As Edinburgh gears up for its 72nd year, we select six of the best at this year's fest, which kicks off with Puzzle, featuring a magnetic central performance by Kelly Macdonald as a housewife who decides to expand her horizons. The choices I've put in this article are films I've already seen and can recommend wholeheartedly - tell us about your favourites over on our Facbeook page.
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| Karine Teles and Otavio Muller in Loveling Photo: Bianca Aun |
Featuring a finely calibrated performance from Karine Teles (who co-wrote the screenplay) as a mum facing up to the fact her eldest son is leaving home, it captures the highs and lows of motherhood and the emotional swings that can sometimes happen within minutes of one another.
Teles told me: "Bottom line, the message we wanted to convey was it doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough money, if your house is falling apart, if you don’t have a job, if you keep the love going and you protect the ones around you with love, things are going to improve and arrange themselves somehow." Look out for our interview with Teles and director Gustavo Pizzi later this week.
Showing: Fri, June 22 6pm, Odeon 2 & Sun June 24 8.30pm, Vue Omni
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| Beautiful Things |
Giorgio Ferrero and Federico Biasin's documentary hybrid was one of the Bienale College films last year in Venice and continues the Italian festival's track record for developing strong and interesting new voices, after 2015's The Fits. The directors incorporate the stories of four men from across the globe in order to build a symphony shining a spotlight on consumerism and waste.
Ferrero told me: "We thought about the movie like a contemporary opera, for me the screenplay was at first a score not a textual narrative." Read the full interview here.
Showing: Thu, June 28, 8.40pm, Filmhouse 2 & Sat, June 30, 1.10pm Vue Omni. Ferrero will take part in a Q&A after the screening on June 28
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| C'est La Vie Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival |
Jokes come in all shapes and sizes, from quick-fire to slow-burn, and they even find time to squeeze in a bit of social commentary between the punchlines. Featuring rising French star Eye Hadaira and Gilles Lelouche having enormous fun as a wedding singer whose ego is so large it needs a separate dressing room. We'll be chatting to Hadaira this weekend.
Showing: Fri June 22, 8.40pm, Odeon 2 & Sat, June 23, 3.30pm, Cineworld. Hadaira will take part in a Q&A after the screening on June 22
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| Metamorphosis Photo: Paul Bourdier |
Directors Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper frame their story with the the metamorphosis and migratory path of the monarch butterfly, travelling the globe to see how the Earth is being affected by climate change and shining a light on some of those bidding to make a difference. Featuring impeccably shot footage that deserves to be seen on the big screen, this is a serious study of where we are now but which remains hopeful for humanity.
Showing: Fri, June 22, 8.40pm, Vue Omni & Sun, June 24, 1.20pm, Vue Omni. There will be a post-screening discussion on June 22
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| Gabrielle Brady: 'The biggest rule for Poh Lin was: Therapy number one; filming number two' Photo: Chromosom Film GmbH |
Speaking about Poh Lin Lee, a trauma counsellor who she follows through the film, she told me: "I think she’s naturally a very poetic and receptive person and instead of being so inside of it and getting hung up on every little policy change, she was constantly seeing this ‘big eye’ view, which was really seeing it for what it was. That was what we wanted to do with the film, take a huge leap away from the very specific anchoring point and Poh Lin as a person helped us to do that." Read the full interview here
Showing: Sun, June 24, 6.10pm Odeon 4 & Tue 26 June, 8.35pm, Filmhouse 2. Brady will take part in a Q&A session after the screening on June 24
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| John Cho in Search Photo: Sebastian Baron |
Showing: Thu, June 21, 8.30pm, Odeon 2 & Fri, June 22, 8.50pm, Cineworld
Read our full coverage of Edinburgh here
