When we got there, the first thing we saw was a girl hula hooping a big ring of fire and some lights. The Horndog Brass Band, an Edinburgh based eight-piece band, were entertaining the large queue of (quite bored looking) Gala guests, and doing a mighty fine job of it too. They are most known for playing on several tracks of Amanda Palmer’s solo album ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer?’, but play regularly in and around Edinburgh, especially during the Fringe.

The guests filed in, and soon, all that was left was one scooting around on a popcorn box shaped segway, which is officially the coolest thing I have seen ever. Check it out:

How awesome is that?

After learning that no, I could not have a go, we headed over to the Festival Theatre for film of the evening: The Illusionist, directed by Sylvain Chomet. I’ll keep this short, as Ben has already covered the movie, but I do have a few things I’d like to mention.

First, I really did enjoy it. It was everything the reviews promised; beautiful, intricate, delightful and devastatingly melancholy.

However, it was not without its weaknesses. The film has been criticised as not having much of a plot, and I did feel this at times. Given that The Illusionist is an animated rendering of Jacques Tati’s unrealised screenplay, it is unsurprising that plot took a back seat. Tati’s films were never big on action/ Most notably, Playtime, had barely any story at all, with Tati instead choosing to focus on a portrait of a city; Paris.

Chomet uses Tati as a springboard for his creative vision. He paints a portrait of a city that is as almost as grand as the set of Playtime itself, but all this visual grandeur, when combined with Chomet’s iconic lack of dialogue, falls short.

However, there are little moments throughout the film that are truly a delight. I laughed like a little kid every time the magician’s rabbit made an appearance, and also whenever one of Chomet’s gorgeously animated women made an appearance. Keep an eye out for the French singer in the opening scene, and the opera singer at the British garden party. Their movements and expressions enrich the film, and this pulls The Illusionist back from the breach of dull.

After thinking about it for a while, I have decided that maybe it is hard to make an animated film that comments on an era, where life runs as slowly as life does and action takes a back seat, and this is possibly because of the medium itself. Life begets life, and though Chomet’s characters are lifelike down to the tiniest quirk, animation doesn’t capture the rolling atmospheric style of a filmmaker like Tati.

Though The Illusionist was enjoyable and had me close to tears by the end, he animated format restricts this film from doing what Tati set out to do with it.

Today we’re celebrating the start of Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. You might have noticed that Central Station’s Bulletin page has been transformed – today it’s filled with EIFF related blogs, events, opportunities and items we’ve spotted from the web. The festival will launch tonight with a screening of Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist and over the next ten days will pack in hundreds of films and events.

You might already have spotted our two roaming reporters benwerd and TaxidermyMouse who will be capturing the spirit of the festival through words, images and sound. Check out Ben’s first festival blog to get a flavour of what’s to come.

We also will be hosting a very special event – the culmination of our Roderick Buchanan soundtrack project. After a call out to Central Station members we shortlisted a group of composers to work with Roddy to create the soundtrack to two of his short films. Andy Sim and his group Fear Wasabi were the eventual winners and the final collaborative films have just been finished and will be screened this Sunday at 9pm. The event is called Sound:Image:Art – it’s free but you need to reserve a ticket through the EIFF box office. We’ll see you there! And you can read about the last few weeks of the project in producer Gaia’s blog.

If you’re in Scotland and looking to explore the festival my Editor picks are a good place to start – I’ve chosen a selection of events and films which embrace disciplines incorporating film, art, sound and animation. From the best of local short-filmmaking to the first audio horror film the selection is eclectic to say the least. Embrace it and let us know what you think.

And finally for those interested in film more generally why not browse the blogs from Moving Image Month – they’ll give you a multi-faceted picture of everything that comes under that wide-ranging banner.

Right, now I’m off to dig out a posh frock for tonight’s Opening Gala… make sure you check back tomorrow for the verdict on the event.