.J. i'gffff.
aring to be
ifferent
\en without her bright beacon of red hair. it would be diffiettlt to miss Tilda Swinton at this year‘s lidinhurgh
International l"ilm l-‘estiyal. linjoying her
inaugural year as patron. alongside the Venerable Sir Sean Connery. you can take your pick when it comes to seeing her. On stage. she will disetiss her career - from Derek Jarman's intise yia Dayid Maeken.de\ Young .‘ltlUHI and Jim .larmuseh‘s Bio/mi I’lowvrs to Disney doyenne 7— in what is sure to be one of the liestiyal highlights. On screen she will appear in inky blaek-and-white. in Hungarian auteur Béla ’l‘arr‘s moody existential noir The Man From London. proof that she can still do hardcore anhotise with the best of them. And sueh is her commitment to the cause. don‘t be surprised if she helps you book your tiekets. sells you ice cream and ttshers you to your seat as well.
From her 1980 debut as the prostitute Lena in .larman‘s' (‘ann'uggio to her breakthrough turn in Sally Potter's Orlando and beyond. Swinton has defiantly remained a pin-up for the British independent film scene. ‘l'm constantly being told that I don‘t haye a eareer.‘ she laughs. ‘But I
48 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 9—76 Aug "
do haye a life and that's what fascinates me.' lney'itahly Hollywood got wind and the :\—lisl
Leonardo DiCaprio ('I'lu' Bt’tlt'lll. 'l‘om ('ruise (until/u Sky) and Keanu Reeyes ((-Ullylrllllfllt’l among them — eame lloeking. 'liyeryone wants to work with her.‘ says Mike Mills. who directed 2005‘s 'l'ltiun/is‘iu'km'. a project about Ritalin—
addieted youngsters that Swinton lent her
support to for years until it got financed.
Yet. in a twist that not men she eould’ye predicted. at 46. Swinton has suddenly heeome bankable in l-lollywood. after her turn as the
White Witeh in the Disney liye-aetion \‘L‘l'sltlli of
The Lion. Illt’ llitt‘li um] I/It' llill't/l‘U/H’ helped the film to a $738 million global haul.
‘I realised I did something Very. yery eleyerf she explains. looking eyery hit the moyie star in designer shades. Actually it wasn‘t really eleyet‘ but we'll pretend I did it on purpose.‘ Referring to a plot to turn ten-year-old Narnia fans into eineastes. she cites a recent trip to Mexico (‘ity 'There were these big crowds of street children .
. I don't know where they get to see Narnia but they're totally era/y about it. We always joke they ‘re all hardcore Derek Jarman fansl'
Clockwise from main pic: Tilda Swinton in Young Adam; The Beach; Thumbsucker; Broken Flowers; The Man From
London; and The Lion. the
Witch and the Wardrobe
Hollywood might be calling but EIFF patron Tilda Swinton hasn't deserted the arthouse cause. James Mottram catches up with her