A Trainspotting reunion, a Michael Sheen UFO conspiracy drama, and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex are all on the cards at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The fest has unveiled the full lineup for its 79th edition, running from Aug. 13-19 in the Scottish capital, which boasts sessions with Ewan McGregor, Kenneth Branagh, prolific U.S. producer Christine Vachon and documentarian Ken Burns. In total, 38 new feature films will screen in Edinburgh and 21 will earn world premieres — 10 of which are competing for the The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence.
Following the previously announced opening night film, Louis Paxton’s debut feature from Sundance The Incomer, Edinburgh director Paul Ridd and fest producer Emma Boa continue to pride themselves on balancing emerging voices in cinema with established stars through their world premieres, international and U.K. premieres, and out-of-competition strand. Also already confirmed was the closing night film, the world premiere of Louise Lockwood’s documentary Bel, about Kenyan-Scottish musician Beldina Odenyo.
This year’s competition selection comprises ten feature-length world premieres, with the winning filmmaker awarded £50,000 to support their future projects. They are: Lindsay Ryan’s comedy debut Capsized, starring Rhys Ifans, about a houseboat holiday thrown into disarray; Thom Lunshof’s feature debut First Zone in which a woman navigates a flooded and desolate post-apocalyptic landscape; Paul Wright’s psychological portrait Mission with George MacKay; and Simon Rynink’s 1999-set Out There starring Michael Sheen, who joins a gang of misfits to uncover a UFO conspiracy in a sleepy Welsh town.
