Image: Sir Sean Connery arrives at the Festival Theatre for the opening gala of the 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival

The opening gala of the Edinburgh International Film Festival is usually held at Edinburgh’s Cineworld. Slightly out of town and in a former industrial area the cinema never quite felt right for such a glitzy event. Sir Sean Connery would step out of his chauffer driven car just by Pizza Hut and walk the red carpet with views of the car park and Nandos. So it was with great excitement that we heard earlier this year that the venue was to change to the Festival Theatre – a large theatre tucked into Edinburgh’s old town.

And what a change! It’s a beautiful theatre with old wooden seats and was a perfect match for last night’s film – Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist – which starts in an almost identical theatre as it sets out the story of an ageing magician struggling to fit into a changing world. The film looks beautiful and creates a very romantic depiction of Edinburgh, although the story is somewhat slight. Lots of lovely touches though and definitely one to hunt out if you liked the director’s previous film, Belleville Rendezvous.

One of the interesting things about The Illusionist being picked to open the festival is that it is yet another example of the greater profile being given to animation. A few years ago it would have been surprising for a prestigious festival to open with an animation. Yet last year Cannes Film Festival did just that with Pixar’s Up and what a success it was. Edinburgh has followed suit and it really looks like film festivals are embracing an artform that has traditionally been kept to the margins.

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.

Image: Film still from The Illusionist, the opening film of Edinburgh Film Festival 2010

Film festivals are not all alike. Whether it’s London, Cannes, Toronto or Venice, they each have a distinct personality and their own unique quirks. Toronto is known for its orderly queueing system and mammoth programme with hundreds of films. It would perhaps be the orderly Aunt of the film festival family, young and with a finger on the pulse. Venice on the other hand profiles glitzy Hollywood films which attract the big stars such as George Clooney but is also rumoured to be a little chaotic, with stories of films being delayed for hours and eventually screened in the early hours of the morning. Venice could be the flamboyant, eccentric grandfather (it is, after all, the oldest film festival in the world).  And Cannes of course, being the old stalwart of film festivals, would be the Mother, ever so glamorous and with a commitment to showing the most accomplished cinema in the world.

So, I know what you’re all asking, who would Edinburgh International Film Festival (who have today announced their programme) be? The EIFF is the longest continually running film festival in the world but as their film choices over the last few years have shown, they’re increasingly positioning themselves as a festival that profiles emerging talent. More than once it’s been described as the ‘Sundance of the UK’ (another festival which surely would be the young, hipster son or daughter!).

At Edinburgh this year there are almost 40 films showing in the Rosebud strand which profile first and second time directors and there are two additional strands for filmmakers working on the fringes of cinema. Night Moves is a late night programme which includes the Greek zombie comedy Evil in the Time of Heroes which stars none other than Billy Zane (remember him?). Under the Radar screens the more riskier titles including Cigarette Girl, a film set in the future where smokers have been confined to the outskirts of a city.  There is also an impressive short film programme which include documentary and animations from the world’s up-and-coming directors.  And of course we have to mention our own event, called Sound:Image: Art, where the fruits of our Roderick Buchanan Audio-Visual project will be shown.

So where does that leave EIFF in the festival family? I reckon it could be the father of the group, a very cool dad who’s using years of experience to hunt out the newest talent.  A grown up Sundance but with a little history on its side.

P.S. This year we’re also hoping to get two CenSta members on board to help report from the festival in a creative and exciting way.  Update: Ben Werdmuller and  Sasha de Buyl-Pisco are our two bloggers for EIFF 2010.