I’m just back – goodie bag gripped greedily in paw – from this morning’s launch of the 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs in the Scottish capital from 16-27 June.
film buzz
sheila.johnston
At last, some good news for this beleaguered country: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, by the Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, took the Palme D'Or in Cannes tonight. Hailed as one of the most striking and unusual films in competition - and also the entry most in tune with the maverick spirit of the Jury President, Tim Burton - Uncle Boonmee is the story of a dying man who revisits scenes from his previous lives, as, inter alia, a buffalo and a princess and sets the seal on what was widely perceived to be a lacklustre year.
sheila.johnston
Cheering news for Brits in Cannes (always assuming anyone is actually able to travel there this year). Originally rumoured to be in line for the Critics' Week, a young British filmmaker, Alicia Duffy, has now secured an even better berth: her first feature has been selected by the Directors' Fortnight, the prestigious parallel (and rival) event to the main competition.
sheila.johnston
New films by Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Sophie Fiennes figure in the line-up of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, which was announced at a press conference in Paris this morning. As expected, Leigh's Another Year will vie for the Palme d'Or, the only British film to be selected. Frears's Tamara Drewe, based on the Guardian comic strip, plays out of competition, as does Oliver Stone's Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps and Woody Allen's London-set You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Also out of competition, Fiennes's Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, a film about the artist Anselm Kiefer, gets a special screening.
sheila.johnston
Making movies has never been cheaper. Learning how to make them is another matter altogether. Film courses abound, but they invariably cost many times more than, say, Marc Price claims he spent on Colin, his £45 zombie flick. Mindful of this, the East End Film Festival is offering impecunious would-be producers a chance to learn the business for a mere tenner. Subsidised by Skillset, the one-day course takes place on 28 April and consists of "training, mentoring, peer review and networking". There are just 10 places, so hurry while stocks last. The application form can be downloaded here and the deadline is 16 April. The EEFF itself kicks off on 22 April.
sheila.johnston
Now in its ninth year, London's East End Film Festival today announced its programme at a reception at the heart of its manor, at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. The Festival kicks off on 22 April with a preview screening of Barney Platts-Mills' cult 1969 film Bronco Bullfrog, set in Stratford, East London and starring local kids, prior to its re-release this summer.
Jasper Rees
Is this a good idea? It has been announced that Ralph Fiennes is to begin work as a director. Not that he is forsaking his more familiar job description in the mean time. For his debut behind the camera, he will also be in front of the camera in the modest, unchallenging part of Coriolanus. Yes, Fiennes is returning to a role that he first played on stage 10 years ago.
josh.spero
Variety, the most venerable entertainment trade journal in America, is sacking its chief film and theatre critics, including the man for whose film reviews many people read the magazine, Todd McCarthy.
sheila.johnston
Kathryn Bigelow made Hollywood history last night at the 82nd Academy Awards by becoming the first woman to be named Best Director for The Hurt Locker, which also won for Best Picture. Her brilliant, low-budget Iraq war drama was the big winner at the ceremony, bagging six statuettes as against three Oscars for the co-favourite, Avatar, the sci-fi extravaganza directed by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron. The four acting awards were utterly unsurprising and it was a lean night indeed for the Brits, although the respected costume designer Sandy Powell - previously a laureate for Shakespeare in Love and The Aviator - won her third Oscar for The Young Victoria. A full list of nominees follows below.
theartsdesk
Read theartsdesk's reviews and interviews for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award-winners.