Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010: My Picks

It's that time of year again, where Edinburgh becomes a hub of even more activity and tourists than normal. It's festival season and it begins with the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which for the first time, I have managed to secure tickets to all the shows I want to see....and I'm kind of excited.

The shows I will be attending are: The Illusionist Sylvain Chomet / UK, France / 2010 / 83 mins Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin, Jean-Claude Donda “Delightful ... thrilling ... a love letter to Scotland and Edinburgh in particular.” – Leslie Felperin, Variety.

Gravity Maximilian Erlenwein / Germany / 2009 / 96 mins Fabian Hinrichs , Jürgen Vogel, Nora von Waldstätten Startlingly bold psychological drama – with an ultraviolent twist.

Jackboots On Whitehall Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry / UK / 2010 / 97 mins Ewan McGregor, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson, Alan Cumming Winston Churchill hides out in lawless Scotland, as an all-star cast voices an alternative animated history of WWII.

Mr Nice Bernard Rose / UK / 2010 / 120 mins Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, David Thewlis, Luis Tosár, Elsa Pataky, Omid Djalili Rhys Ifans gives the performance of a lifetime in this wild biopic of the infamous Howard Marks.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? Werner Herzog / USA, Germany / 2009 / 90 mins Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Udo Kier, Michael Peña, Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif, Irma P. Hall, Loretta Devine

Werner Herzog directs, David Lynch produces. Who better to co-pilot a journey into the unknown?

Outcast Colm McCarthy / UK, Ireland / 2009 / 92 mins Ian Whyte, Nial Bruton, Hanna Stanbridge, Kate Dickie, James Nesbitt “Honest and true … peculiar and disturbing. An excellent film. See it at all costs.” – Harry Knowles, aintitcool.com

The People vs George Lucas Alexandre O Philippe / UK, USA / 2010 / 97 mins They gave him their love, their money and their obsessive online parodies. He gave them ... the prequels.