ake my word for it. By far the best way to enjoy the lidinburgh International Film Festival is to attend first the lidinburgh lntemational Television Festival.
The imaginative desolation of the latter is a perfect primer. To witness httndreds of media professionals gathering to train their formidable minds upon the question of how to refresh the formats of programmes about how to buy a house in Spain. is an experience so insular and solipsistic that. by comparison. world cinema on a big screen is rapture. To watch the televisual aristocracy meet in the (icorge Hotel and. propelled by the narcissism of small difference. schmoo/e on the head of a pin. is a near death experience after which the l‘ilm liestival is a rebirth.
For those unwilling to register for this year‘s Television Festival (22—24 Aug). an act that would force you to then wait a year for the 200-1 lilm festival. in a bid to enhance the movie- going experience. what follows is a more routine consumer guide. It is gleaned from attending too many tilm festivals over too many years. and a long time ago being director of the one on Lothian Road. These rules were hard won and I share them in the reluctant hope that they are substantially ignored.
Rule I: This is surely obvious. but I‘ll say it anyway: don't buy tickets for anything with a big star in it. The films will be distributed anyway. next March or thereabouts. when it is chucking it down. Save it for then.
Rule 2: Go to everything from Iran. Denmark. the former
46 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE "~14 Aug 20.1;
Going for gold
My sort of Pick of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2003 by Mark Cousins.
Caucuses. (‘hina. Mexico. Russia or the entire continent of :\frica. It's like backing a horse. These places have better cinematic form at the moment. Take the only (‘hinese film at the HM" this year. for example. All 'Iimmrrmr's Purl/us: a gorgeous. austere work about young people drifting through post-industrial landscapes. lts director Yu l.ik Wai's major western cultural influence is the Mancunian post punk band Joy Division. He's made a film as pure as their best music. I haven't seen the Tunisian film The Bonk.st (If! Kai/mt). but two people I know A- one of whom has great taste. one of whom liked .‘Ililt’l'ft'tlll Beauty — loved it. Take Viktar l)ashuk. he makes documentaries in Belarus. They are rarely seen and as good as those of Juris l’odnieks (Soviets. Home/mull. If you have seen the latter's work you will be buying tickets already.
Regrettably'. l)ashuk's lilo/Mk 3 (use violates Rule 3 which is to avoid anything about serial killers. These are almost always awful. but lire/mks (‘usv is the exception to the rule. lt’s tempting to comment on the Festival‘s very good opening tilm lining Adam. at this point. but it would be wrong to give anything away.
Rule 4 is a similar. rather obvious. prohibition. Avoid anything with the words romantic and comedy in their description. limbrace your cynicism. Romcoms nowadays always seem so silly.
Rule 5 is suspended for HM" 2003. but is Usually this: be wary of lirench language tilms. We see too tnuch of the stuff