Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012

View other Edinburgh International Film Festival Films by strand: Animation, Black Box, British Scenes, Directors Showcase, Films on Film, Focus on Denmark, International Competition, Looking South, Michael Powell Award Competition, Night Moves, Philippine New Wave, Retrospective: Gregory La Cava, Retrospective: Shinji Somai, Shorts, Special Screenings, Spotlight on Shinya Tsukamoto, Spotlight on Wang Bing, Under The Stars

Hospitalité Hospitalité
Hospitalité and Fred Won't Move Out
Attractive Illusion (Country: Greece, Nigeria; Year: 2012; Director: Petros Sevastikoglou; Writer: Kenny Abdeleke, Kelechwuku Chukwuejim, Sunny Ohilebo, Petros Sevastikoglou; Stars: Tmc, J Linus, M. Ohilebo, PIO Austyeno, D Nusakhare, Sunny Ohilebo)
In search of a better life, a boatful of Nigerians wash up on the shores of Greece and head for Athens. There they embark on a precarious new life.
And If We All Lived Together? (Et si on vivait tous ensemble?) (Country: France, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Stéphane Robelin)
Several screen icons star in a comedy-drama that treats delicate issues with tact, humour and intelligence. Five long-time friends (Jane Fonda, Geraldine Chaplin, Claude Rich, Pierre Richard, Guy Bedos), now past retirement age, decide to move in together. Under the watchful eyes of their younger caretaker (Daniel Bruhl), an anthropology student, the new housemates confront some hidden issues from their shared past while struggling to cope with the problems of ageing.
Blood Of My Blood (Sangue do Meu Sangue) (Country: Portugal; Year: 2011; Director: João Canijo; Writer: João Canijo; Stars: Rafael Morais, Nuno Lopes, Fernando Luís, Rita Blanco, Cleia Almeida, Anabela Moreira, Marcello Urgeghe, Francisco Tavares, Vera Barreto, Beatriz Batarda, Teresa Tavares, Teresa Madruga, João Vaz)
An intense family melodrama set in the outskirts of Lisbon.
Black's Game (Svartur á leik) (Country: Iceland; Year: 2011; Director: Óskar Thór Axelsson)
Stefan Mani’s best-seller of the Icelandic underworld becomes the basis for this debut feature by Óskar Thór Axelsson. A young slacker with violent tendencies does a job for a gang of drug dealers. Impressing his superiors, he works his way up to a high position in the gang… just as the crooks are setting up their biggest deal yet. Energetic, made with flair, and brimming with local colour, Black’s Game brings some refreshing Icelandic twists to a classic gang-thriller plot.
Brake (Country: USA; Year: 2012; Director: Gabe Torres; Writer: Gabe Torres; Stars: Stephen Dorff, Chyler Leigh, JR Bourne, Tom Berenger, Bobby Tomberlin, Kali Rocha, King Orba, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Sammy Sheik, Kent Shocknek, Jaylen Moore, Stephen J. Bridgewater, Matthew Pollino, Jason Raphael, Jamie Fishback)
A secret service agent wakes up trapped inside a perspex coffin in the boot of a car.
Exit Elena Exit Elena
Exit Elena and No Man's Zone
California Solo (Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Marshall Lewy; Writer: Marshall Lewy; Stars: Robert Carlyle, Danny Masterson, Kathleen Wilhoite, William Russ, A Martinez, Patrick Gallagher, Alexia Rasmussen, Michael Des Barres, Brad Greenquist, Hal Landon Jr., Ella Joyce, Savannah Lathem, Niko Nicotera, Robert Cicchini, Jamal Kazak), Trailer
An ageing, faded Britpop star is forced to confront his past if he wants to avoid deportation from the US.
Chapiteau Show (Shapito-shou, Shapito Show) (Country: Russia; Year: 2011; Director: Sergey Loban; Writer: Marina Potapova; Stars: Jim Avignon, Stas Baretskiy, Dmitriy Bogdan, Stepan Devonin, Yuliya Govor, Sergei Kuzmenko, Anton Kuznetsov, Pyotr Mamonov, Dmitry Novikov, Sergey Pakhomov, Aleksei Podolsky, Sergei Popov, Darya Spiridonova, Vera Strokova, Maksim Tiunov)
At a Crimean resort, various characters cross paths with one another across an intricate multi-story narrative.
differently, Molussia (anders, Molussien) (Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Nicolas Rey)
Nine short, individually titled reels of colour 16mm film, which are presented in a random order determined before each screening. Drawing on a text by German philosopher Gu?nther Anders, the film is an imaginary documentary about Molussia, a fictional totalitarian country that Anders invented to represent the dystopia of fascism.
Dress Rehearsal for Utopia (Ensayo final para utopía) (Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Andrés Duque)
As his father lies dying in a hospital room in Venezuela, the filmmaker's thoughts travel to Mozambique. Images of dance and revolution, some retrieved from archival footage, some newly shot, conjure up a spectral alternate reality where human figures take part in a cascade of excited movements.
Either Way (Á Annan Veg) (Country: Iceland; Year: 2011; Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson; Writer: Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson; Stars: Hilmar Guðjónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson), Official Site
Finnboeg and Alfred paint lines on a road in this gentle comedy. Re-released to coincide with David Gordon Green's remake Prince Avalanche.
Never Too Late Never Too Late
Never Too Late and Flicker
Evelyn (Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Isabel de Ocampo; Writer: Isabel de Ocampo, Juan Manuel Romero; Stars: Cindy Díaz, Adolfo Fernández, Ari Saavedra, Sari Bibang, Guadalupe Lancho)
A young girl who heads to Spain in hope of work, finds herself trapped in a brothel.
Exit Elena (Country: USA; Year: 2012; Director: Nathan Silver; Writer: Nathan Silver & Kia Davis; Stars: Kia Davis, Nathan Silver, Cindy Silver & Jim Chiros)
A live-in nurse moves in with a pleasant yet quietly unsettling family to help look after their ailing grandmother.
First Position (Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Bess Kargman)
A documentary following a group of kids through tough ballet training.
Flicker (Flimmer) (Country: Sweden; Year: 2012; Director: Patrik Eklund; Writer: Patrik Eklund; Stars: Jimmy Lindström, Saga Gärde, Olle Sarri, Lotti Törnros, Jacob Nordenson, Kjell Bergqvist, Allan Svensson, Sissela Benn, Svante Grundberg, Daniel Rudstedt, Margareta Pettersson, Alexander Dahlström, Anki Larsson, Saga Eserstam, Greger Ottosson)
When a power cut strikes a small town in Northern Sweden, a chain reaction begins that sees sparks fly and lives change forever.
Fred Won't Move Out (Fred) (Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Richard Ledes; Writer: Richard Ledes; Stars: Elliott Gould, Fred Melamed, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Judith Roberts, Mfoniso Udofia, Ariana Altman, Robert Miller, Richard Ledes)
A family contemplate what to do as the older generation lose their ability to live independently.
Gate #5 Gate #5
Gate #5 and California Solo
Fukushima: Memories of the Lost Landscape (Soma kanka: dai ichi bu - ubawareta tochi no kioku) (Country: Japan; Year: 2011; Director: Yojyu Matsubayashi)
Tokyo-based documentary filmmaker Yojyu Matsubayashi, anxious to document the tragedy of the tsunami in northeast Japan and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, won the trust of the Tanakas, a middle-aged couple working to help people forced to evacuate their homes in the town of Minami-soma. Matsubayashi's portrait of the Tanakas' dedication and of the varying experiences and emotions of the evacuees creates a compelling image of loss and resilience.
Gate #5 (al-Hawd al-Khamis) (Country: Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Simon El Habre)
A documentary about Beirut's Gate #5 and the people around it.
GATTU (Country: India; Year: 2011; Director: Rajan Khosa; Writer: Rajan Khosa, Satyam, Dilip Shukla, Ankur Tewari; Stars: Mohammad Samad, Naresh Kumar, Bhura)
‘Truth with triumph in the end’ is the motto of the local school in the part of town where Gattu lives. But Gattu is too poor to go to school and he’s not always that truthful either. Gattu lives and works very hard at a scrap yard belonging to a man he simply calls ‘uncle’. Uncle bought him years ago from his sick father. Gattu is particularly inventive when it comes to thinking up excuses so he can slip away and indulge his passion for kite-flying. Day after day the children love to compete against each other with their kites. They’ve given the name Kali to one mysterious black kite that dominates the sky; strangely, nobody seems to know who owns it. If Gattu wants to win the next competition he’ll have to climb to the highest place in town. This is the school roof, of all places. Gattu manages to creep inside where he assumes command of a small but determined group of pupils. A dramatic battle of the skies ensues during which Gattu uses every trick in the book to claim the lead. But his greatest achievement is when, encouraged by his friendship with his new-found comrades, he decides to tell the truth.
Hail (Country: Australia; Year: 2011; Director: Amiel Courtin-Wilson; Writer: Amiel Courtin-Wilson; Stars: Daniel P Jones, Leanne Letch, Tony Markulin, Jerome Velinsky, Leanne Campbell)
The true story of a man who, fresh out of prison, tries to make a new start.
Here, There (Zheli, nai) (Country: China; Year: 2011; Director: Lu Sheng; Writer: Liu Yong, Xu Yang, Lu Sheng; Stars: Yulai Lu, Lu Huang, Anlian Yao, Deshun Wang, Yan Bo Bai, Wei Qin)
Small intimate stories reveal three parallel worlds.
Brake Brake
Brake and It's The Earth Not The Moon
Hospitalité (Kantai) (Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Koji Fukada; Writer: Kôji Fukada; Stars: Kenji Yamauchi, Kanji Furutachi)
A family welcome an unusual guest into their house, who soon assumes control and begins playing the family against each other.
The Invader (L'Envahisseur) (Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2011; Director: Nicolas Provost; Writer: Giordano Gederlini, François Pirot, Nicolas Provost, Matthieu Reynaert; Stars: Isaka Sawadogo, Stefania Rocca, Serge Riaboukine, John Flanders, CinSyla Key, Carole Weyers, Tibo Vandenborre, Dieudonné Kabongo, Noureddine Farihi)
A immigrant struggling to fit into Belgian society becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman.
It's The Earth Not The Moon (É na terra não é na lua) (Country: Portugal; Year: 2011; Director: Gonçalo Tocha)
Documentary charting the lives of residents on the isolated Azores island of Corvo.
Leave It on the Track (Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Benjamin Pascoe)
Roller derby is the fastest growing (and, arguably, most entertaining) women's sport in the world. In Houston, Texas, it's the end of season championship bout and the undefeated Cherry Bombs are taking on the Hellcats. Meet the brilliantly named players (Curly Suicide, Miss Amerikill, Rocky Casbah...), get a lesson in the rules (despite appearances, there are rules), and witness the thrills and (eye-wateringly painful) spills of derby at its best.
Mirage (Mi-wol-do Ga-neun Gil) (Country: South Korea; Year: 2011; Director: Yang Jung-ho)
Travelling from Seoul to his hometown of Incheon, a prize-winning novelist loses his wallet on the train. Seeking help from the people he once knew in Incheon, the writer gradually finds himself forced to confront the painful high-school incident that scarred his psyche and furnished the unacknowledged inspiration for his work. A hard-hitting debut feature from director Yang Jung-ho.
Blood Of My Blood Blood Of My Blood
Blood Of My Blood and Hail
The Mirror Never Lies (The Mirror Never Lies) (Country: Indonesia; Year: 2011; Director: Kamila Andini; Writer: Kamila Andini, Dirmawan Hatta; Stars: Atiqah Hasiholan, Gita Novalista, Reza Rahadian, Eko, Zainal)
A young girl grieves for her missing father.
Modest Reception (Paziraie Sadeh) (Country: Iran; Year: 2012; Director: Mani Haghighi; Stars: Taraneh Alidoosti, Mani Haghighi)
A man and a woman are making their way through a war-torn mountainous region in an SUV. The boot of the car contains plastic bags filled with money to distribute to the needy people they encounter on their journey. But are the two of them really on a charitable mission?
Never Too Late (Af Paam Lo Meuchar Miday) (Country: Israel; Year: 2011; Director: Ido Fluk; Writer: Ido Fluk; Stars: Nony Geffen, Ami Weinberg, Keren Berger, Eyal Rozales, Pira Kantor)
A man returns to Israel after an eight-year absence and embarks on a trip that makes him confront his memories.
No Man's Zone (Mujin Chitai) (Country: Japan, France; Year: 2011; Director: Toshi Fujiwara)
A journey through the stark post-tsunami landscape around Fukushima.
Nuclear Nation (Futaba kara tooku hanarete) (Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Atsushi Funahashi)
Survivors of the 2011 Japanese tsunami discuss their experiences and reveal the nature of their lives as refugees.
Chapiteau Show Chapiteau Show
Chapiteau Show and Postcards From The Zoo
Postcards From The Zoo (Kebun binatang) (Country: Indonesia; Year: 2012; Director: Edwin; Writer: Edwin, Daud Sumolang, Titien Wattimena; Stars: Nicholas Saputra, Ladya Cheryl, Dave Lumenta, Heidy Trisiana Triswan, Nazyra C. Noer, Adjie Nur Ahmad, Klarysa Aurelia)
Magic realist fairytale of a girl who is raised in a zoo.
Rose (Róza) (Country: Poland; Year: 2011; Director: Wojciech Smarzowski; Writer: Michal Szczerbic; Stars: Marcin Dorocinski, Agata Kulesza, Malwina Buss, Kinga Preis, Jacek Braciak, Marian Dziedziel, Edward Linde-Lubaszenko, Eryk Lubos, Lech Dyblik, Szymon Bobrowski, Andrzej Konopka, Robert Wabich, Grzegorz Wojdon, Mateusz Trembaczowski, Jerzy Rogalski)
A relationship develops between a widow and a former soldier in post-war Poland.
Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo Doriftura) (Country: Japan; Year: 2011; Director: Tetsuaki Matsue; Stars: Kenta Maeno)
A man wanders the streets of Tokyo by night, singing to indifferent people.
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.