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Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019

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Synonyms Synonyms
Synonyms and Alice
Aleksi (Country: Croatia, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro; Year: 2018; Director: Barbara Vekaric; Writer: Barbara Vekaric, Barbara Vekaric, Barbara Vekaric; Stars: Tihana Lazovic, Goran Markovic, Leon Lucev, Sebastian Cavazza, Jason Mann, Neda Arneric, Lidija Bacic, Angela Bulum, Nadia Cvitanovic, Antonio Franic, Svetlana Gutic, Tvrtko Hopek, Natasa Janjic, Romano Nikolic, Tena Pataky)
A graduate who has returned to her family home becomes involved in relationships with a trio fo very different men.
UK premiere
Alice (Country: Australia, France; Year: 2019; Director: Josephine Mackerras; Writer: Josephine Mackerras; Stars: David Coburn, Chloé Boreham, Martin Swabey, Etienne Guillou-Kervern)
Alice, a happy and perfect wife and mother has her life turned upside down when she discovers her husband is living a secret life.
Full Review
UK premiere
Aniara (Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja; Writer: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja, Harry Martinson; Stars: Emelie Jonsson, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian, Anneli Martini, Jennie Silfverhjelm, Emma Broomé, Jamil Drissi, Leon Jiber, Peter Carlberg, Juan Rodríguez, David Nzinga, Dakota Trancher Williams, Otis Castillo Ålhed, Dante Westergårdh, Elin Lilleman Eriksson)
Science-fiction drama about a passenger spaceship lost in the void.
Full Review
UK premiere
Aren't You Happy (Das melancholische Mädchen) (Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Susanne Heinrich; Writer: Susanne Heinrich; Stars: Marie Rathscheck, Nicolai Borger, Malte Bündgen, Dax Constantine, Monika Freinberger, Julian Fricker, Yann Grouhel, Lorna Ishema, Christine Kostropetsch, Felix Mayr, Markus Nechleba, Nicolo Pasetti, Pero Radicic, Monika Wiedemer, Marie Rathscheck)
A girl roams through the city looking for a place to sleep, but between yoga studios, art galleries and the beds of strangers there is no space for her.
UK premiere
Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion (Asterix: The Secret De La Potion Magique) (Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Alexandre Astier, Louis Clichy; Writer: René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, Alexandre Astier; Stars: English dub voiced by, Ken Kramer, C Ernst Harth, John Innes, Fleur Delahunty, Andrew Cownden, Michael Shepherd, Saffron Henderson)
The village druid enlists the help of Asterix and Obelix to find a young druid to share his secrets with.
Full Review
UK premiere
A Girl From Mogadishu A Girl From Mogadishu
A Girl From Mogadishu and Aniara
Aurora (Country: Finland; Director: Miia Tervo; Writer: Miia Tervo; Stars: Oona Airola, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Amir Escandari)
Aurora, a commitment-phobic party animal, meets Iranian Darian one night at a hot-dog stand in Lapland. Darian is running from death and Aurora is running from love.
UK premiere
The Best Of Dorien B (Country: Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Anke Blondé; Writer: Anke Blondé, Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem, Anke Blondé, Bert Van Dael, Sanne Nuyens, Geert Verbanck, Ellen Schoenaerts; Stars: Dirk van Dijck, Katelijne Verbeke, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Peter De Graef, Jelle De Beule, Kim Snauwaert, Wine Dierickx, Isabelle van Hecke, Kristien De Proost, Willem Loobuyck, Lander Minne, Dirk van Dijck, Katelijne Verbeke, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Peter De Graef)
A busy vet with a good life finds problems with her family make her consider what's best for her.
UK premiere
Cronofobia (Country: Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Francesco Rizzi; Writer: Daniela Gambaro, Francesco Rizzi; Stars: Vinicio Marchioni, Sabine Timoteo, Leonardo Nigro, Giorgia Salari, Jun Ichikawa, Andrea Bruschi, Alberto Ruano, Jean-Pierre Gos, Monica Budde, Lorenzo Pedrotti, Carla Cassola, Adele Raes, Jasmin Mattei, Joachim Aeschlimann, Nils Habermacher)
A lonely man tries to connect with a woman who is struggling with a complicated form of grief.
UK premiere
The Deposit (Tryggd) (Country: Iceland; Year: 2019; Director: Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir; Writer: Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir; Stars: Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir, Enid Mbabazi, Raffaella Brizuela Sigurðardóttir, Claire Harpa Kristinsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir, Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir, Enid Mbabazi, Raffaella Brizuela Sigurðardóttir, Claire Harpa Kristinsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir)
A journalist finds her invitation to migrants to live in her house turns into a power struggle.
UK premiere
Emma Peeters (Country: Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Nicole Palo; Writer: Nicole Palo; Stars: Andréa Ferréol, Monia Chokri, Fabrice Adde, Stéphanie Crayencour, Jean-Henri Compère, Hervé Piron, Aran Bertetto, Anne Sylvain, Romain David, Jean-Noël Delfanne, Andréa Ferréol, Monia Chokri, Fabrice Adde, Stéphanie Crayencour, Jean-Henri Compère)
Emma Peeters will soon be 35 and has yet to accomplish something. After years of hardship in Paris in trying to become an actress, an idea strikes her fancy: ending her life in a week’s time, on her birthday. In the process Emma meets Alex Bodart, a fanciful funeral home employee who will help her in her reckless endeavor.
UK premiere
Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion
Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion and End Of Sentence
The Emperor Of Paris (L'Empereur De Paris) (Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Jean-François Richet; Writer: Éric Besnard, Éric Besnard, Éric Besnard, Jean-François Richet, Jean-François Richet; Stars: Olga Kurylenko, Vincent Cassel, August Diehl, Freya Mavor, Denis Ménochet, Denis Lavant, Fabrice Luchini, William Sciortino, John Sehil, James Thierrée, Patrick Chesnais, Antoine Basler, Michèle Clément, François Girard, Vincent Schmitt)
Historical action thriller about a criminal who escapes from a penal colony.
UK premiere
End Of Sentence (Country: Iceland, Ireland, United States; Year: 2019; Director: Elfar Adalsteins; Writer: Michael Armbruster; Stars: John Hawkes, Logan Lerman, Sarah Bolger, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Andrea Irvine, Christopher Allen, Sean Mahon, David Grant Wright, Shaw Jones, Zylan Brooks, Claire Mullan, Robert Kiernan, Kevin Tribble, Kyle Hancock, Aoibhin Murphy)
A widower embarks on a journey to fulfil his wife's wish to have her ashes scattered in Ireland, taking his estranged son along for the trip.
Full Review See: John Hawkes and Elfar Adalsteins on making End Of Sentence
World premiere
A Girl From Mogadishu (Country: Ireland, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Mary McGuckian; Writer: Mary McGuckian; Stars: Aja Naomi King, Barkhad Abdi, Martha Canga Antonio, Luke Spencer Roberts, Orla Brady, Maryam Mursal, Stanley Townsend, Pauline McLynn, Hamse Abdi, Hussein Abdi, Mahamed Warsame Abdirabi, Ifrah Ahmed, Mohamed Abdillahi Bahdon, Samira Benali, Ayantu Boulanger)
The true story of Ifrah Ahmed, who fled war-torn Somalia in 2006 and became a campaigner against gender based violence and female genital mutilation.
Full Review
International premiere
God Exists Her Name Is Petrunya (Gospod postoi, imeto i’ e Petrunija) (Country: Republic of Macedonia, Belgium, France, Croatia, Slovenia; Year: 2019; Director: Teona Strugar Mitevska; Writer: Teona Strugar Mitevska, Elma Tataragic; Stars: Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Stefan Vujisic, Suad Begovski, Simeon Moni Damevski, Violeta Sapkovska, Petar Mircevski, Andrijana Kolevska, Nikola Kumev, Bajrush Mjaku, Xhevdet Jashari, Vladimir Tuliev, Ilija Volcheski, Igor Todorov, Nenad Angelkovic)
Satire charts what happens when a woman catches a holy cross in a contest that is usually the province of men.
UK premiere
Happier Times, Grump (Ilosia aikoja, Mielensaphaphoittaja) (Country: Finland; Year: 2018; Director: Tiina Lymi; Writer: Tuomas Kyrö, Juha Lehtola, Tiina Lymi, Tuomas Kyrö; Stars: Heikki Kinnunen, Satu Tuuli Karhu, Elina Knihtilä, Jani Volanen, Iikka Forss, Mari Perankoski, Sulevi Peltola, Janne Reinikainen, Lotta Kaihua, Petra Frey, Sari Siikander, Kaisa Hela, Tommi Korpela, Henrik Arvidsson, Jari Hämäläinen)
Sequel to The Grump, sees the gloomy OAP preparing to die.
UK premiere
Never Look Away Never Look Away
Never Look Away and The Tobacconist
Her Job (I Doulia Tis) (Country: Greece, France, Serbia; Year: 2018; Director: Nikos Labôt; Writer: Katerina Kleitsioti, Nikos Labôt; Stars: Marisha Triantafyllidou, Dimitris Imellos, Maria Filini, Eleni Karagiorgi, Konstantinos Gogoulos, Eirini Asimakopoulou, Danae Primali, Dimitra Vlagopoulou, Orfeas Aggelopoulos, Georgia Tsagaraki, Areti Seidaridou, Ioanna Mavrea, Nikol Drizi, Youla Boudali, Spyros Kribalis)
When a timid housewife gets a job as a cleaner, he discovers a new sense of independence.
UK premiere
How To Fake A War (Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Rudolph Herzog; Writer: Tim Price, Raid Sabbah; Stars: Katherine Parkinson, Lily Newmark, Jay Pharoah, Ali Cook, Daryl McCormack, Samuel Vargu, Katherine Parkinson, Lily Newmark, Jay Pharoah, Ali Cook, Daryl McCormack, Samuel Vargu)
When a sudden outbreak of peace threatens a rock star's charity concert, he tries to create a fake war story.
UK premiere
The Mystery Of Henri Pick (Le Mystere Henri Pick) (Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Rémi Bezançon; Writer: Rémi Bezançon, David Foenkinos, Vanessa Portal; Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Camille Cottin, Alice Isaaz, Bastien Bouillon, Josiane Stoléru, Astrid Whettnall, Marc Fraize, Hanna Schygulla, Marie-Christine Orry, Vincent Winterhalter, Florence Muller, Philypa Phoenix, Lyès Salem, Tristan Carné, Annie Mercier)
A TV critic who loses his job over the discovery of a manuscript, turns detective to discover the truth about it.
UK premiere
Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) (Country: Germany, Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Stars: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl, Oliver Masucci, Cai Cohrs, Ina Weisse, Evgeniy Sidikhin, Mark Zak, Ulrike C. Tscharre, Bastian Trost, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Hanno Koffler, David Schütter, Franz Pätzold)
A tormented young German artist who has fled to the west becomes convinced he has met the love of his life.
Full Review See: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck ‪in conversation on‬ his editor Patricia Rommel, the use of Händel in Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor), his family, and a Milan Kundera essay
, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck ‪in conversation on‬ Germany's Oscar submission Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor)
UK premiere
Ruben Brandt, Collector (Country: Hungary; Year: 2018; Director: Milorad Krstic; Writer: Milorad Krstic, Radmila Roczkov; Stars: Paul Bellantoni, Gabriella Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Zalán Makranczi, Paul Bellantoni, Gabriella Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Zalán Makranczi)
A psychotherapist suffers violent nightmares inspired by legendary works of art. Four of his patients, expert thieves, offer to steal the works.
UK premiere
Volcano Volcano
Volcano and The Best Of Dorien B
She's Missing (Country: Ireland, US, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Alexandra McGuinness; Writer: Alexandra McGuinness; Stars: Lucy Fry, Eiza González, Christian Camargo, Josh Hartnett, Blake Berris, Sheila Vand, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Adrian Acosta, Jerry G. Angelo, Russ Dillen, Clebert Garcia, Alicia Gerrard, Fiona Hardingham, Doris Hargrave)
A young woman heads across the desert to find a missing friend.
International premiere
Sons Of Denmark (Danmarks Sonner) (Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Ulaa Salim; Writer: Ulaa Salim; Stars: Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali, Rasmus Bjerg, Asil Mohamad Habib, Morten Holst, Elliott Crosset Hove, Ali Hussein, Olaf Johannessen, Mohammed Ismail Mohammed, Özlem Saglanmak, Zaki Youssef, Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali)
Drama looks at the impact of radicalisation in society on two young men.
UK premiere
Synonyms (Country: France, Germany, Israel; Year: 2019; Director: Nadav Lapid; Writer: Nadav Lapid; Stars: Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil, Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil)
Tragicomedy about Yoav, a young Israeli determined to wipe out his origins and become French.
Full Review
UK premiere
Thirty (Dreissig) (Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Simona Kostova; Writer: Simona Kostova; Stars: Henner Borchers, Övünç Güvenisik, Pascal Houdus, Raha Emami Khansari, Kara Schröder, Henner Borchers, Övünç Güvenisik, Pascal Houdus, Raha Emami Khansari, Kara Schröder)
A group of friends celebrate Övünç’s birthday. The scene shifts from day to night as they wander the streets and bars of Neukölln. A raging lust for life. Longing for that special something to finally come to pass which has so eluded them during the day.
UK premiere
The Tobacconist (Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Nikolaus Leytner; Writer: Klaus Richter, Nikolaus Leytner, Robert Seethaler; Stars: Simon Morzé, Bruno Ganz, Johannes Krisch, Emma Drogunova, David Altman, Christoph Bittenauer, Gerti Drassl, Karoline Eichhorn, Michael Fitz, Regina Fritsch, Tom Hanslmaier, Erni Mangold, Thomas Mraz, Vicky Nikolaevskaja, Tobias Ofenbauer)
A young man befriends Sigmund Freud.
Full Review
UK premiere
Emma Peeters Emma Peeters
Emma Peeters and Her Job
Volcano (Country: Germany, Ukraine; Year: 2018; Director: Roman Bondarchuk; Writer: Dar'ya Averchenko, Roman Bondarchuk, Alla Tyutyunnik; Stars: Viktor Zhdanov, Serhiy Stepansky, Viktor Zhdanov, Serhiy Stepansky)
A man goes on a series of absurdist adventures after becoming lost in the Ukranian steppe.
Full Review
UK premiere
We Have Always Lived In The Castle (Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Stacie Passon; Writer: Mark Kruger, Shirley Jackson; Stars: Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Crispin Glover, Sebastian Stan, Patrick Joseph Byrnes, Una Carroll, Peter Coonan, Joanne Crawford, Bosco Hogan, Stephen Hogan, Paula Malcomson, Anna Nugent, Peter O'Meara, Liz O'Sullivan, Taissa Farmiga)
Gothic mystery about an isolated family whose lives are challenged by the arrival of their mysterious cousin.
European premiere
X&Y (Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Anna Odell; Writer: Jakob Beckman, Anna Odell; Stars: Jan Abramson, Jens Albinus, Anders Axelsson, Josephine Bauer, Max Claesson, Trine Dyrholm, Peter Engman, Sofie Gråbøl, Peter Kanerva, Thure Lindhardt, Anna Odell, Mikael Persbrandt, Per Ragnar, Shanti Roney, Emmeli Stjärnfeldt)
Playful art piece that sees actors deconstruct themselves and their roles.
UK premiere
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