Ten films – from family-friendly titles to artists’ films – will be screened outdoors on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, August 19 and 20, as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF).
“Cinema Under the Stars” takes place in Edinburgh University’s Old College Quad. All screenings are ticketed, but people are asked to “pay what you can” – £2, £4 or £6 per film.
Kate Taylor, EIFF programme director, said: “With Cinema under the Stars we welcome Edinburgh audiences to a weekend of gorgeous, imaginative and uplifting films. We’re particularly excited to present previews of new feature films Scrapper, surely the most charming UK film of the year, and Let The Canary Sing, a film infused with infectious New York punk pop energy. Additionally we’ve got Oscar-winners, we’ve got cats, and we’ve got Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as lover assassins. Time to bust out the picnic blanket for a magical weekend.”
See what’s on and read about the films...
. Scrapper - director. Charlotte Regan (UK)
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Charlotte Regan’s highly-anticipated debut feature is a heartwarming drama about the reunion between a father and his young daughter. Charlotte Regan is an alumna of the EIFF Talent Lab 2018, and is coming back to present the film. Showing: Saturday August 19, 18:00 Photo: EIFF
. Let the Canary Sing - director Alison Ellwood (UK, USA)
"From the opening bars of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, this rousing documentary is a fascinating trip through the life and times of Cyndi Lauper, an immensely charismatic and constantly rebellious creative force. Over amazing footage of her working-class New York childhood and early downtown punk gigs, Lauper talks frankly and thoughtfully about the whirlwind of 1980s success, as well as her AIDS activism and her subsequent creative renaissance as an award-winning writer of musicals. Alison Ellwood’s new documentary repositions the singer not as a pop culture artefact but as an artist in a state of constant reinvention, and a life-long feminist who has always stood up for others. Prepare to be charmed ‘Time After Time’." Showing: Saturday August 19, 15:30 Photo: EIFF
9. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain - director Will Sharpe
"Benedict Cumberbatch plays the eponymous painter of wide-eyed cats, in this love letter to creativity and misunderstood genius. Director Will Sharpe’s magnificent ode to oddity will pull at the whiskers of your heart." Showing: Saturday August 19, 13:00 Photo: EIFF
10. Hero - director Zhang Yimou
"This big-screen action epic is a riot of colour and jaw-dropping fight sequences, and features a stirring soundtrack by Oscar®-winner Tan Dun – also composer of Buddha Passion, the opening concert of the Edinburgh International Festival." Showing: Sunday August 20, 17:00 Photo: EIFF