THIS IS A COUNTRY WHERE BIG BROTHER IS THE MOST POPULAR TV SHOW
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As another Bnburgh IYemational Film Festival finally
comes to a close, writer Kaleem Aftab offers some advice.
he (illlh lllllll\L‘l'\;ll’} ol the Iill‘il'~ xhould ha\ e
heen a eauxe l‘or eelehralion. But the l'exti\al
that ean proudl} make the grandioxe hoaxl lo heing the oldexl eonlinttoux running lilm l‘exlixal in the \xorld hax xeen ilx high xloek in the international lexti\a| calendar l'all. 'l‘here xeemed to he lexx highl} anlieipated lortheoming releaxex. hardl} an} international iournaIixtx eomhined \xilh a general loxx ol' rax/matan. ll \xould he ludieroux to expect Iidinhurgh lo eompele \\ith the hig three .v\—l.ixl l'exli\alx ('annex. Berlin and \eniee. .\'or ean an} hlame he laid at the door ol‘ artixtie direetor Shane I)aiiielxen‘x attempt to prornole Britixh lilmmakerx: the let doun ix the numher ol' poor lilmx. So \\h;tl ehangex ean ineoming artixtie direelor Hannah .\Ie(iill make to a l‘exli\al that ix \xorth_\ ol itx xpeeial plaee in hixtor_\ 2’
()ne of the perkx ol‘ \xriling for The [N ix trolling the globe mo\ing l'rom one lilm l‘exlixal to another. Reeenll). the eireuil hax heeome inereaxingl} eompetiln e. 'l‘hix )L‘tii‘ \eniee ix onl_\ haxing \torld premierex in ilx eompelilion. and ax lidinhurgh eomex .luxl hel‘ore the Italian l‘exti\a| il hax no ehanee ol‘ gelling thexe lilmx. But l.oearno and 'I'oronlo lilm l‘exli\al.x. \xhieh lake plaee around the xame time ax the IilHi ha\ e gone from xtrength to xtrength dexpile the more \enomoux eompelilion lor the top lilmx. The problem Iidinhurgh .xeemx to ha\e ix one of. eonl‘idenee. l.oearno ix ximilar in xi/e to lidinhurgh
lllld IltiItII} atI\L‘l‘lixex ile‘II' ltx lhe Ik‘xl I‘L‘\II\ZII tilllxidc ol' the .l\—l.ixl and 'l‘oronto getx atta} \xith xa_\ing that il'x the hexl mainxlream IL‘xllHlI in North Ameriea. lidinhurgh. al the xame time. hax loxt ilx elaim to heing the hexl l'exlixal in Britain. to the unapologetiealI} eommereial London l-ilm l-'exli\a|. \xilh (‘amhridge alxo non prmiding a ehallenge. Iidinhurgh hax tried to poxilion ilxell' ax the l'exli\al lhal unemerx neu talent. Indeed. the ehoiee ol \torld cinema that Mr I)anie|xen hax gone tor hax ol'len heen admirable and eeleelie. l'nl‘ortunalel} lhix ix a eountr) \\ here lire [fro/her ix the moxl popular TV \Il(l\\ and Heat maga/ine l'liex l'rom xhel\ex. .\'e\\ talent doexn‘l xloke puhlie inlerext in the \\a_\ that eommereial lilmx like (Wild II and laxt )L‘lit'K .S'ei'l'iirlt‘ doex.
\Vorxe xtill. thix _\ear'x programme did not thi/arrel} l eontain luo ol‘ the moxl anticipated .Seotlixh/Brilixh lilmx ol the _\ear Andrea .'\rno|d'x (ilaxgim-xel ('annex enlr} Ru! It’om/ tpieluredi and Rex in .\IeI)onald'x eagerl} anticipated The [ml King of .S‘l'ril/tiiill. 'I‘hexe omixxionx. for \\ halex er the reaxon. hax e a huge impact on the imprexxion of the l‘ilm l‘exli\al. The film l'exti\al needx to lirml} exlahlixh a unique xelling point and he hraxh and hra\ e in ilx marketing.
EIFF continues at various venues until Sun 27 Aug.
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
it Taxi Driver For the second week running the new print of Scorsese’s seminal 1976 film holds the top spot. See review, page 27. Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Wed 30 Aug—Sun 3 Sep. * Terkel in Trouble Weird. filthy and funny Danish cartoon about the woes of a nerdy teenager and his dysfunctional family gets a UK voice/makeover from Adrian Edmondson, Bill Bailey. and Johnny Vegas. See review, page 26. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Showcase, Glasgow from Fri 1 Sep.
* Rebecca Lush new print of Hitchcock's gloriously creepy Du Maurier adaptation. See picture caption, page 27. Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 7 Sep.
* A Scanner Darkly Superb adaptation of Philip K Dick’s great novel from Richard Linklater. General release.
=I= Viva Zapaterol Sabina Guzzanti's ferociously funny documentary deals with her own ill-fated television show, RAlot. The show featured comedy sketches which satirised the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. GFT, Glasgow, Mon 28 8 Tue 29 Aug only.
* Harsh Times Vicious and thrilling indictment of young working class militarily-educated urban American youth in this Sidney Lumet-ian social thriller directed by the writer of Training Day. General release.
* This Sporting Life This excellent 1963 kitchen sink drama starring Richard Harris kicks off a short season of films by the great Lindsay Anderson. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh on Wed 6 Sep and Thu 7 Sep only.
* The Exterminating Angel Lovely DVD re-release of Luis Bunuel's wonderfully surreal 1961 bourgeoisie party drama. See review, page 28. Out Mon 28 Aug (Arrow Films).
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