Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012: Shorts

Fortunately, a wide range of shorts are on offer to counter the amount of 180 min (and more) films at this year’s festival. Most are broken down into five “Short Films” sections with entries on the academic usefulness of the documentary genre, a folkloric collection of absurd pieces and profound explorations of the human psyche. There’s also something familiar for local audiences: a selection of Short Scottish Documentaries in partnership with the Scottish Documentary Institute. Homegrown talent captures the cobbled streets of Edinburgh through Chinese perspectives, a trip to the West coast on the hunt for a wild beast, and farther out to sea in search of the Glaswegian fishing industry. There are some Family Shorts and Youth Shorts for youngsters and groups, rounding off an altogether comprehensive look at the Scottish community and its cultural diversity.