[EDIE] ’
I THE BIG MAN Receiving its world premiere to open the festival is David Leland'stough
Glasgow-shot version of the
William Mcllvanney novel Cameo cinema,SaI11Aug, 7.30pm.
I HIDDEN AGENDA Ken
Loach‘s courageous expose
of rite misconduct amongst the security forces in Northern Ireland won the scorn of the tabloid press in Cannes and is certainto garner more controversy here. Frances McDormand and Brian Cox star in a story based around the Stalker affair. Cameo cinema. Sun 12 Aug. 8.45pm.
I HOUSE PARTY Part otthe mini-season devoted to the Coming of Age of Black Cinema. the Hudlin brothers exuberant chronicle ofone man‘s efforts to party recouped its production costs on the first night of release! Filmhouse 1.Thurs 16 Aug, 11pm.
I LIFE IS CHEAP. . .BUT TOILET PAPER IS EXPENSIVE Edinburgh regular Wayne Wang has come up with an intriguing freestyle effort about an Asian-American courier bemused by the sights and sounds of his first visit to Hong Kong. Filmhouse1. Tue 14Aug. 8.45pm.
I RA: THE PATH OF THE SUN GOD Scottish animator Lesley Keen toiled Iorfour years on this impressive feature, a panorama of ancient Egyptian lore that showcases the intellectual and pictorial potential of the medium. Channel Four Is to devote a season to her work later in the year. Filmhouse 1, Thurs Aug 16. 6.30pm.
I TATIE DANIELLE Gallic comic talent Etienne Chatllliezfollowsthe promise of Life Is A Long Quiet River with this spirited tale ola relentlessly mean old aunt finally meeting her match. Cameo cinema, Thurs 16 Aug, 8.45pm.
FESTIVAL —
film/PREVIEW
Brothers in film
"l‘hey could have been purple. They could have been blue. Any colour. Any country.’ says director James Bond lll otthe all-black cast in his wacko schlocker Def/3v Tempran'nn a highly individual horror effort whose Noo Yawk black humour is one we can all share. No splatter movie this. nor hlaxploitation. Modestly budgeted the movie might be but its high quality special effects and wicked script make it perfect casting as a late-nite attraction.
Is this the black movie ‘coming of age‘. as the festival brochure would have it? Well. Bond is right on one count. that black films no longer
have to be on purely ‘black‘ subjects.
The box office receipts for Murphy. Lee. etc have made l-lollywood realise that films starring and made by black people are commercial and have universal appeal.
A case in point is House Party. a teen movie more akin to Risky Business or Ferris Bueller's Day 0]] than Do T he Right Thing. and (boosted by a cast list that includes rap duo Kid‘n’Play and P-funk
godfather George Clinton) managed to recoup its production costs on the first night ofits release. Kid (Christopher Reid and his hairstyle) is grounded after fighting at school. but his buddy is taking the opportunity of his parents‘ absence to host the party of the year. Norman l.ottis' Small lime and Charles Burnett‘s To Sleep Willi Anger. the two other. grittier films
3 complete the (‘oming of Age
mini—season. but it's important that the four are not ghettoised into some pseudo genre for they‘re as different
as chalk and cheese. Creative quality remains their common denominator.
('l‘hom Dibdin)
I The Coming of Age of Black Cinema mini-season begins with a seminar in f'ilinhouse One on Wed. 15 Aug at 5pm. See Film Festival Daily Diary overleaf for futher programme and ticket information.
in
:- Flickering
prizes
It is possibly more than a director‘s hyperbole when David Robinson appears mightily pleased with the
programme he and his associates have
puttogetherlorthis year‘s 44th consecutive Edinburgh International Film Festival. ‘I don‘tthink anyone could come here,‘ he beams. ‘and find a single day when there's nothing on they want or need to see.’
With a record tally of over 300 films on offer, a swift glance through the massive official brochure throws up a host of gala attractions like Clint Eastwood's White Hunter Black Heart, Ken Loach’s Hidden Agenda, Bertrand Tavernier‘s These Foolish Things, and world premieres in the shape of David Leland’s opening Mcllvanney adaptation The Big Man, and Derek Jarman‘s The Garden. Many of whom
(most notably Clint) will be in town with
their movies, while there will also be major retrospectives tor the undervalued Italian Pupi Avati and (ahem) Hollywood jokerJohn Landis (more of which over the page). Following the form of last year, Robinson has once again stamped a user-friendly structure on the increasingly expansive roster of celluloid, dividing the event into
season, among which are included a series of films by New Directors. the Eyes of the World documentary slot, Lunchtime Animation, and an assembly of unshelved films from Eastern Europe under the banner Truth
Triumphant. Scottish production is well ‘
represented with David Hayman‘s Barlinnie saga The Silent Scream. Lesley Keen's animated Egyptian lore Ra: The Path of The Sun God, and a special screening of John Byrne’s new series for BBC Scotland. Your Cheatin' Head.
While 1989 saw an Edinburgh first in the one-off Chaplin award for debutant Indian director Shaii's The Birth, this year Edinburgh‘strophies have multiplied, with fifteen new British features in competition for the inaugural Michael Powell award, a special Post Office McLaren prize for outstanding innovation in British animation, and the significant Channel
4-sponsored Young Film-maker of the i
Year Award which brings together student work from all over the world. While all this undoubtedly means a long preamble to the eagerly anticipated closing film, David Lynch‘s Wild At Heart, as the spoils are handed out to the victors, Robinson stresses that the competitive element helps to focus the audience‘s attention and hopes that the jury members (who include film-maker Paul Bartel and David Lean‘s biographer Steven Silverman) will bring their own input to the event‘s always relaxed atmosphere.
Having announced that this second term will be his last year as Edinburgh director. Robinson‘s assessment remains that ‘we're possibly doing too much but if we manage to get through i all, there‘s never a dull moment’. As h prepares to hand over to an as yet un-named successor, he‘s convinced that ‘a tremendous lot could be done with Edinburgh, but it needs financial support to become an important event with a real international presence. With sponsorship this year totalling only about £50,000, lthink a real corporate plan is needed. We have got to be more professional.‘ (Trevor
Johnston)
The 44th Edinhtrgh International Film Festival opens at the Cameo cinema. Home Street, with David Leland's The Big Man on Sat 12 Aug. 7.30pm. For further ticket information and full details otthe first week‘s programme. see the Film Festival Daily Diary overleaf.
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