EIFF announces galas

UglyDolls and Balance, Not Symmetry join line-up

by Amber Wilkinson

Edinburgh International Film Festival has today announced Jamie Adams' drama Balance, Not Symmetry will be this year's People's Gala, while animated musical adventure UglyDolls, starring Kelly Clarkson, will be the Family Gala.

Organisers describe Balance, Not Symmetry as "a beautiful cinematic tribute to art, music and Scotland (and Glasgow in particular)".

It was made in close conjunction with the Scottish band Biffy Clyro, who worked on both the storyline and the score and stars Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as a Scottish-American art student who is studying at Glasgow School of Art, and whose privileged existence is thrown into a spin when her father unexpectedly dies. Torn between supporting her mother (Kate Dickie) and dealing with her own sense of loss, she finds herself re-examining her life and friends. She finds inspiration from provocative fellow student Hannah (Bria Vinaite, The Florida Project).

UglyDolls also features the voice talent of Nick Jonas and Pitbull. In Uglyville, the free-spirited Moxy (Clarkson) and her UglyDoll friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss. Occasionally, the endearingly unique residents of Uglyville look to the sky, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community.

But when Moxy and a group of her closest friends set off to find what’s outside their community, they discover another world – Perfection. It is a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the ‘real’ world to find the love of a child. In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits.

For tickets and more information on this year’s Festival visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk.

Share this with others on...
News

Bear necessities Jack Weisman and Gabriel Osio Vanden on working together and making naivety work for them in Nuisance Bear

In ascension Isaac 'Drift' Wright and Deon Taylor on climbing, spiritual development and Drift

Looking back Kei Ishikawa on memory, ambiguity and A Pale View Of Hills

Bearing witness Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman on balance and perspectives in Nuisance Bear

Number one suspect Peter Warren on mental illness, living with uncertainty, and Kill Me

One Battle After Another named Best Picture Breakthroughs for women and Koreans, a new category, and an award with two winners.

More news and features

We're currently bringing you news, reviews and more direct from BFI Flare and SXSW.



We're looking forward to Fantaspoa.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:

Cannes Barbra Streisand to receive honorary Palme d'Or

Thessaloniki Golden Alexanders announced

Cannes Honorary Palme d'Or to be presented to Peter Jackson

Cannes Park Chan-Wook named as Jury head