A total of six EM Media co-financed features are receiving their UK or world premieres. All six were financed through EM Media’s ERDF investment fund which was secured in 2006.
- Donkey Punch dir Olly Blackburn
- A Complete History of My Sexual Failures dir Chris Waitt
- Mum & Dad dir Steven Sheil
- Crack Willow dir Martin Radich
- Better Things dir Duane Hopkins
- Summer dir Kenny Glenaan
Out of the slate of films from Production Company Warp X comes Olly Blackburn's debut feature Donkey Punch which receives its UK premiere on Friday 20 June and follows the mis-adventures of six young holidaymakers and looks set to provide thrills and shocks.
The festival will also showcase 22 documentary features including Chris Waitt’s Nottingham produced A Complete History of My Sexual Failures. This will receive its UK premiere on Thursday 19 June.
Nottingham filmmaker Steven Sheil will make his feature film debut with Mum & Dad which will screen within the Midnight Madness programme. Not for the faint-hearted the film promises a hearty dose of horror served up with an (un) healthy dose of wit. Mum and Dad screens at midnight on Saturday 21 June.
A new strand of films in the Edinburgh programme called Under the Radar will showcase potential cult movies. Martin Radich’s debut feature Crack Willow will feature within this section on Saturday 21 June.
Fresh from its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Nottingham produced Better Things, described by Edinburgh festival director as the most eagerly-awaited British debut of the year, will receive its UK premiere on Sunday 22 June.
Kenny Glenaan's Summer, written by Derbyshire writer Hugh Ellis and featuring actor Robert Carlyle also receives its world premiere on Sunday 22 June. The film shot on location in Bolsover and Bramley Vale last year.
Shane Meadows also makes a welcome return to the festival with the UK premiere of Somers Town. Meadows re-unites with This is England star Thomas Turgoose to further cement his place as a great British filmmaker.
Five of the features listed above are eligible for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film which was won last year by Control, the Nottingham filmed and EM Media co-financed biopic about Ian Curtis, fated singer with Joy Division. In 2006 the EM Media co-financed feature Brothers of the Head picked up the award. Will 2008 make it a hat-trick?
Debbie Williams, Chief Executive EM Media comments,
“We are absolutely thrilled that seven films from this region are premiering at Edinburgh. For EM Media to have six co-financed features in the official selection is an unprecedented achievement. From the Derbyshire filmed Summer, a poignant tale of love and friendship to Mum & Dad, the horror debut of Nottingham filmmaker Steven Sheil the East Midlands films being showcased in Edinburgh run the gamut of human emotions. We are delighted the festival has recognised the quality of the work being made in the region and are proud that the investments we have made through our ERDF investment fund have produced work that is once again being heralded as the Best of British film. We hope audiences across the UK will further support home grown talent by going to see the films when released at UK cinemas throughout this year.”
The Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from 18-29 June 2008. http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/
For further information contact Emily Lappin, Head of Communications at EM Media on 07966 439 902 or via emily.lappin@em-media.org.uk or Emma Hewitt via emma.hewitt@em-media.org.uk.
