Edinburgh festival to showcase host of UK films

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) organisers have revealed a selection of films that will premiere this August.
This year, the first under new Artistic Director Shane Danielsen, sees a shorter, more intensive EIFF with 12 days of films, masterclasses, panel discussions, industry events and premiere showcases. There are seven venues at EIFF – six in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.
Highlights include the world premiere of 'The Guru', starring Heather Graham and Maria Tomei, and the UK premiere of 'All Or Nothing', directed by Mike Leigh – who will be in Edinburgh for the showing – and starring Timothy Spall. Also premiering will be 'Tadpole' starring Sigourney Weaver and John Ritter, 'Changing Lanes' starring Samuel L Jackson and Ben Affleck, and 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' with Kenneth Brannagh.
The festival will also celebrate the work of Japanese filmmaker Kon Ichikawa with a 'Retrospective Programme', who, along with his contemporaries Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Ozu, Ichikawa, is viewed as one of the masters of Japanese cinema with more than 75 feature films to his credit. One of the great craftsmen of the screen, his films are visually stunning, quietly subversive and emotionally wrenching. Retrospective highlights include: 'The Harp Of Burma' (1956), 'Conflagration' (1958), 'Fires On The Plain' (1959); and 'An Actor's Revenge' (1963).
The EIFF will run from August 14 to 25.
Edinburgh International Film Festival, www.edfilmfest.org.uk
(GMcG)