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.

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