Competing Visions: Sibling Feuds, Futuristic Prophets, and Unconventional Queer Camboys Battle for the $67,000 Sean Connery Award in Edinburgh
Competing Films at the 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival Showcase Diverse Themes and Styles
The 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival is set to showcase a diverse array of films, with 10 world premieres fiercely original and exploring new emotional, political, and aesthetic terrain. Among these, the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence will be awarded, a £50,000 ($67,000) accolade that celebrates new talent and distinctive storytelling.
"Novak" from Greece is a psychological sci-fi that blends the celebration of a guru with the allure of fringe YouTube rabbit holes. Conversely, "Concessions," directed by Mas Bouzidi, is a love letter to cinema, capturing the last day of a movie theatre and featuring the late Michael Madsen in one of his final roles.
"On the Sea," helmed by Helen Walsh, is a sensual queer romance set amid the quiet of a tight-knit Welsh community. Meanwhile, "Low Rider," directed by Campbell X, is a subversive road movie set in South Africa, following a young British woman searching for her estranged father through Cape Town's nightlife and the Western Cape's backroads.
The competition also includes "Blue Film," a gripping and unsettling two-hander film, directed by Elliot Tuttle, exploring shame, memory, and power. "Two Neighbours," directed by Ondine Viñao, is a darkly comic reimagining of the Aesop fable "Avaricious and Envious," with a resentful writer and a reckless socialite whose night of excess turns uncanny with the arrival of a wish-granting stranger.
"Best Boy" is a black comedy from Canada's Jesse Noah Klein, where three adult siblings battle through trials set by their dead father. "In Transit" is a chamber piece starring Jennifer Ehle, simmering with unspoken tensions.
"Once You Shall Be One of Those Who Lived Long Ago" is a documentary film capturing the fading away of a northern Swedish town that is sinking due to iron mining. "Mortician" is a dead-comedy film directed by Abdolreza Kahani, shot entirely on a mobile phone, set in Canada, and follows a mortician drawn into the world of a protest singer in hiding, confronting the Islamic Republic's surveillance of dissidents abroad.
One notable film, The Ceremony, is a haunting, visually striking road drama set in the Yorkshire Dales. It centers on two migrant workers who undertake a disturbing journey to bury a young asylum seeker, confronting grief and the harsh realities of their environment. This film emphasizes powerful emotional reckoning and the raw beauty of its setting.
The competing films showcase a blend of socially relevant stories, genre experimentation, and formal virtuosity, reflecting fresh cinematic voices committed to narratives about identity, conflict, and human connection. The £50,000 prize is determined by audience vote, celebrating new talent and distinctive storytelling at the festival.
In addition to the Sean Connery Prize, "Low Rider" sends its characters skidding through the roads and raves of South Africa in search of connection and identity. "Blue Film" dives into the unfiltered world of queer intimacy. "Mortician" is an Iranian exile story shot entirely on a phone. These films, along with the others in the competition, promise to provide a captivating and thought-provoking cinematic experience.
Movies-and-TV such as "Low Rider" and "Mortician" offer enticing entertainment at the 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival, showcasing diverse journeys of connection and identity. These films join others in the competition, collectively promising a captivating and intellectually stimulating cinematic experience.
