Wrap-up

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's hotly tipped debut, Amores Perros, scooped the Best Film award on the closing day of the 54th Edinburgh International Film Festival. As expected, Billy Elliot (screened at Cannes as Dancer)took the Audience Award for best film. However, Paul Pawlikowski's feature The Last Resort surprised critics by scooping the prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best British feature, beating two films rumoured to win: One Life Stand and The Lowdown. The closing gala film, Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love, played at Edinburgh's Odeon, and the festival finished in style with a lavish 'smart-sixties' theme party at the Royal College of Art. However, there must be a curse on this festival's galas… After the film projector broke down during Dancer in the Dark, a fire alarm was set off during the closing gala, forcing revellers onto the streets for half an hour.

Easily the most talked about film of the festival, Amores Perros from Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, has been described as Mexico's answer to Pulp Fiction. Three interconnecting stories depict modern-day life in Mexico City combining gritty, non-glamorised realism, a morality tale and a psychological thriller. Billy Elliot, the story of a boy from a mining community in the north of England who decides he wants to be a ballet dancer, also enjoyed a strong critical and audience reception. The Last Resort, which made it's world premiere at Edinburgh is a beautifully-told tale about a Russian asylum seeker who settles in an English seaside resort with her son. As always, there was some surprise at the films that missed out, as many expected May Miles Thomas' self-financed debut One Life Stand, staring Billy Elliot's Gary Lewis, to win a prize.

Other 'buzz films' of the festival included Andrew Dominik's Chopper, which tells of Australian gangster Mark Brandon Read's violent rampages through the underworld of 80s Melbourne. Marc Singer's powerful documentary Dark Days gained interest with its New York's homeless in stark and grainy black and white to a DJ Shadow soundtrack. Crane World, from Argentina was described by some critics as the best Argentinian film ever. In addition, profile films such as Timecode, Miss Julie, Dancer in the Dark and House of Mirth received positive responses.

While some press bemoaned the absence of many of the celebrities promised, there was a good turn out from the UK industry, with Emily Watson, Robert Carlisle, Julie Walters, Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan, Mike Figgis, Lynne Ramsay, Rachel Weisz, Damon Albarn (lead singer of Blur) turning up as well as international figures Paul Verhoeven, Carter Burwell and Wong Kar Wai.

In previous years, Edinburgh has hosted NBX, a film industry networking and training event to coincide with the main festival. This year, however, NBX was replaced by Film UK, which offered both seminars from leading figures and matchmaking events to connect producers with acquisitions executives. One person who appeared to benefit from this was James Rogan, at the festival to sell the debut feature he made when he was 18 on Super 16mm. Supposedly the youngest director ever to get a feature entered into Edinburgh (albeit only to the videotech), Rogan is a name to keep watching, and a testament to the importance of Edinburgh as a networking event.

Lizzie Francke and Ginnie Atkinson should be pleased with the success of this year's festival. Industry turnout was excellent, with many saying no other UK event matched it for such attendance. Likewise the presence of talent was decent, although not a strong as last year when Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery and Renne Russo appeared. Most important, of course, is the films, and judging by the numbers of people returning positive audience voting slips, they would appear to have succeeded in this.

FilmFestivals.com reporters
Nic Wistreich and James MacGregor

Dancer in the Dark, In the Mood for Love, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Timecode