The 66th Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off this week, Tuesday June 19 2012
The 66th
Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off this week, with
highlights including 7 Days
In Havana, with Benicio Del Toro, and Disney/Pixar's animated
feature Brave. We spoke
to Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara...
Edinburgh International Film Festival
2012 runs from 20 June to 1 July
How big/important is this year's event?
This year's EIFF is very big, with 150 feature films from 52
countries. It is also very important as a programme of outstanding
works of contemporary world cinema – including 19 world premieres,
13 international premieres, 11 European premieres, and 76 UK
premieres.
What are a few of the key highlights?
Among the highlights are our
British and
international feature film competitions, in which, for the
first time in the history of the festival, documentaries will
compete alongside narrative films. We also have a special section
on one of the most exciting movements in current cinema, the
Philippine New Wave. In our retrospectives, audiences will be
able to explore the works of two underrated innovators: the
Japanese director
Shinji Somai and the American director
Gregory La Cava.
What are you looking forward to most?
I am most looking forward to taking part in the dialogue with
the audience and with the visiting filmmakers.
What kind of turnout do you expect, from where, and what
does this mean for Edinburgh?
We expect a large turnout from people from Edinburgh and from
around the UK who have an appetite for cinema, and we are also
looking forward to the visits of our guest filmmakers from around
the world. For Edinburgh, it means the opportunity to be part of
the world of cinema, and to show Edinburgh to the people of that
world.
