Festivals >> EIFF >> 2009 >> Rosebud

The Architect (Der Architekt) (Country: Germany; Director: Ina Weisse; Cast: Matthias Schweighöfer, Josef Bierbichler, Sandra Hüller)
Georg Winter visits the distant past when he goes to his mother's funeral and uncovers personal demons. UK Premiere.

The Athlete (Atletu) (Country: US, Germany; Director: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew; Writer: Rasselas Lakew, Davey Frankel, Mikael Aemiro Awake; Cast: Rasselas Lakew, Dag Malmberg, Ruta Gedmintas, Abba Waka Dessalegn)
Biopic/documentary hybrid about Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila. World Premiere.
Full Review See: Diary article about the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009

Baraboo (Country: US; Director: Mary Sweeney; Writer: Mary Sweeney; Cast: Sabrina S. Sutherland, Justin Daering, Lee Ernst, James Pickering, Patrick S. Sweeney, Jonathan West, Barney Sweeney, Flora Coker, Ruth Schudson, Michael Fuss, Brenda DeVita, Brian Liston, Rick Sherman, Joseph Filmanowicz, Peter Morse)
The progammers say this is a "tender study of connection, recovery and delicate personal dynamics", centring on the residents of Baraboo, Wisconsin. World Premiere.
Full Review

Be Good (Sois sage) (Country: France, Denmark; Director: Juliette Garcias; Writer: Juliette Garcias; Cast: Anaïs Demoustier, Bruno Todeschini, Nade Dieu, Alexandra Fleischer, Stéphane Chivot, Véronique Nordey, Marie-Françoise Audollent, Cyril Troley, Hélène López de la Torre)
A young woman moves to a small village but despite initially settling in her lies soon begin to find her out. UK Premiere.

Big Things (Country: UK; Director: Mark Devenport; Writer: Tony Claassen, Mark Devenport; Cast: Jonathan Phillips, Steven Sheil, Micaiah Dring, Phil Smeeton, Gregory Chisholm, Rupert Procter, Mark Devenport, Chris Cooke, Will Tristram, Tony Claassen, Shaun Mechen, Penn Linfield, Yvonne Varnier, Jai Abbott, Dean Palo)
Low-budget comedy sees a would-be filmmaker tries to realise his vision. World Premiere.

Birdwatchers (La terra degli uomini rossi) (Country: Italy, Brazil; Director: Marco Bechis; Writer: Marco Bechis, Luiz Bolognesi, Lara Fremder; Cast: Claudio Santamaria, Alicélia Batista Cabreira, Chiara Caselli, Abrísio da Silva Pedro, Matheus Nachtergaele, Ambrósio Vilhava, Ademilson Concianza Verga, Leonardo Medeiros, Eliane Juca da Silva, Fabiane Pereira da Silva, Taiane Arce, César Chedid, Temily Comar, Nelson Concianza, Luciane da Silva)
Drama explores the tensions between the white and indigenous cultures of Brazil. UK Premiere.
Full Review Official Site

Breathless (Ddongpari) (Country: South Korea; Director: Lee Hwan, Yang Ik-June, Kim Kkobbi; Writer: Yang Ik-June; Cast: Yang Ik-June, Jeong Man-shik, Kim Gol-bi)
Can a schoolgirl offer salvation to a Korean gangster? UK Premiere.
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Can Go Through Skin (Kan door huid heen) (Country: Netherlands; Director: Esther Rots; Writer: Esther Rots; Cast: Rifka Lodeizen, Wim Opbrouck, Chris Borowski)
An attacked woman moves to a rundown house, determined not to live up to victim status. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Distance (Distanz) (Country: Germany; Director: Thomas Sieben; Writer: Christian Lyra, Thomas Sieben; Cast: Ken Duken, Franziska Weisz, Josef Heynert, Jan Uplegger)
A gardener prone to random acts of violence, finds himself conflicted after falling for a colleague. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Easier With Practice (Country: US; Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez; Writer: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Davy Rothbart; Cast: Brian Geraghty, Kel O'Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeanette Brox, Jenna Gavigan, Kathryn Aselton, Danielle Lozeau, Lucas CorVatta, Lauren Petzke, Allison Hensel, Leandro Di Salvo, Daniel J Gonzales, Tavia Schwartz, Z Ray Wakeman)
An unpublished author embarks on an unusual relationship after receiving a seemingly random phone call. International Premiere.
Full Review

Elkland (Country: Sweden; Director: Per Hanefjord; Writer: Per Hanefjord; Cast: Sara Arnia, Anna Azcárate, Örjan Landström, Jimmy Lindström)
Can two estranged siblings get it together for the sake of their family? International Premiere.
Full Review

The Fish Child (El Niño Pez) (Country: Argentina, France, Spain; Director: Lucía Puenzo; Writer: Lucía Puenzo; Cast: Inés Efron, Mariela Vitale, Carlos Bardem, Pep Munné, Arnaldo André, Diego Velázquez, Julián Doregger, Sandra Guida)
A middle-class teen and her lesbian maid find plans to forge a life together thwarted by a death. UK Premiere.
Full Review See: Tribeca Film Festival Diary and Film/Movie reviews: Departures, The Eclipse, Timer, Fish Child

Jalainur (Country: China; Director: Ye Zhao; Writer: Ye Zhao; Cast: Yuan-Sheng Liu, Zhi-Zhong Li)
An ageing train driver decides to visit his family and ends up on a road trip through China with his young apprentice. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Katalin Varga (Country: Romania, UK, Hungary; Director: Peter Strickland; Writer: Peter Strickland, Peter Strickland; Cast: Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Sebastian Marina, Melinda Kántor)
A mother is kicked out by her husband and sets out to find the real father of her illegitimate child, a journey which will lead her to confront her past. UK Premiere.
Full Review

A Light In The Fog (Country: Iran; Director: Panahbarkhoda Rezaee)
Story of a widow and her sick dad, who live in isolation. UK Premiere.
Full Review

The Maid (La Nana) (Country: Chile; Director: Sebastian Silva; Writer: Sebastián Silva, Pedro Peirano; Cast: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Alejandro Goic, Anita Reeves, Del?na Guzmán)
A servant goes to extreme lengths to stay with the family she's obsessed with - and to get rid of the competition. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Masquerades (Mascarades) (Country: Algeria, France; Director: Lyes Salem; Writer: Lyes Salem, Nathalie Saugeon; Cast: Lyes Salem, Sarah Reguieg, Mohamed Bouchaïb, Rym Takoucht, Merouane Zmirli, Mourad Khen)
A man spins an outrageous fable to impress his village but as the lie begins to unravel surprising allegiances form and the life of the entire community begins to change. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Members Of The Funeral (Jang-rae-sig-ui member) (Country: South Korea; Director: Baek Seung-Bin; Cast: Lee Ju-Seung, Yoo Ha-Bok, Park Myung-Shin, Kim Byul)
The tribulations of family members who don't want to attend the funeral of one of their own. UK Premiere.

My Year Without Sex (Country: Australia; Director: Sarah Watt; Writer: Sarah Watt; Cast: Sacha Horler, Matt Day, Jonathan Segat, Portia Bradley, Roy Davies, Catherine Hill, Sonya Suares, Petru Gheorghiu, Eddie Baroo, Travis Cotton, Fred Whitlock, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Lauren Mikkor, Chloe Guymer, Katie Wall)
Film traces a year of recovery in a family hit by sickness. International Premiere.

No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (Bu Neng Mei You Ni) (Country: Taiwan; Director: Leon Dai; Cast: Chen Wen-Pin, Chao Yo-Hsuan, Lin Chih-Ju, Ma Ting-Ni)
A single dad faces a battle with bureaucrats as he struggles to bring up his daughter. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Pomegranates And Myrrh (al-Mor wa al rumman) (Country: Palestine; Director: Najwa Najjar; Writer: Najwa Najjar; Cast: Hiam Abbass, Yasmine Elmasri, Ali Sliman, Ahmad Abu Sal'oum, Ashraf Farah, Lufuf Nuweiser, Lea Tsmeal, Walid Abdul Salam, Manal Awad, Samia Kuzmoz)
The wife of a Palestinian prisoner searches for freedom. UK Premiere.
Full Review

Sin Nombre (Country: US; Director: Cary Fukunaga; Writer: Cary Fukunaga; Cast: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Luis Fernando Peña, Diana García)
A teenage Mexican gang member manoeuvres to outrun his violent past and elude unforgiving former associates in this thriller set among Central American migrants seeking to cross over to the United States. European Premiere.
Full Review See: Sundance Diary: Day Five

Thanks Maa (Country: India; Director: Irlan Kamal; Cast: Master Shams, Master Shalman, Master Fayaaz, Master Jafar, Baby Almas, Barry John, Raghubir Yadav)
A snapshot of life on the streets of Mumbai, sees a boy try to unite an abandoned baby with its mum. World Premiere.
Full Review See: Diary article about the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009 Official Site

Van Diemen's Land (Country: Australia; Director: Jonathan auf der Heide; Cast: Oscar Redding, Jason Glover, Thomas Wright, Paul Ashcroft, Arthur Angel, Mark Winter)
Things get desperate after a prison breakout in Tasmania in 1822. Based on the true story of the island's most infamous criminal. International Premiere.
Full Review Official Site

Wasted (Country: UK; Director: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Writer: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Cast: Neil Leiper, Emma Hartley Miller, Kate Dickie, Paul Thomas Hickey, David Hayman, Gary Lewis, Alan Tripney)
Two addicts run away together and live rough in Glasgow. World Premiere.

Wide Open Spaces (Country: Ireland/UK; Director: Tom Hall; Writer: Arthur Mathews; Cast: Ardal O’Hanlon, Ewen Bremner, Owen Roe, Morwenna Banks, Don Wycherley)
Two young men are recruited to develop a tourist attraction celebrating the Irish potato famine in this dark comedy by the creator of Father Ted. World Premiere.
Full Review

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