Edinburgh, 8/20.

"One of the great strengths of LYNCH, the new documentary about David Lynch is that the film's innovative style perfectly meshes with Lynch's own aesthetic," writes Nick Dawson for Filmmaker.

"(It is also fittingly mysterious that the film's director is unknown, as the director's credit goes to one 'blackANDwhite,' an anonymous figure who some people believe is in fact Lynch himself.)... Two other American docs playing arguably do not quite share the elusive blackANDwhite's ability to frame his story in such an apt manner. Marlo Poras's Run, Granny, Run (about a lovable grandmother, Doris 'Granny D' Haddock, who runs for Senate) and Rob VanAlkemade's What Would Jesus Buy? (which focuses on ranting Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping choir) are in the current vein of docs following in Michael Moore's footsteps by approaching serious, political subjects from a quirky, semi-comic angle." Also: DW Griffith's Intolerance and Catherine Martin's in the cities.

"The decision to move the Edinburgh International Film Festival away from its traditional home in August during the omnipresent Edinburgh Festival is a tacit admission that the film festival has become a non-event," writes Kaleem Aftab in the Independent. "Even, dare I say it, a bit of a bore, as the festival organisers have struggled to get innovative pictures or bona fide stars to come to the Scottish capital. Of all the festivals that take place in the city, the film festival has for some years been the most dismal."

The Observer's Jason Solomons is far more upbeat: "In a world now teeming with more festivals than there are days in the year, Edinburgh is marking itself out as hip, bright and cheeky." He offers quick takes on Hallam Foe, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Twisted Sister, Planet B-Boy, And When Did You Last See Your Father?, Sugar House and Year of the Dog. Also, festival gossip and Carole Cadwalladr talks with Jim Threapleton about Extraordinary Rendition, about "a politics lecturer who is abducted on the streets of London, flown out of the country, interrogated at one of the CIA's so-called 'Black Sites,' tortured, and eventually dumped back in this country, where he's forced to try and pick up the pieces of his life."

Neil Young's been posting reviews from the festival.

For the Guardian, Tom Hughes talks with Paddy Considine about directing his first film, Dog Altogether. Also: "Award-winning actress Samantha Morton will make a rare and candid appearance at the Edinburgh Film Festival today when she takes to the stage in conversation about her career," reports Paul Kelbie.

The London Times is tracking goings on in Edinburgh in a special section and, of course, the Scotsman's got a blog going.

Online listening tip. The Observer's Jason Solomons roams the festival, interviewing people left and right for Film Weekly.

Posted by dwhudson at August 20, 2007 10:56 AM