Edinburgh International Film Festival Announces Judges for Festival Awards - Jim Broadbent, Elliott Gould, Gerald Peary, Ewen Bremner & More

Today the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) announced 2012's Michael Powell Award Competition Jury and the four other juries who will deliberate over the Festival's seven awards. Two of the jurors will also be the subjects of In-Person events that have been newly added to the EIFF programme. Jim Broadbent, Elliott Gould, Gerald Peary and Ewen Bremner are among those chosen to judge awards.

Chair of 2012's three-member Michael Powell Award Competition Jury is Academy Award® winner and beloved actor Jim Broadbent (ARTHUR CHRISTMAS; THE IRON LADY). Joining him on the Jury will be Japanese actress and producer Kiki Sugino (HOSPITALITÉ; MAGIC AND LOSS) and Tiina Lokk, founder and director of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The jury will present awards for Best British Feature Film and Best Performance in a British Feature Film.

Jim Broadbent commented: "It's very exciting to be Chair of the Michael Powell Jury. I have always had the most brilliant of times at the Edinburgh Festival and I'm sure the Film Festival will be equally stimulating; and I relish the opportunity to see such a great range of films in such special company."

Named in homage to one of Britain's most original filmmakers and inaugurated in 1990, the Michael Powell Award is one of the most prestigious film awards in the UK, rewarding imagination and creativity in British filmmaking. The last winner of the award was Nick Whitfield for SKELETONS in 2010, when the Jury also awarded David Thewlis the Award for Best Performance in a British Film for MR NICE. The nominees for 2012's Michael Powell Award are: BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO (Peter Strickland); DAY OF THE FLOWERS (John Roberts); FLYING BLIND (Katarzyna Klimkiewicz); FUTURE MY LOVE (Maja Borg); THE IMPOSTER (Bart Layton); LIFE JUST IS (Alex Barrett); ONE MILE AWAY (Penny Woolcock); PUSHER (Luis Prieto); SHADOW DANCER (James Marsh) and SMALL CREATURES (Martin Wallace). British films competing for the Michael Powell Award will include, for the first time, documentaries contending alongside narrative films.

The International Feature Competition Jury will be chaired by actor Elliott Gould (FRED; OCEAN'S ELEVEN). The Jury also includes independent producer and former Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Programme Director Julietta Sichel and multi-award winning filmmaker Lav Diaz, whose latest film, FLORENTINA HUBALDO, CTE, will screen at EIFF in the Philippine New Wave strand.

The International Feature Competition, supported by Innis & Gunn, hosts a selection of outstanding new films from around the world and also includes, for the first time, documentary films alongside narrative films. The nominees for the Best International Feature Award are: Clarissa Campolina and Helvécio Marins Jr's GIRIMUNHO; Mao Mao's HERE, THEN; Anka Sasnal and Wilhelm Sasnal's IT LOOKS PRETTY FROM A DISTANCE; David Zellner's KID-THING; Yeon Sang-ho's THE KING OF PIGS; Alexandre O Philippe's THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PAUL THE PSYCHIC OCTOPUS; Maite Alberdi's THE LIFEGUARD; Mania Akbari's ONE.TWO.ONE; Gastón Solnicki's PAPIROSEN; Oskar Alegria's THE SEARCH FOR EMAK BAKIA; Jang Kun-jae's SLEEPLESS NIGHT; Miguel Gomes' TABU; Dan Sallitt's THE UNSPEAKABLE ACT and A WOMAN'S REVENGE by Rita Azevedo Gomes. The winner of the award in 2010 was Ryan Piers Williams' THE DRY LAND.

The inaugural Student Critics Jury Award will be deliberated by a jury of three aspiring film critics who will work with two established critics as mentors across the duration of the Festival to develop their writing and critical skills. Genevieve Bicknell, from Edinburgh College of Art; Jonathan Glen, studying MLitt Film Journalism at Glasgow University and Liam Nolan from Napier University, Edinburgh are 2012's Jury members. The critic mentors are Nick James, Editor, Sight & Sound (UK) and Dana Linssen, Editor-in-Chief, De Filmkrant (The Netherlands).

EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara said: "We're honoured and delighted that our feature and short film competitions will be judged by jurors of such distinction. I'm also very excited that EIFF will affirm its support for the future of film criticism by launching the Student Critics Jury Award."

The British Short Film Competition Jury includes Boston Phoenix critic and filmmaker Gerald Peary (FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM); radio and television broadcaster Edith Bowman and director Rita Azevedo Gomes (A WOMAN'S REVENGE; FRÁGIL COMO O MUNDO).

The International Short Film Competition Jury includes Erwin Houtenbrink (Programme Consultant, International Film Festival Bratislava), Scottish actor Ewen Bremner (TRAINSPOTTING; FOOL'S GOLD, JULIEN-DONKEY BOY), and Javier Porta Fouz (Programmer, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema).

In addition to their jury duties, Jim Broadbent and Elliott Gould will be the subjects of In-Person events, at which they will discuss their illustrious and extensive careers. Both In-Person events will take place on 23 June.

Established in 1947, Edinburgh International Film Festival is renowned around the world for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema - and for heralding and debating changes in global filmmaking. Intimate in its scale, ambitious in its scope, and fuelled by pure passion for cinema in all its manifestations, EIFF seeks to spotlight the most exciting and innovative new film talent, in a setting steeped in history.

Notable films premiered in recent years have included: 35 SHOTS OF RUM, THE HURT LOCKER, MOON, FISH TANK, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, SOMERS TOWN, MAN ON WIRE, CONTROL, KNOCKED UP, RATATOUILLE, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, TSOTSI, Billy Elliot and AMORES PERROS.

EIFF is supported by Creative Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council, EventScotland, the Scottish Government through the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund and the BFI. EIFF is proud to be part of the Year of Creative Scotland, a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL, which is spotlighting and celebrating Scotland's cultural and creative strengths on a world stage.

The Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) was founded in 2010 with a vision to be at the forefront of film and the moving image in Scotland. The CMI currently comprises the EIFF, Edinburgh Filmhouse and Edinburgh Film Guild and its aim is to lead, inspire, educate and entertain in the moving image space. The CMI is currently developing an ambitious plan to create new businesses and initiatives in Scotland related to film thought and practice.

www.edfilmfest.org.uk

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.