SCOTTISH actor Ewan McGregor will join Trainspotting co-star Robert Carlyle at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival for the screening of McGregor’s acclaimed portrayal of Jesus during his 40-day fast.
As well as showing Last Days in the Desert, the festival will feature a talk by McGregor about his career while Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell and former Bond girl Jane Seymour will be talking about their starring roles in Bereave, a movie about a terminally ill man and his missing wife.
Other highlights announced yesterday include the UK premiere of Asif Kapadia’s controversial documentary about troubled singer Amy Winehouse, a biopic of Beach Boys star Brian Wilson featuring Paul Dano and John Cusack and the international premiere of Maggie, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a tormented dad trying to cope as his daughter turns into a zombie.
Festival organisers hope to stage a live Skype interview with Schwarzenegger about the making of the low-budget movie.
Fresh from its world premiere in Cannes, animated Pixar sensation Inside Out is the family gala picture, while Jack Black’s latest comedy The D Train and the first showing of the English-language version of Under Milk Wood, starring Rhys Ifans and Charlotte Church, are also expected to be highlights at this year’s festival, beginning on Wednesday, June 17.
Under Milk Wood is one of two films that Ifans will present at the festival – his other offering will be Len and Company, where he plays a successful but unhappy music producer. Award-winning Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler, whose films include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Thomas Crown Affair, will also give a talk.
A total of 84 UK premieres will be unveiled at the festival including relationship drama 45 Years starring Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling, eagerly-awaited horror film The Hallow, romantic sci-fi thriller Brand New-U and Franny, which features a powerhouse performance from Richard Gere.
Running until Sunday, June 28, the festival will showcase 164 feature films from 36 countries including 24 world premieres, eight international premieres and 16 European premieres.
Scotland has its strongest showing at the festival for years with two Scottish films – The Legend of Barney Thomson, directed by Robert Carlyle, and new director Scott Graham’s Iona – opening and closing the event respectively.
World premieres include Hector starring Peter Mullan as an affable homeless man, Swung, the Glasgow-set adaptation of Ewan Morrison’s novel about Glasgow swingers and Grant McPhee’s Big Gold Dream tracking the rise of the Scottish indie music scene.
Former Dr Who star Karen Gillan is joining the Scottish strand with her directorial debut of short film Coward.
Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the festival showcased Scottish talent alongside some of the best of world cinema:
“The film festival attracts visitors to Edinburgh and Scotland, as well as giving local residents the opportunity to see wonderfully diverse and creative films on their doorstep.”
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