The sweet relief of September! After a hectic month of Fringe shows and festival antics in the Scottish capital, it’s perhaps time to seek sanctuary in the pleasantly dimmed confines of the Filmhouse theatre. For those on the west coast, there’s a bumper programme on offer from the GFT as well; here are some choice morsels from the month ahead for both.
Joanna Hogg / UK, USA / 2019 / 120 mins
This semi-autobiographical tale tells the story of a young female director just starting out on her career, only to have her professional rug pulled from under her when she falls for the wrong man. Honor Swinton Byrne (daughter of Tilda) takes up the lead role, with her mother is on hand to provide some solid support acting chops alongside Tom Burke and Richard Ayoade.
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Friday 6 September 2019
@ GFT from Friday 30 August 2019
Adrian Noble / UK / 2019 / 92 mins
Having already played one legendary British painter in the form of JMW Turner, Timothy Spall tries his hand at it again by taking on the mantle of LS Lowry. Hen-pecked by his bedridden but overbearing mother, Lowry struggles to break free and express his own identity through his chosen art form. The film featured at the closing gala of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Monday 9 September 2019
@ GFT from Friday 13 September 2019
Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov / Republic of Macedonia / 2019 / 87 mins
It’s not too often that cinema from the Republic of Macedonia strays to Scottish shores, so it’s all the more exciting that this tale of a solitary but satisfied beekeeper is finding a temporary home at the Filmhouse. All seems well in Honeyland until an itinerant family of rabble-rousers and trouble-makers move in next door, with drastic repercussions for our apiarist heroine.
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Friday 13 September 2019
Lulu Wang / USA / 2019 / 100 mins
After the aging matriarch of a Chinese family is diagnosed with cancer, everyone decides to keep the secret from her. Instead, an impromptu family reunion is organised so that each member can surreptitiously bid farewell to their beloved grandmother, summoning the Chinese-born but American-raised Billi to her homeland in the process. Based on a true story (of a lie).
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Friday 20 September 2019
@ GFT from Friday 20 September 2019
John Crowley / USA / 2019 / 159 mins
Donna Tartt waltzed off with the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her enthralling novel about a 13-year-old boy who accidentally steals a priceless painting on the same day that his mother is killed in a tragic explosion at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A faithful adaptation in the capable hands of director John Crowley and actors Ansel Elgort and Nicole Kidman.
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Friday 27 September 2019
@ GFT from Friday 27 September 2019
Garry Keane, Andrew McConnell / Ireland, Palestine / 2019 / 90 mins
Given that the vast majority of Britons’ only exposure to Gaza are the war-torn images shown on our television sets, it’s unsurprising the place is synonymous with conflict and chaos. But what about the people who actually live there? What do they do when they’re not under perpetual siege? This touching examination of everyday residents of the territory brings a human side to the story.
@ Edinburgh Filmhouse from Friday 27 September 2019