapped
Ant & Len (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Duncan Raitt, Jon Marsh; Writer: Jon Marsh, Duncan Raitt; Stars: Anthony Sparkes), Trailer
Short about a vanishing alien.
McLaren Animation 2
Apples And Oranges (Year: 2008; Director: Magali Charrier; Writer: Trevor Williams; Stars: Simone James)
A woman is in love with two different men, but can't decide between them.
Apples & Oranges (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Magali Charrier)
Short drama.
Coming Up Scheme
Raising Baby Rio Raising Baby Rio
Raising Baby Rio and The Black Dog's Progress
Aquarium (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Dhivya Kate Chetty, Martin Clark)
The story of one family's trip to Durban Aquarium.
Screening with Follow The Master
Arcadia (Year: 2008; Director: D G Scott)
Short subject.
Bridging The Gap
Archive Of Dreams (Country: UK, Italy; Year: 2008; Director: Tomás Sheridan)
Documentary about one man's collection of memories on film. Winner of the Cameo Cinema's Jim Poole award.
GMAC Shorts
At Home With The Jedi (Year: 2008; Director: Richard Simpson), Official Site
A domestic portrait of faith and family.
Bridging The Gap
Bale (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Alastair Mackay; Writer: Alastair Mackay; Stars: Bradley Badder, Millen Gee, Ashley Vere, Michael Socha, Perry Fitzpatrick, Finn Atkins, Chanel Cresswell, Alan Ouwin)
On a long summer’s day in rural England, two groups of teenagers find a remote hide away where fun and games soon lose their innocence.
UKFC Completion Fund Shorts
Without You Without You
Without You and The Chapel
Bits And Pieces (Country: Jordan; Year: 2009; Director: Ben Mandell, Jackie Sawiris)
A look at the mosaic of modern day Jordan.
Document Shorts
The Black Dog's Progress (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Stephen Irwin; Writer: Stephen Irwin), Official Site
Flip books tell the disturbing story of the black dog.
McLaren Animation 2
Believe (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Paul Wright)
A portrait of one man's grief and desperation following the death of his wife.
UK Shorts 2
Betty Banned Sweets (Country: New Zealand; Year: 2008; Director: Michelle Savill; Stars: Matt Scheurich, Lee Hutson, Sandra Jensen)
Sometimes the best party is the one you don't want.
International Shorts 3: Teen Spirit
The Big Mill (Country: UK; Year: 1963; Director: Laurence Henson)
Documentary considering a steel mill.
A Kind of Seeing
Color Film Color Film
Color Film and Kirran And The Hatchmaker
Billy’s Balloon (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt), Official Site
Animated silent comedy about one boy and his balloon.
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Boutonniere (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Coley Sohn; Writer: Coley Sohn), Official Site
A dark comedy revolving around a simple teenage girl's attempts to survive her overbearing mother's exuberant plans for a prom she’d rather not attend.
International Shorts 2: Family Affairs
By The Grace Of God (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Ralitza Petrova; Writer: Ralitza Petrova; Stars: Artur Arbrecht), Trailer
A blue-blooded German plots to meet the Queen, leading to a personal crisis.
Trailblazing Shorts
Capturing Space (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Erik Bostedt; Stars: James Dunnett, Sean O'Donnell, Lee Boland, Marcelle Douglas, Chris Paulsen)
A small mood-piece on Kensington's famous landmark - Trellick Tower
Trailblazing Shorts
Cattle Call (Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Matthew Rankin, Mike Maryniuk; Writer: Matthew Rankin, Mike Maryniuk)
A high-speed animation film documenting the art of livestock auctioneering.
Document Shorts
Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix) Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix)
Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix) and The Reason I Collect
Color Film (Colour Film) (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Meghan O'Hara; Writer: Meghan O'Hara), Official Site
Exploring the relationship between colours and the words we use to describe them.
Document Shorts
The Chapel (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Ben Winter; Writer: Ben Winter; Stars: Alix Dunmore, James Cartwright), Official Site
Having found what appears to be a safe refuge in an old church, two strangers struggle to maintain an already fractured relationship.
UKFC Completion Fund Shorts
Chicory 'n' Coffee (Cikorja an' Kafe) (Country: Slovenia; Year: 2008; Director: Dusan Kastelic), Official Site
A peasant couple's lives... and a wife's deception.
International Animation 2
Codswallop (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: The Brothers McLeod), Official Site
Based on a series of stream of consciousness postcards sent by the filmmaker to their son.
McLaren Animation 2
Colchique (Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Jean-Luc Greco, Catherine Buffat)
Story about a little boy who lives with his mother Josette, his aunt Louise and a feisty dog, Colchique.
International Animation 1
Capturing Space Capturing Space
Capturing Space and Orange Bombs
The Conservatory (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Matilda Tristram)
What to do on a peaceful afternoon when you are upset but you don't know why.
McLaren Animation 1
Crescendo (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Rob Evans, Michael O'Sullivan; Writer: Rob Evans, Michael O'Sullivan)
An odd musical troupe for a farmer's wife
Trailblazing Shorts
Curtains (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Julian Barratt, Dan Jemmett)
Story of a worn-out Punch and Judy man.
UK Shorts 2
Down The Rabbit Hole (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Eva Pervolovici; Writer: Eva Pervolovici, Monica Stan; Stars: Ionana Blaj, Lari Giorgescu, Bogdan Dumitrescu, George Calin)
Romanian drug trafficking and young infatuation.
Trailblazing Shorts
Deux Regards (Country: US, South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Kangmin Kim)
Experimental film created by working directly on film strips.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
By The Grace Of God By The Grace Of God
By The Grace Of God and Lessons From The Night
Die Kinder im Mond (Moon Children) (Country: Switzerland; Year: 2008; Director: Ursula Ulmi)
Two kids sleeping on the moon wake up.
Family Shorts Programme
The Door (Country: Ireland; Year: 2008; Director: Juanita Wilson)
Based on the true story of a father and his young daughter in Eighties Russia.
International Shorts 2: Family Affairs
Dropping Furniture (Country: Austria; Year: 2008; Director: Harald Hund, Paul Horn)
The film is, apparently, meant to symbolise the loss of existence.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Edinburgh On Parade (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Mark Littlewood)
A look at Scotland's International Festival.
A Kind of Seeing
The Elemental (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Robert Sproul-Cran; Writer: Robert Sproul-Cran; Stars: Tony Donaldson, Louise Ludgate, Hope Ross, Hamish Wilson, Tony Donaldson, Louise Ludgate, Hope Ross, Hamish Wilson), Official Site
An elderly couple are starving in a condemned tenement, trapped by their terror of a creature on the stair.
UKFC Completion Fund Shorts
Lucky Old Bag Lucky Old Bag
Lucky Old Bag and Hungerford: Symphony Of A London Bridge
The Eighteenth Birthday Party (Country: Taiwan; Year: 2008; Director: Chuang Ching-Shen)
A girl who lives alone with her father has a surprise for him on her 18th birthday.
International Shorts 3: Teen Spirit
Eiko (Country: Austria; Year: 2008; Director: Christoph Kuschnig), Official Site
Alex, a laborer and trucker, has his day of reckoning when attractive 14-year-old Lili appears in his pickup truck.
International Shorts 3: Teen Spirit
Esterhazy (Country: Germany, Poland; Year: 2009; Director: Izabela Plucinska; Writer: Irene Dische, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Anna Jadowska, Izabela Plucinska; Stars: Jolanta Fraszynska, Roma Gasiorowska, Krzysztof Kowalewski, Bohdan Lazuka, Maria Peszek, Maciej Stuhr, Borys Szyc, Robert Wieckiewicz, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Wiktor Zborowski)
Short animation about a bunch of rabbits living in the Berlin Wall.
International Animation 1
Everything Will Be Okay (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt; Stars: Don Hertzfeldt), Official Site
A mundane man suffers from horrifying mental trauma.
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Exótica (Country: Mozambique; Year: 2009; Director: Sergio Cruz)
Snapshots of the lives and rituals of African culture, through contacts with the local dance and music community.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Harvester Harvester
Harvester and Reach
Eyes On The Street (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: David Newbigging; Writer: Gordon Mclean), Official Site
Mockumentary about civil servants roles as wardens become the police.
GMAC Shorts
The Face Of Scotland (Country: UK; Year: 1938; Director: Basil Wright; Writer: Basil Wright; Stars: John Grierson)
A short history of Scotland and the character of its people.
A Kind of Seeing
Foreign John (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Victor Buhler; Writer: Sean Buckley; Stars: Johnny Harris, Claudie Blakley, Robert Luckay, Hannah Sharp, Glen Davies, Johnny Harris, Claudie Blakley, Robert Luckay, Hannah Sharp, Glen Davies), Official Site
A hardworking builder bonds with his foreman's daughter.
Coming Up Scheme
Full Employment (Arbeit für Alle) (Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Matthias Vogel, Thomas Oberlies; Writer: Thomas Oberlies, Matthias Vogel; Stars: Wilfried Elste, Mark Auerbach, Wolfgang Stegemann, Antje Rau, Martin Baden, Rainer Knepperges, Rainer Gerlach, Fred Yorgk, Andreas Merker, Stefan Bergel)
Short film about the future of employment.
Screening with Tony
Furnace Four (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Haydn Butler; Writer: Ali Muriel; Stars: Napoleon Ryan, Lee Ingleby)
Two furnace stokers are supposed to be burning all the music in the world. But some things just won't burn.
UKFC Completion Fund Shorts
Full Employment Full Employment
Full Employment and Salem Al Fakir - Astronaut
Film- Landscape- People: An Exquisite Corpse (Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Angela Joosse, Marcia Connolly)
Experimental film.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Film Quartet / Polyframe (Country: Spain; Year: 2008; Director: Antoni Pinent)
Experimental film using footage from early Hollywood films.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
The Finger Trap (Country: UK; Director: Julia McLean), Official Site
Sometimes Charlie Wilson finds temptation is too hard to resist...
GMAC Shorts
Five Miles Out (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Andrew Haigh; Writer: Andrew Haigh; Stars: Dakota Blue Richards, Thomas Malone)
A few carefree days away from depressing thoughts at home are what Mum has in mind. But at the beach Cass doesn’t feel in a very holiday-like mood. She just wants to fall off the face of the earth.
Cinema Extreme
Flux Terschelling (Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Camille & Manolo; Stars: Bez Manolo)
Black and white study of horses on a beach.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Autumnal Autumnal
Autumnal and Foreign John
Friendly Fire (Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Andy Kaiser), Official Site
A German soldier and French aviator find themselves in the same bomb crater in the First World War.
International Animation 2
Fuera De Control (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Sofìa Carrillo; Writer: Sofìa Carrillo)
Various personalities share feelings of solitude inside a labyrinthine house.
Screening with The Fish Child
George (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Luke Fowler)
Artist's response to the digital revolution.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Ghost Story (Country: Ireland; Year: 2008; Director: Willie Doherty)
Spooky goings on in a country lane as a narrator recalls ghosts from the past.
Goodbye Mr Pink (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Helen Piercy), Official Site
Stop motion animation considering what happens when a rabbit dies...
McLaren Animation 1
Crescendo Crescendo
Crescendo and Paraphernalia
The Greatest Moment in the History of the Universe...Ever! (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Jonathan Dower)
A young girl describes the moments leading up to her birth.
Family Shorts Programme
The Great Flood (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Marcelo DeOliveira)
Documentary.
The Happiness Salesman (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Krishnendu Majumdar; Stars: Christopher Eccleston), Official Site
A door-to-door salesman offers a mum an opportunity to change her life.
UK Shorts 1
The Happy Duckling (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Gili Dolev), Official Site
Award-winning animation about a boy and a duck, pop-up-book style.
McLaren Animation 2
The Heart Of Amos Klein (Country: Israel, France, Holland; Year: 2008; Director: Michal Kranot, Uri Kranot)
During open heart surgery, senior army officer Amos Klein returns to significant events in his life that correspond to key moments in Israeli history.
International Animation 2
Bale Bale
Bale and Standby
here and there (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Roger Deutsch), Official Site
Experimental film created by film shot by the filmmaker and his father.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
The Hardest Part (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Oliver Refson; Stars: Nickolas Grace, Stephen Wight)
An ageing actor finally secures the audition of a lifetime. But just how badly does he want the role?
Harvest (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Alex Winckler; Writer: Richard Bean; Stars: Andrew Tiernan, Michael Socha, Sam Kelley, June Watson, Ryan Kygill)
Two thieves break into a farm, but they're not alone.
Coming Up Scheme
Harvester (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Nicholas Hampshire)
A fruit collector sparks the wrath of a forest.
McLaren Animation 2
Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix) (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Spike Jonze, Ty Evans)
Skateboarding inflected pop video.
Akbulak Akbulak
Akbulak and Looking Back
Hungerford: Symphony Of A London Bridge (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Alex Barrett)
An abstract journey over the bridge.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Holy Woods (Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Cecile Fontaine), Official Site
Experimental film, examines a woman, insects and loggers in a wood.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Homecoming (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Zak Hanif)
Exploring the nature of power and conflict within the traditional Asian family.
GMAC Shorts
Horn Dog (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Bill Plympton), Official Site
A lonely pooch falls victim to a bad case of puppy love.
Horsefingers 3: Starfucker (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Kirsten Kearse), Official Site
A young woman dresses up to please her lover - in unusual ways.
Adha Cup Adha Cup
Adha Cup and Interview With The Earth
Horse Camp (Country: Austria; Year: 2008; Director: Ella Gallieni), Official Site
Black and white examination of a film studio.
Interview With The Earth (Entrevista con la Tierra) (Country: Mexico, Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Nicolás Pereda; Writer: Nicolás Pereda)
Documenting how people in a Mexican Indian village cope with death.
Mexican Shorts
In Girum (Round And Round) (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Nick Cope)
Fourth in a series of short film collaborations between electroacoustic composer Dr Tim Howle and the filmmaker.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Infamy (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Hassan Said)
Experimental short about the events of 9/11.
Intermission In The Third Dimension (Country: US; Year: 2003; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt; Stars: Don Hertzfeldt), Official Site
Part of a trilogy of hand-drawn films.
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
93 93
93 and This Way Up
Inukshuk (Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Camillelvis Théry)
On the last polar day, up on the howling ice a little Inuk man and a mischievous bear see their white world metamorphosed into a huge whale ocean of darkness.
International Animation 1
In Suspension (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Samantha Rebello)
Experimental, abstract film.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
In Transit (Country: Austria, Afghanistan; Year: 2008; Director: Lida Abdul), Official Site
Children play amid the relics of war on the outskirts of Kabul.
Iris Out (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Simon Payne), Official Site
Experimental film composed of single frames from sequences of expanding and contracting irises, reformatted for different aspect ratios.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Iveta (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Dominika Švecová)
Documentary.
Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening
Apples And Oranges Apples And Oranges
Apples And Oranges and Pornography
I Am So Proud of You (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt; Stars: Don Hertzfeldt), Official Site
Dark family secrets cast a shadow over Bill's recovery; in this second chapter to Don Hertzfeldt's Everything Will be OK. (Winner of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize, US).
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
I Know Where I’m Going (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Ben Rivers)
Visiting Yorkshire bee keepers, Britain’s self-declared king of the eccentrics and a hermit-like forest clearer might not be the most obvious people to seek out on a road trip across the UK... but the director and artist focuses on them.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Jade (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Daniel Elliott; Writer: Daniel Elliott; Stars: Aisling Loftus, Jonathan Phillips, Michael Socha)
Jade is pregnant. She has to make a decision. Which path will she take?
UK Shorts 1
Jacinta (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Karla Castañeda; Writer: Karla Castañeda)
Animation sees an old lady embroidering her destiny.
Mexican Shorts
Junk (Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Kirk Hendry; Writer: Kirk Hendry), Official Site
What happens when an obssession with junk food goes too far...
The Hardest Part The Hardest Part
The Hardest Part and Songs For My Mother
K (Exil) (Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Frederique Devaux)
Experimental film, sees women and children stay at home while the men go into exile.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Keel (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Ian Cottage; Writer: Ian Cottage), Official Site
A holidaying father and daughter encounter a girl intent on becoming friends - no matter what the consequences. Features work by Sundance award-winning cinematographer Lol Crawley.
UK Shorts 2
A Kind of Seeing (Country: UK; Year: 1967; Director: Edward McConnell)
Archive short detailing the Scottish landscape.
A Kind of Seeing
Kirran And The Hatchmaker (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Amy Rose)
Documentary about a boy trying to create a new breed of chicken.
Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening
Laitue (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Nicholas Brooks)
A hand-drawn animation film that describes a short journey of loss and reunification.
McLaren Animation 1
Light Of Darkness Light Of Darkness
Light Of Darkness and Furnace Four
Laws Of Physics (Country: Austria; Year: 2008; Director: Michael Palm)
Experimental film involving funnels and a very long zoom.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
The Legend Of The Bat (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Lucia Morgan), Official Site
Animated adaptation of a Mexican legend, sees pride come before a fall for one little bat
Family Shorts Programme
Lessons From The Night (Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Adrian Francis; Writer: Adrian Francis)
A cleaner reflects on life.
Document Shorts
Lies (Lögner) (Country: Sweden; Year: 200; Director: Jonas Odell), Official Site
The animator uses different techniques to explore the nature of mendacity.
International Animation 2
Lions (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Steve Warne, Julian Krubasik)
Animation... which we presume involves the big cats (but we can't find any info on this films, so we may be wrong).
McLaren Animation 2
Down The Rabbit Hole Down The Rabbit Hole
Down The Rabbit Hole and Parliamo Glasgow
Little Canyon (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Olivia Silver)
Greta's dad is moving the family cross-country. Promising a California paradise he packs half the household into a dented station wagon. All that’s missing is Mom.
International Shorts 2: Family Affairs
Little Face (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Matthew Walker, Ben Lole), Official Site
Having missed his train Nathan decides to pass the next two hours with some coffee and a crossword. If only had decided not to sit by the window.
McLaren Animation 2
Little Red Hoodie (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Jørn Utkilen; Writer: Jørn Utkilen; Stars: Kazmin Borrer, Noel Boyd, Giselle Hammond, Kezia Doran, Nicola Jo Cully), Official Site
Grim twist on Red Riding Hood.
UK Shorts 2
Light Of Darkness (La Luz De La Oscuridad) (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Gabriela Retes; Writer: Juan José Goldaracena, Gabriela Retes; Stars: Andrés Almeida, Alexandra De La Mora, Ángel Flores Torres, Veronica Toussaint, Andrés Almeida, Alexandra De La Mora, Ángel Flores Torres, Veronica Toussaint)
A get-together takes an unexpected turn after a power cut.
Mexican Shorts
Looking Back (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Emile Bokaer; Writer: Emile Bokaer; Stars: Albert Lewis), Official Site
Documentary about a man struggling to come to terms with memories of war and his addictions in a community of homeless veterans
Document Shorts
The Stressful Adventures Of Boxhead And Roundhead - Brothers In Arms The Stressful Adventures Of Boxhead And Roundhead - Brothers In Arms
The Stressful Adventures Of Boxhead And Roundhead - Brothers In Arms and Horsefingers 3: Starfucker
Lucky Old Bag (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Thomas Stark Holland; Writer: Thomas Stark Holland; Stars: Paddy Glynn, Nigel Richards, Victoria Gillmon, Ben Nealon), Official Site
A penny proves a lucky charm for a woman down on her luck.
Family Shorts Programme
Lorraine (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Julius Amedume; Stars: Lisa Diveney, Katie Borland, Amy McAllister, Gregg Lowe, Michelle Whitney, Hannah Wood, Phoebe Mcintosh, Howard Corlett)
A new girl at school faces peer pressure to join a gang.
Screening with Salvage
Love Hate (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Blake and Dylan Ritson; Stars: Ben Wishaw, Hayley Atwell, Hattie Morahan)
A charity worker faces trouble when he falls for a mysterious woman.
UK Shorts 1
Lowland Fell (Country: Ireland; Year: 2008; Director: Michael Kinirons, Elaine Harrington; Stars: Jane McGrath, Robbie Sheehan, Michael Winder, Conor Horgan)
A bored teen's journey off the beaten track leads to an unforgettable encounter with two brothers.
International Shorts 3: Teen Spirit
Magellan (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Sebastian Davis), Official Site, Trailer
Story of a seventh-grade outcast and his relationship with a latch-key classmate... which comes under threat when he tries to pluck up courage to ask her to the Spring Dance.
Family Shorts Programme
Roma Roma
Roma and Jacinta
Making It (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Lou McLoughlan)
A record of the National Galleries Education Outreach Project accompanying the exhibition 'Tracey Emin: 20 Years' at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, August 2 to November 9 2008.
Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening
The Man And The Woman (Country: Russian Federation; Year: 2008; Director: Maria Mouat; Writer: Maria Mouat, based on the story Old World Landowners by Nikolay Gogol)
Animation about the touching relationship between a man and a woman.
International Animation 2
The Man Inside (Country: Ireland; Year: 2008; Director: Rory Bresnihan)
A man becomes trapped in an apartment.
International Shorts 1: Trapped
The Meaning Of Life (Country: US; Year: 2005; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt; Stars: Don Hertzfeldt, Jennifer Nyholm, Sara Cushman, Karin Anger, June Shields, Kenneth Cook, Noah Harpster, Robert May, Kinsey Packard, Nicole Gabriella Scipione), Official Site
Evolution on Earth over the course of a billion years.
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Mexico (Country: Israel; Year: 2008; Director: Olga Sitovotsky)
A middle-aged woman's fears fuel her daughter's anxieties, but will a cry for help end their estrangement?
International Shorts 2: Family Affairs
Toy Toy
Toy and Albert’s Speech
Miracle Fish (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Luke Doolan)
A young outcast finds solitude in a fantasy world only to be brought back to reality when faced with a psychotic man.
International Shorts 1: Trapped
Mondrian Sprockets (Country: Mexico, Australia; Year: 2007; Director: Steven Andrew McIntyre)
Unusual filmmaking, directly printing the image using stencil art.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Monsters and Rabbits (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Nicky Lianos; Writer: David Lemon; Stars: James Bachman, Sophie Hattersly, Tyler Kennington, Alice Lowe)
A short children's film about monsters and imaginary friends.
Family Shorts Programme
Motion/Static (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Peter Gerard), Official Site
Documenting the lives and culture of Glasgow’s traveller community as they move away from a dependence on travelling with funfairs.
Bridging The Gap
Mustek Metra (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tim Sidell)
Our google-fu isn't up to much - more on this one later.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Photograph Of Jesus Photograph Of Jesus
Photograph Of Jesus and The Elemental
Mutt (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Glen Hunwick; Writer: Glen Hunwick; Stars: Mac, Matilda, Mutt)
A farmer, a dog and a cow on a tiny farm.
International Animation 1
Netherland Dwarf (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: David Michôd; Writer: David Michôd; Stars: Jack Egan, Ewen Leslie, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak)
Harry really wants a rabbit. Harry's dad really wants his wife back. And somehow in the middle of all this wanting, they both seem to have forgotten that they already have each other.
International Shorts 2: Family Affairs
Nicolas & Guillemette (Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Virginie Taravel), Official Site
In a toy shop, a string musician, decides make a friend... but things don't turn out as expected.
International Animation 2
Night Mail (Country: UK; Year: 1936; Director: Harry Watt, Basil Wright; Writer: W.H. Auden; Stars: John Grierson, Stuart Legg)
A short examination of the postal service as it existed in 1936.
Night School (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Ben Soper; Writer: Ben Soper; Stars: Will Anatsui, Tess Mitchell)
Sex comedy about a young couple who break into an abandoned school for some illicit fun.
GMAC Shorts
Ant & Len Ant & Len
Ant & Len and Together
night side (Country: USA; Year: 2008; Director: Rebecca Meyers)
A side of the universe turned away from the sun.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
La Nostalgia del Sr. Alambre (Mr. Wire's Nostalgia) (Country: Mexico; Year: 2009; Director: Jonathan Ostos Yaber; Writer: Jonathan Ostos Yaber; Stars: Moisés Palacios)
A puppeteer looks back on his life and the joys he has given.
International Animation 2
No Point Climbing Down (Country: UK, Germany; Director: Julian Schwanitz)
Last year's director of Niddrie Bricks returns with a new documentary.
Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening
On Time Off (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Bill Porter; Writer: Bill Porter)
Minimalist animation about a trip to the beach.
McLaren Animation 2
Orange Bombs (Country: Iran; Year: 2008; Director: Majed Neisi; Writer: Majed Neisi)
Husband and wife orange farmers deal with cluster bombs in the aftermath of the 33-day War Israel waged against Hezbollah.
Document Shorts
The Song Of The Dead Children The Song Of The Dead Children
The Song Of The Dead Children and Slaves
The Owl House (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Jessica Cope)
An old lady comes to terms with her final moments.
McLaren Animation 1
Papal Broken-Dance (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Marie Losier; Writer: Marie Losier)
Slapstick musical in a boxing ring.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Parallax (Country: Canada, France, Yemen, Bangladesh; Director: Christopher Becks), Official Site
Experimental 16mm silent short
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Parliamo Glasgow (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Hope Dickson Leach; Writer: Stewart Thomson; Stars: Edyta Budnik, Anne Downie, James Grant, Lisa Greenwood, Natalia Kaczmarczyk, Kimberly Neill, Jamie Quinn, Kevin Quinn, Anna Wendzikowska)
Coming to grips with the Glaswegian dialect...?
Coming Up Scheme
Peter In Radioland (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Johanna Wagner)
Observational documentary about the filmmaker's father and his love of analogue technology.
Bridging The Gap
Harvest Harvest
Harvest and Junk
Pets In Pots (Vogel op Sterk Water) (Country: The Netherlands; Year: 2008; Director: Simonka de Jong)
A girl whose parents have divorced finds solace with her pets... even the ones in formaldehyde.
Document Shorts
Phantogram (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Kerry Laitala)
Experimental shimmering on celluloid.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Postalolio (Country: Canada; Director: Marv Newland)
Pen and paper animation - all on postcards - each one was sent through the post before being animated.
International Animation 1
Paraphernalia (Year: 2009; Director: John Williams; Writer: John Williams; Stars: Elijah Muhammad, Nieema Muhammad, Alisha Muhammad, Kaylan Jeffrey)
Atari struggles with his useless robot, but his real struggle is more complex.
Photograph Of Jesus (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Laurie Hill; Stars: Matthew Butson, David Hayles)
Documentary focusing on the bizarre requests by the Getty Images picture archive.
McLaren Animation 1
The Shutdown The Shutdown
The Shutdown and I Am So Proud of You
Pornography (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Jo McInnes; Writer: Simon Stephens; Stars: Jason Hughes, Kirsty Bushell)
A brother and sister experience crises together.
Coming Up Scheme
Princess Margaret Blvd. (Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Kazik Radwanski; Writer: Kazik Radwanski; Stars: Tim Braddock, William Forrest, Declan McCarthy, Julie McCarthy, Gina Sylvester), Official Site
Isabelle Rodarte is out in the snow, looking for her house. The beginning is the middle is the beginning.
International Shorts 1: Trapped
Rabbit Punch (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Kristian Andrews)
The growing pains of a 14-year-old Norfolk boy.
McLaren Animation 1
Rejected (Country: USA; Year: 2000; Director: Don Hertzfeldt; Writer: Don Hertzfeldt; Stars: Robert May, Don Hertzfeldt, Jennifer Nyholm)
Rejected surreal vignettes & the animator suffers a nervous breakdown.
An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt
Replayground (Country: USA; Director: Anna Gaskell)
Child friendly photo and video gallery.
Family Shorts Programme
Lowland Fell Lowland Fell
Lowland Fell and Sunroof (Benazir Bhutto Assassination)
Rose Street (Country: UK; Year: 1956; Director: Margaret Tait), Official Site
Archive portrait of the Edinburgh street.
A Kind of Seeing
Raising Baby Rio (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: O Nathapon Wongtreenatrkoon; Writer: Dewi Bruce-Konuah; Stars: Nathaniel Martello-White, Ashley Madekwe, Kacey Parker Gordon)
A boy tries to take back his child from its crack-addicted mother in this part of Channel 4's Coming Up Scheme.
Coming Up Scheme
Reach (Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Luke Randall; Writer: Luke Randall), Official Site
A robot given the gift of life has just one limitation... the length of his cable.
International Animation 1
The Reason I Collect (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Emma Curtis; Stars: Paul Escott)
Animation about a compulsive collector.
McLaren Animation 1
Roma (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Elisa Miller; Writer: Elisa Miller; Stars: Marcela Cuevas, Jaime Estrada)
A woman heads north, trying to avoid the authorities by hiding out at a soap factory.
Mexican Shorts
Miracle Fish Miracle Fish
Miracle Fish and The Man And The Woman
Round (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Kirk Hendry; Stars: Mago Serpico), Official Site
Man’s place in the history of the Earth, told through hand shadow performance.
McLaren Animation 2
Sad Lexicon (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: James Cole)
Experimental film examining the nature of film.
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
Saltmark (Country: UK; Director: Robin Haig), Official Site
A teenager is forced to visit her granddad and an outing forces her to make a choice...
GMAC Shorts
Screen Test (Country: Germany; Year: 2004; Director: Steffen Schaeffler)
Animation sees a passionate amateur audition for a costume drama.
International Animation 2
Serenade (Country: China, US; Year: 2009; Director: Ruowen Yan)
Fate and music form a connection between two very different people.
International Shorts 1: Trapped
night side night side
night side and Little Canyon
Shadows & Dust (Shadows And Dust) (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Jon Dunleavy), Official Site
Trouble brews when a little girl follows a tooth fairy into the forest.
McLaren Animation 1
Short Term 12 (Country: USA; Year: 2008; Director: Destin Daniel Cretton; Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton; Stars: Brad William Henke, Tania Verafield, Phoenix Henke, LaKeith Stanfield, James Hansen, Adam Shapiro, Katelin Chesna Henke, Whitney Ball, Andy Bonilla, Jared Callahan)
A film about kids and the grown-ups who hit them.
International Shorts 3: Teen Spirit
The Shutdown (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Adam Stafford), Official Site
Alan Bissett recalls the intense experience of growing up next to one of Europe's largest petrochemical plants and the harrowing experience of an explosion that deformed his father.
Scottish Short Documentary Award Screening
Simultaneous Contrast (Country: US, Canada; Year: 2007; Director: Chris Kennedy)
Experimental film, which may well be silent, showing in showcase of films concerned with the nature of space.
Black Box Shorts 1: Space and Place
Sine Die (Country: UK; Year: 1994; Director: Matt Hulse), Official Site
Time-lapse dance by the seashore.
Screening with Follow The Master
Esterhazy Esterhazy
Esterhazy and Horn Dog
Slaves (Slavar) (Country: Sweden, Norway, Denmark; Year: 2008; Director: David Aronowitsch, Hanna Heilborn)
Animated documentary sees two Sudanese children recall time they spent as slaves.
Document Shorts
Small House (Väike Maja) (Country: Estonia; Year: 6; Director: Kristjan Holm)
Animation about what comes to mind when you're almost asleep.
International Animation 2
The Sound Of Crickets (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Justin Chouinard)
We've failed in our hunt for info on this, but the showcase it screens in is concerned with "exploring the physical properties of the filmstrip".
Black Box Shorts 2: Materials and Materiality
The Space You Leave (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Theresa von Eltz; Writer: Theresa von Eltz; Stars: Kit Jackson, Robbie Jarvis, Carla Juri, Daniel Unwin)
A teenager visiting Sicily befriends a stranger but experiences painful memories when visiting local ruins.
Bridging The Gap
Sphinx On The Seine (Country: US, Russian Federation; Year: 2008; Director: Paul Clipson)
A Super 8 film poem.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Rejected Rejected
Rejected and Short Term 12
Sporran Makers (Country: UK; Director: Jane McAllister)
Documentary about the Scottish national dress.
Bridging The Gap
Salem Al Fakir - Astronaut (Country: UK, Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Anders Jedenfors, Jamie Stone)
Kubrick-inspired animated pop video.
McLaren Animation 1
Songs For My Mother (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Jane Wilson, Louise Wilson; Writer: Jane Wilson, Louise Wilson; Stars: Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Teresza Srbova, Johanna ter Steege, Kate Cook, Corinne Furmann)
A filmic response to the still photograph archive of Stanley Kubrick.
Cinema Extreme
The Song Of The Dead Children (La Cancion De Los Ninos Muertos) (Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: David Pablos; Writer: David Pablos; Stars: Sebastián Aguirre, Rodrigo Azuela, Daniel Corkidi, Ana Elena Kelly, José Martínez, Rubén Pablos)
A group of siblings respond to a family tragedy by rejecting adult authority and exercising their own brutal form of justice.
Screening with Surrogate
The Stressful Adventures Of Boxhead And Roundhead - Brothers In Arms (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Elliot Cowan; Writer: Elliot Cowan), Official Site
The peace and quiet of B and R is shattered by the advent of war.
International Animation 2
A Traditional Christmas at Small Birds Singing A Traditional Christmas at Small Birds Singing
A Traditional Christmas at Small Birds Singing and Keel
Sweet Mother (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Momodou Musa Touray; Writer: Duane Wharton; Stars: Ewan Alman, Judd Batchelor, Bashir Bazanye, Jamaal Chipmunk Fyffe)
A story about a black family in a violent city
Trailblazing Shorts
Standby (Country: Switzerland; Year: 2008; Director: Mischa Hedinger), Official Site
Customers tell the filmmaker personal stories in a very public place.
Document Shorts
Stan And Ollie (Country: UK; Year: 1932; Director: Alan J Harper)
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy sightseeing in Edinburgh in 1932.
The Stars Don't Twinkle In Outer Space (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Peter Thwaites), Official Site
Space adventure sees two children, 'Starman' and 'The Princess', struggle to escape their doom.
UK Shorts 2
Still In Cosmos (Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Makino Takashi), Official Site
Experimental film about chaos and the cosmos.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Boutonniere Boutonniere
Boutonniere and Transgress
Stroboscopic Noise (Country: Austria; Director: Manuel Knapp)
Animation and abstract painting go to form this experimental short.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Sunroof (Benazir Bhutto Assassination) (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Caroline Koebel), Official Site
Examination of the assassination of the former Pakistani Prime Minister.
Screening with Nakba
The Surprise Demise Of Francis Cooper’s Mother (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Felix Massie; Stars: Narrated by Alexei Sayle), Official Site
The story of Francis Cooper and his mother; Emily Maddison and that man's face; and Craig MacKay and his cat.
McLaren Animation 1
Terrafarmer (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Will Adams; Writer: Will Adams)
An astronaut tries to terraform a hostile planet with the help of a malfunctioning robot.
McLaren Animation 2
Tilt (Country: Austria; Year: 2008; Director: Billy Roisz)
Abstract animated short film about the synchronicity of artificial processes.
Black Box Shorts 3: Phenomena In Flux
Papal Broken-Dance Papal Broken-Dance
Papal Broken-Dance and Why I Don’t Speak Serbian (in Serbian)
Today Only (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Toby Jackman; Writer: Mahalia Rimmer)
A cat may have nine lives - but how many different lives can a cat live today?
McLaren Animation 1
A Traditional Christmas at Small Birds Singing (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Linda McCarthy)
Join the Unbelievable family – Spandisman, Consommé and Delphinium – for this darkly festive look at Christmas.
McLaren Animation 2
Trampoline (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Miranda Nation; Writer: Miranda Nation; Stars: Virginia Cashmere, Kira Coghlan, Ming-Zhu Hii, Kat Stewart)
Story of a little girl who wants to fly.
Family Shorts Programme
Transgress (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Leanne Welham; Writer: Leanne Welham; Stars: Silas Carson, Kathryn Sumner)
Driving home one night in London, a woman accidentally hits a man who shouldn't be there.
UK Shorts 1
This Way Up (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Adam Foulkes, Alan Smith), Official Site
Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.
McLaren Animation 2
Tilt Tilt
Tilt and All The House (Haditha Massacre)
Together (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Eicke Bettinga; Writer: Eicke Bettinga, Zorana Piggott; Stars: Matt Smith, Guy Flanagan, Amanda Boxer), Official Site
A man whose brother died the previous year tries to help his father to cope.
UKFC Completion Fund Shorts
Toy (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: David Bell; Writer: David Bell)
A toy reveals unexpected powers.
Trailblazing Shorts
Unravel (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Caroline Huf)
Experimental stop-motion animation.
International Animation 1
Variations Sur Marilou (Country: Canada, France; Year: 2008; Director: Félix Dufour-Laperrière), Official Site
Chirascuro sketches of a naked woman accompany the observations of a man consumed by desire.
International Animation 1
Vita (Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Gabriele Schwark), Official Site
Experimental film considering the life of a woman and world events.
Screening with Nakba
Shadows & Dust Shadows & Dust
Shadows & Dust and I Know Where I’m Going
Western Spaghetti (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: PES)
Everyday objects become delicious ingredients as we learn how to cook spaghetti through stop-motion.
International Animation 1
Why I Don’t Speak Serbian (in Serbian) (zasto ne govorim srpski (na srpskom)) (Country: UK, Kosovo; Year: 2008; Director: Phil Collins)
Set in the political turmoil in Kosovo Collins records testimonies from politicians, public figures and ordinary people - recounting in Serbo-Croat the reasons why they no longer speak the language.
Screening with Goodbye, How Are You?
Without You (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Tal Rosner), Official Site
Exploration of London's industrial suburbia.
McLaren Animation 2
Yellow Belly End (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Philip Bacon)
An enormous cliff top, blue sky, multiple deaths and a man keeping a meticulous note of it all.
McLaren Animation 1
The Yellow Bird (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Tom Schroeder; Writer: Jay Orff)
The animated journey of a young man fleeing the draft during the First World War. After taking a job on a cattle ranch in eastern Montana an accident occurs causing him to reflect back on his life as he seeks medical attention in a nearby town.
International Animation 1
Netherland Dwarf Netherland Dwarf
Netherland Dwarf and here and there
The Yowie and the Magpie (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Dylan White)
A darkly comic animation set in the Australian outback of a bloodthirsty hunter and his mythical quarry.
McLaren Animation 2
You’re The Stranger Here (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Tom Geens; Writer: Tom Geens; Stars: Kate Cook, Anthony Smee, Ella Peel), Official Site
Margot has a crazy leg. She lives in a fascist regime where they shoot people with crazy legs.
Cinema Extreme
News

59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground

More news and features

Playing Now

Eye For Film continues to support festivals both locally and across the world. At the moment, we're covering:

Abertoir

DOC NYC
New York's celebration of factual film

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
One of the largest film gatherings in northern Europe

French Film Festival
The UK's longest running celebration of Francophone cinema

London Korean Film Festival

In the Archive


Archive of festival coverage.

Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.

Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.