THE Edinburgh International Film Festival had one of the most intriguing line-ups in many a year, from soulful dramas to extreme horrors that came primed to shock unsuspecting audiences. There was also a great showing for female filmmakers – long may that continue. I saw plenty of films in my 12th year attending but here are my highlights.

Astronaut
Richard Dreyfuss turns in an endearing lead performance in this warm hug of an aspirational drama all about an elderly widower and retired civil engineer who, not long after moving into a care home, enters a competition to win a trip to space. Ostensibly it’s like Willy Wonka and the Rocketship but for all its conforming to expectations plot wise, there’s something sincere and welcoming about this small-scale charmer with admirable ideas that range from our place in the universe to what it means to seize opportunities in life, no matter how late in the day they may come along. If you’ve got a high tolerance for sentimentality, which it wears on its spacesuit sleeve with pride, there’s an affecting journey to be had.

The Black Forest
The unravelling of a seemingly idyllic family holiday and all the skin-crawlingly uncomfortable truths that come with it is perfectly captured in this impressive second feature from writer-director Ruth Platt which follows two dysfunctional families who meet up for a break in Germany’s iconic wilderness. What it does most strikingly is illuminate the barriers that can so often form between people, from the different worlds of the children enjoying their holiday oblivious to their parents woes to the smallest of actions or omissions of truth coming back to haunt the so-called grown-ups of the situation. Platt creates a real sense of naturalism, to the point where it often feels like a documentary, which makes the emerging troubles and difficult home truths hidden behind pleasant facades hit even harder.

Cronofobia
The translated term chronophobia refers to “the persistent and often irrational fear of the future or the fear of passing time”. It’s a fittingly intriguing title for this unpredictable and atmospheric Italian-language drama about two lost souls – one a mysterious travelling salesman just passing through, the other a grieving woman with a penchant for screaming her pain away next to noisy passing trains – who find solace in a chance encounter that they make into a regular thing. It’s enigmatic almost to a fault at times but one that nevertheless works hard at conjuring a soulful quality in a seemingly ice cold and detached world, its slow-burn narrative rewarding patience with two believably-rounded central characters navigating an unconventional relationship.

The Dead Don’t Die
No-one makes films like Jim Jarmusch – they’re certainly not for everyone. Here he casts his satirical eye on a genre we’ve seen done in pretty much every way possible by now – the overcrowded zombie movie. A star-studded cast that includes everyone from Bill Murray and Adam Driver to Iggy Pop and Tilda Swinton as a Scottish sword-wielding mortician are clearly having a blast, playing the residents of a small American town suddenly plagued by the undead. If you’re in tune with the ultra-dry, self-reflective wit and the joy of just hanging out with idiosyncratic characters, then it’s an absolute blast.

Gwen
This intensely disquieting period horror is set in the stark remoteness of 19th-century Wales and centres on the eponymous 17-year-old (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) who lives with her troubled mother (played by the always brilliant Maxine Peake) and younger sister. One day the family start noticing strange happenings around their small isolated farm, including a mysterious dark shape lurking outside at night and their sheep mysteriously being slaughtered, which leads to mistrust within their community. It’s an impressive debut by TV and short-film director William McGregor that keeps you on your toes with well-timed but not overused jump scares, an unsettling atmosphere and an inability to get a grasp on what’s real and what may be a product of the characters’ disturbed imaginations. A must-see for fans of macabre horror.

Ode to Joy
It’s hard to find a rom-com that brings something new to the table but that’s exactly what this hugely enjoyable, quick-witted film does. The concept is as high as they come, centring on Martin Freeman’s put-upon librarian who suffers from a condition known as cataplexy, a form of narcolepsy, which results in sudden bouts of paralysis whenever he feels strong emotions, particularly the titular joy. This causes issues when he meets and falls for a beautiful woman named Francesca (Deadpool’s Morena Baccarin). It’s a brilliant conceit that leads the way for plenty of genuinely funny set-pieces surrounding the difficulties of daily life and, of course, the world of dating. The script is legitimately clever and well-written, putting equal weight on the rom and com of its genre, and somehow finding a way to get big heartfelt laughs without feeling exploitative.

Driven
It’s hard to believe that the story of John DeLorean, designer of the car that would be cemented into legend with the Back to the Future series, hasn’t been given the big-screen treatment before now. Our way into it is through a pilot (played rather brilliantly by Jason Sudeikis) who, after being caught transporting cocaine, gets roped into being an FBI informant and eventually ingratiates himself into the life of the slick-talking DeLorean himself (played with effortless charm by Lee Pace). We may have seen the “snitch in way over his head story” done many times before but what this lacks in originality it makes up for by just being damn entertaining at what it does, confidently navigating with intrigue and suspense the various twists and turns of a true story that’s more than meets the eye.

Schemers
This vibrant exploration of the late ‘70s Dundee music scene, specifically the early life of promoter and producer Dave Maclean, was one of the most purely enjoyable films of the whole festival. It follows a young and plucky band promoter who, along with a couple of good pals, decides to punch above his weight by booking major bands as a way to pay off debt to a dangerous local gangster. It’s got the same sparkling and energetic glint in its eye as Trainspotting, while maintaining a real sense of fun, swagger and a genuine reverence for having a good time to music. It’s worth watching for Conor Berry’s star-making turn as the kind of aspirational scallywag we can laugh both with and at and ultimately root for.