EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL LINES UP GENRE GEMS
Edinburgh International Film Festival’s (EIFF) upcoming landmark 70th edition offers a programme packed full of genre gems from across the worlds of fantasy and horror film. With the Festival set to open this month on the 15th of June, its unprecedented genre offerings include a number of World, European, and UK Premieres alongside reimagined old classics, while cult auteur Kevin Smith is set to attend for a highly-anticipated exclusive In-Person Event.
This year’s Night Moves strand, the Festival’s annual journey into the dangerous, chilling, and often bloody side of world cinema, will once again prove the first port of call for genre fans with a typically eclectic bill. Promising late night screenings dedicated to scream-inducing horror and fantasy adventure, this year’s offering includes the European Premiere of horror anthology HOLIDAYS, containing twisted tales from some of the genre’s leading names such as Kevin Smith, Gary Shore, and Nicholas McCarthy. Fans can also expect the World Premiere of Nirpal Bhogal’s homegrown horror FIRSTBORN, and a rare screening of Eiichi Yamamoto’s restored otherworldly 1973 anime BELLADONNA OF SADNESS co-presented by EIFF and Scotland Loves Anime.
Other UK Premieres included in the strand include: Nils Gaup’s THE LAST KING, a swords and skis epic set against a backdrop of breathtaking Scandinavian scenery; Anna Biller’s homage to ‘60s occult sexploitation THE LOVE WITCH; Wu Ershan’s tomb-raiding thrill-ride MOJIN: THE LOST LEGEND; Steve Barker’s zombie-baiting bloodbath THE REZORT; and Japanese sex comedy THE VIRGIN PSYCHICS from Sion Sono.
A number of further acclaimed genre titles will be making their UK Premieres at the EIFF over the course of the Festival across various programming strands. Agyness Deyn leads a fantastic ensemble cast in complex dystopian thriller THE WHITE KING from directors Alex Helfrecht and Jörg Tittel; it is joined in the Best of British strand by Euros Lyn’s THE LIBRARY SUICIDES (Y LLYFRGELL), a Welsh-language film that sees twin librarians plotting bloody revenge from their desks; and in the Directors’ Showcase, South Korea’s Yeon Sang-ho debuts his zombie apocalypse thrill-ride SEOUL STATION. This year’s European Perspectives boasts the UK Premiere of Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s THE LURE, an anarchic musical fairytale that sees two beautiful and bloodthirsty mermaids take to the stage of a Warsaw burlesque club, and sitting within the American Dreams strand, Brit Nick Love’s AMERICAN HERO stars horror icon Stephen Dorff as a hard-partying superhero who vows to change his ways and pay his fairly significant debt to society by eliminating crime in run-down New Orleans.
A previous winner of the festival’s Audience Award, Kevin Smith will participate in an In Person Event to discuss an acclaimed career that has brought cult classics such as Clerks, Red State, and Dogma from his imagination to the big screen. Smith will be joined on-stage by daughter Harley Quinn Smith, the star of his latest madcap comedy YOGA HOSERS, which is set to have its UK Premiere at the festival.
Mark Adams, EIFF Artistic Director, said: “We are delighted to present a selection of films, old and new, that will thrill, chill and entertain in equal measure.”
Classic film fans can enjoy the World Premiere of the newly-restored 4K version of HIGHLANDER, revelling in the tale of an immortal Scottish swordsman doing battle with an age-old opponent. The Kurgan himself, star Clancy Brown, will be in attendance as the Scottish favourite celebrates its 30th anniversary. Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY will also be screened in original widescreen 70mm format in a nod to the year’s landmark edition.
Further classics on the bill include a host of stellar comic book adaptations populating the POW!!! LIVE ACTION COMIC STRIP ADAPTATIONS: THE FIRST GENERATION strand including: Roger Vadim’s psychedelic sci-fi fantasy BARBARELLA; Leslie H Martinson’s colourful BATMAN: THE MOVIE; Mario Bava’s twisted superhero tale DANGER: DIABOLIK; Robert Altman’s idiosyncratic POPEYE; classic Blaxploitation FRIDAY FOSTER; Mike Hodges’ space opera FLASH GORDON, which pitted the titular football star against cosmic destroyer Ming the Merciless; Cult maestro Corrado Farina’s 1973 BABA YAGA, a surreal story of a lesbian witch and a camera that kills; rarely seen cult genre gems GOLGO 13, starring veteran actor Ken Takakura, legendary Manga story LONE WOLF AND CUB and singular pop-art riff on popular British newspaper strip MODESTY BLAISE from Joseph Losey, and starring Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde.
Younger viewers making their first forays into horror can receive a crash-course in the genre with Film Fest Junior’s age-appropriate spine-tinglers THE CANTERVILLE GHOST from Yann Samuell and Kenneth Kainz’s fantasy epic THE SHAMER’S DAUGHTER, both making their UK Premieres. Finally, for those that like their chills in smaller chunks, David Cairn’s short THE NORTHLEACH HORROR packs plenty of frights into its quarter of an hour running time, and will feature within the SIGN LANGUAGE shorts collection.
