EIFF announces Scottish film line-up for 2016

We already know that the 70th Edinburgh Film Festival will be bookended by new Scottish work. Opening night sees the world premiere of Jason Connery’s drama Tommy’s Honour, starring Peter Mullan, and the closer is Gillies Mackinnon’s remake of classic Scottish comedy Whisky Galore!, which stars roughly half of Scotland’s acting talent, from Gregor Fisher to James Cosmo to Kevin Guthrie, as well as comic Eddie Izzard. But today EIFF have revealed their full programme of home-grown features and short films screening for this year’s festival. 

We like the sound of Moon Dogs, a stylish coming-of-age tale following the misadventures of two teenage step-brothers (played by Jack Perry-Jones and Christy O’Donnell) on a road trip with Caitlin (Tara Lee), the girl who comes between them. Reports are the film makes great use of Scotland's landscape and its original soundtrack by The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe. We’re also intrigued by Macbeth Unhinged, a black and white modern-day retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy directed by Scots actor Angus Macfadyen.

We’re also keen to see the work of Ayrshire-born, Iceland-based Graeme Maley, a theatre director who’s bringing his first two feature films to the festival. First there’s Pale Star, described as a “dark, moody thriller,” and the similarly intriguing A Reykjavik Porno, described as a nordic neo-noir. Also taking us outside of Scotland is Steven Lewis Simpson’s Neither Wolf Nor Dog, which takes place on the winding roads of Native American country, and stars 97-year-old Lakota elder Chief Dave Bald Eagle.

Brian Cox, Rose Leslie and Dougray Scott

Some films with more familiar stars are heading to the festival. Dougray Scott appears in the apocalyptic thriller The Rezort, the latest from Outpost creator Steve Barker, and Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie reportedly shines alongside Hollywood heavyweight Ray Liotta in the comic family drama Sticky Notes, where she plays a struggling dancer striving to hit the big time in Los Angeles.

EIFF also confirm that Dundee native Brian Cox will be in attendance bringing two very different films to the festival: comedy The Carer, in which he stars alongside Anna Chancellor and Emilia Fox, and brooding western Forsaken, which stars father-son team Donald and Kiefer Sutherland and Demi Moore.

Edinburgh is one of the locations for The Correspondence, from acclaimed Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, while Edinburgh-based Spanish director Icíar Bollaín bringsThe Olive Tree, which was written by Ken Loach’s regular collaborator Paul Laverty, to EIFF.

Scottish Short Film at EIFF

As always, the most exciting Scottish talent will be on show in the short film programmes. We’re excited to revisit the deeply moving Isabella, winner of Best Scottish Short at Glasgow Short Film Festival, from Ross Hogg and Duncan Cowles, and Cat Bruce’s stunning stop-motion animation No Place Like Home.

Other shorts screening include Strawberry and Vanilla by Tracey Fearnehough and Holger Mohaupt, Transit Zone by Frederik Subei, Crowman by Duncan Nicoll, Dave by Garry J Marshall and Chris Watson, Grimm Street by Siri Rodnes, Spores by Richard and Frances Poet, The Rat King by Pavel Shepan, Meet Me by the Water by Raisah Ahmed, and David Cairns’ The Northleach Horror. There’s also a trio of animations from Edinburgh College of Art students: Illusions by Dominica Harrison, The Last Day from Muqing Shu, and Robert Duncan’s Record/Record.

Speaking of great animation, the Festival presents the first major retrospective of the endlessly inventive animation duo Whiterobot – aka Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson. Together they’ve collaborated on award-winning shorts like The Making of Longbird and Monkey Love Experiments, and each have won EIFF’s McLaren Award for Best British Animation in recent years. The opportunity to see all their work in one programme is not to be missed.

Chemikal Underground doc and Trainspotting gala

Other highlights look to be artist-filmmaker Henry Coombes' debut feature Seat of Shadow, and Niall McCann’s documentary Lost in France, which charts the rise of legendary Glasgow record label Chemikal Underground. Lost in France screens as part of two-day film and music event Sound + Vision, taking place at Summerhall over the first weekend of the festival, which will feature outdoor screenings alongside live sets from a collective of local bands.

There are also big screen galas of two Scottish favourites: Highlander and Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, which should be fresh in Edinburgh's mind as its sequel, T2, is creating much buzz in the city as shooting begins.

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EIFF takes place 15-26 June. Keep an eye on theskinny.co.uk/film for more announcements