Edinburgh International Film Festival 2009

Love the idea of discovery - these is the place to find EIFF's tips. Featuring first and second works by directors to watch.



View other Edinburgh International Film Festival Films by strand: Black Box, British Gala, Director's Showcase, Document, Film Festival Under The Stars, Gala, Night Moves, Retrospective: Roger Corman, Shorts, Special Screenings, Under The Radar

The Athlete The Athlete
The Athlete and Van Diemen's Land
The Athlete (Atletu) (Country: US, Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew; Writer: Rasselas Lakew, Davey Frankel, Mikael Aemiro Awake; Stars: Rasselas Lakew, Dag Malmberg, Ruta Gedmintas, Abba Waka Dessalegn)
Biopic/ documentary hybrid about Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila.
World Premiere
The Architect (Der Architekt) (Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Ina Weisse; Stars: 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
Baraboo (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Mary Sweeney; Writer: Mary Sweeney; Stars: 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)
People come and go in a Midwestern small town motel.
World Premiere
Be Good (Sois sage) (Country: France, Denmark; Year: 2009; Director: Juliette Garcias; Writer: Juliette Garcias; Stars: 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; Year: 2009; Director: Mark Devenport; Writer: Tony Claassen, Mark Devenport; Stars: 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
Jalainur Jalainur
Jalainur and My Year Without Sex
Birdwatchers (La terra degli uomini rossi) (Country: Italy, Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Marco Bechis; Writer: Marco Bechis, Luiz Bolognesi, Lara Fremder; Stars: 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), Official Site
A drama which explores the tensions between the white and indigenous cultures of Brazil.
UK Premiere
Breathless (Ddongpari) (Country: South Korea; Year: 2009; Director: Lee Hwan, Yang Ik-June, Kim Kkobbi; Writer: Yang Ik-June; Stars: Yang Ik-June, Jeong Man-shik, Kim Gol-bi), Trailer
Can a schoolgirl offer salvation to a Korean gangster?
UK Premiere
Can Go Through Skin (Kan door huid heen) (Country: Netherlands; Year: 2009; Director: Esther Rots; Writer: Esther Rots; Stars: Rifka Lodeizen, Wim Opbrouck, Chris Borowski)
A woman responds to assault by moving to the countryside and reconstructing an old farmhouse, but her sanity proves fragile.
UK Premiere
Distance (Distanz) (Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Thomas Sieben; Writer: Christian Lyra, Thomas Sieben; Stars: Ken Duken, Franziska Weisz, Josef Heynert, Jan Uplegger)
A serial killer tries to juggle his hobby, his girlfriend and his job.
UK Premiere
Easier With Practice (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez; Writer: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Davy Rothbart; Stars: 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
Wide Open Spaces Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces and Birdwatchers
Elkland (Country: Sweden; Year: 2009; Director: Per Hanefjord; Writer: Per Hanefjord; Stars: Sara Arnia, Anna Azcárate, Örjan Landström, Jimmy Lindström)
The prodigal son returns to bury his dead father in a black as night tragi-comedy featuring a friendly elk.
International Premiere
The Fish Child (El Niño Pez) (Country: Argentina, France, Spain; Year: 2009; Director: Lucía Puenzo; Writer: Lucía Puenzo; Stars: 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
Jalainur (Country: China; Year: 2008; Director: Ye Zhao; Writer: Ye Zhao; Stars: 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
Katalin Varga (Country: Romania, UK, Hungary; Year: 2009; Director: Peter Strickland; Writer: Peter Strickland, Peter Strickland; Stars: Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Sebastian Marina, Melinda Kántor)
A woman is disowned after it is discovered that she has been raped, prompting her to seek revenge.
UK Premiere
A Light In The Fog (Country: Iran; Year: 2008; Director: Panahbarkhoda Rezaee)
Story of a widow and her sick dad, who live in isolation.
UK Premiere
Sin Nombre Sin Nombre
Sin Nombre and Distance
The Maid (La Nana) (Country: Chile; Year: 2008; Director: Sebastián Silva; Writer: Sebastián Silva, Pedro Peirano; Stars: 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
Masquerades (Mascarades) (Country: Algeria, France; Year: 2008; Director: Lyes Salem; Writer: Lyes Salem, Nathalie Saugeon; Stars: 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.
UK Premiere
Members Of The Funeral (Jang-rae-sig-ui member) (Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Baek Seung-Bin; Stars: 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; Year: 2009; Director: Sarah Watt; Writer: Sarah Watt; Stars: 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; Year: 2009; Director: Leon Dai; Stars: 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
A Light In The Fog A Light In The Fog
A Light In The Fog and Easier With Practice
Pomegranates And Myrrh (al-Mor wa al rumman) (Country: Palestine; Year: 2008; Director: Najwa Najjar; Writer: Najwa Najjar; Stars: 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
Sin Nombre (Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Cary Fukunaga; Writer: Cary Fukunaga; Stars: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Luis Fernando Peña, Diana García)
The paths of a Honduran migrant and a gangland youth trying to escape his past cross on the top of a train.
European Premiere
Thanks Maa (Country: India; Year: 2008; Director: Irlan Kamal; Stars: Master Shams, Master Shalman, Master Fayaaz, Master Jafar, Baby Almas, Barry John, Raghubir Yadav), Official Site
A snapshot of life on the streets of Mumbai, sees a boy try to unite an abandoned baby with its mum.
World Premiere
Van Diemen's Land (Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Jonathan auf der Heide; Stars: Oscar Redding, Jason Glover, Thomas Wright, Paul Ashcroft, Arthur Angel, Mark Winter), Official Site
Things get desperate after a prison breakout in Tasmania in 1822.
International Premiere
Wasted (Country: UK; Year: 2009; Director: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Writer: Caroline Paterson, Stuart Davids; Stars: 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
Thanks Maa Thanks Maa
Thanks Maa and Baraboo
Wide Open Spaces (Country: Ireland/UK; Year: 2009; Director: Tom Hall; Writer: Arthur Mathews; Stars: 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.
World Premiere
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:

Glasgow Short Film Festival

Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Showcase of films with a humanitarian focus

Flare

South by Southwest

Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
Greek celebration of factual film

In the Archive


Archive of festival coverage.

Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.

Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.