The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 29 May

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAMME UNVEILED
This morning, the programme for EIFF 2013 was announced by festival director Chris Fujiwara. This is author, critic and academic Fujiwara's second year at the helm, and he has programmed a diverse bill of screenings, premières and events featuring filmmakers from across the globe. Highlights of the 2013 programme include a screening of controversial WikiLeaks documentary We Steal Secrets; Sofia Coppola's new teen drama The Bling Ring; Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama Frances Ha; the world première of Fire In The Night, a documentary about the Piper Alpha North Sea oil disaster; screenings of Jurassic Park 3D and Pixar sequel Monsters University; and a revival of 1950 documentary The Gorbals Story.

"I’m very proud that in my second year at the Festival we’ve again put together a programme that reflects our festival’s commitment to international cinema, while giving our audiences opportunities to discover a broad range of outstanding work from British filmmakers," commentes Fujiwara. "This year we take the Festival in a number of new directions." These new directions include a focus on Korean cinema, with director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) headng up the International Jury, and screenings of major mainstream, independent and experimental films from the region. A similar focus on Swedish film will shed light on another nation producing some incredible cinematic moments.

Joining Joon-ho on the jury are Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, star of the forthcoming Ridley Scott-directed, Cormac McCarthy-penned The Counselor, and film critic Siobhan Synnot. They will choose the Award for Best Film in the International Competition. Nominated directors for this award include Mahdi Fleifel, who directed A World Not Ours, set in a Palestinian refugee camp; and Iraqi-Kurdish director Hisham Zaman, with his coming-of-age tale Before Snowfall.

Another prize for which there will be fierce competition this year is the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film – contenders include Blackbird by Jamie Chambers; Virginia Gilbert's A Long Way From Home (which stars the ubiquitous Dormer); Scottish director Paul Wright's For Those in Peril, which screened in Cannes' Critics' Week; and documentary Leviathan, by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel. 

Films receiving special screenings at this year's festival include Stephen Finnegan's documentary Hawking, about the world's leading scientific theorist; and The Battle of the Sexes, a film by James Erskine and Zara Hayes about the historic 1973 tennis match between Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King, and retired champion and self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs. A retrospective of films by animator Richard Williams, who will be in attendance to present the McLaren Award for animation, is also promised. The Johnnie To-produced action film Motorway, by hotly-tipped Hong Kong director Cheang Pou-soi, will be screened as part of the Director's Showcase strand, alongside Bollywood director Dibakar Banerjee's daring new political thriller Shanghai. 

Also included in this year's programme is the Night Moves strand, showcasing horror movies such as Nazi zombie sequel Outpost 3: Rise of the Spetsnaz, and a new film by Japanese Ringu (The Ring) director Hideo Nakata. A Film On Film strand will feature documentaries about cinema and filmmaking, and includes the new film by Mark Cousins and an intimate portrait of legendary character actor Harry Dean Stanton; a documentary strand entitled New Realities will include the European première of Jeanie Finlay's The Great Hip Hop Hoax. There will also be a retrospective of French director Jean Grémillon's work. The festival's opening film will be the European première of Breathe In, starring Guy Pearce, and directed by Drake Doremon. Scottish rom-com Not Another Happy Ending, starring Doctor Who's Karen Gillan, closes the celebrations. For more information and to browse the programme, visit the EIFF site.

NEW MUSIC: NINE INCH NAILS, CHVRCHES, GOLD PANDA, DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT
Trent Reznor's revived Nine Inch Nails have finished work on a new album, it was announced late yesterday. "I've been less than honest about what I've really been up to lately," Reznor says in a press release. "For the last year I've been secretly working non-stop with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder on a new, full-length Nine Inch Nails record, which I am happy to say is finished and frankly fucking great. This is the real impetus and motivation behind the decision to assemble a new band and tour again. My forays into film, HTDA and other projects really stimulated me creatively and I decided to focus that energy on taking Nine Inch Nails to a new place. Here we go!" Although no new music has yet surfaced, the album is slated for a 2013 release.  

Scottish electro-pop sensations CHVRCHES have a new single out on 15 July, on deluxe heavyweight pink vinyl - Gun is released ahead of a string of dates at T in the Park, Latitude, Reading and Leeds, and Ireland's Electric Picnic Festival. 

Gold Panda is preparing to release new album Half of Where You Live on 11 June - he has this week unveiled the first track from his hotly-anticipated sophomore effort. In a press release, he dedicates We Work Nights to "anyone getting paid shit money to work terribly unsociable hours."

David Byrne and St. Vincent have released a free EP, Brass Tactics, as a companion piece to 2012's Love This Giant (reviewed here). Download the EP here.

ON TOUR: SIGUR ROS, EVERYTHING EVERYTHING & DUTCH UNCLES, LEONARD COHEN, TEXAS IS THE REASON
As the 17 June release of their new album Kveikur approaches, Iceland's majestic rock behemoths Sigur Rós have announced a very special one-off show at Edinburgh's Usher Hall, on 18 November. Tickets are on sale from 9am on Friday (31 May) - you probably want to move fast to ensure you get one.

Everything Everything have  just announced a November tour, supported by Dutch Uncles - the two bands will play an additional home-town date at the Ritz in Manchester on 12 November, a day after their already sold-out show in the same venue, before moving on to play Liverpool's O2 Academy on 13 November. No Scottish dates are currently planned. Cop a free track from Dutch Uncles here.

Leonard Cohen will be touring the UK in August and September - he comes to Manchester Arena on 31 August. He, too, is giving Scotland a swerve this time round. And finally, NYC indie rockers Texas Is The Reason will be in Glasgow playing the Classic Grand on 2 August, and the Academy in Manchester on 3 August, with support from Into It. Over It. 

WE ARE NORTHERN LIGHTS TO TOUR SCOTTISH CINEMAS
Screen Machine, the mobile pop-up cinema service which brings films to remote communities in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, will be touring later this year to screen We Are Northern Lights, the crowd-sourced documentary which offers a snapshot of contemporary life in Scotland through intimate video diaries collected by the project's creative director, Nick Higgins. The 80-seater mobile cinema will visit Lochcarron, Bettyhill, Lochinver, Lairg and the Isle of Eigg, where Flip cameras will be handed out to local communities, which Higgins hopes will spur residents on to participate in a planned sequel. For details, visit the film's website.

We Are Northern Lights (2013) Official Trailer from We Are Northern Lights on Vimeo.

FESTIVAL WATCH: INSIDER, LES FEST - SCOTLAND'S ROCK & METAL FESTIVAL
The Insider Festival (21-23 Jun) returns this year for the fifth time, bringing the festival madness to Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands. This year they welcome Lau, Matthew Herbert, Karine Polwart, Washington Irving, PAWS, Stealing Sheep, Sparrow & The Workshop, Rachel Sermanni, Hector Bizerk, David Thomas Broughton, Miaoux Miaoux and many more. Details and tickets here. **DISCLAIMER** The Insider Festival takes place outdoors.

Also brightening (or perhaps darkening) up the Scottish Festival landscape this year is the Scottish Rock & Metal Festival, Les-Fest (28-30 Jun), taking place in Lesmahagow. They welcome a huge selection of rock and metal acts, including Evile, Furyon, Afterlife, Monument, Bonafide, Descend and Ravenface. Details and tickets here. 

NEW VIDEOS: GLASS CANDY, SPARROW & THE WORKSHOP, MAJOR LAZER, ANGEL HAZE
A quick round-up of new videos surfacing this week - the new track by the Johnny Jewel-masterminded Glass Candy is taken from After Dark 2, the new compilation showcasing the work of Jewel and his stable of producers and singers, collected on the revered Italians Do It Better label.  

Sparrow & The Workshop's new video is designed to stir up some controversy - it features characters who appear to be prostitutes walking the streets while wearing masks that disguise them as leading political figures, including First Minister Alex Salmond. The track is taken from their latest album Murderopolis (reviewed here).

 

Diplo's Major Lazer received a pretty limp review from us for their album Free The Universe (read it here), but one thing's for sure - their videos are always a good laugh. The surreal clip, directed by Tim & Eric's Eric Wareheim, could easily be accused of being deeply sexist and even misogynistic, but the whole thing's so silly and over the top, it's probably best just to let the bizarre imagery wash over you and forget about politics, identity, or, well... anything that requires you to use your brain. The track also features Bruno Mars, for which we deeply and unreservedly apologise.

And finally, Detroit-born, NYC-based rapper Angel Haze premiered her new single No Bueno in a live showcase recently at The Scala in London. After a string of much-admired mixtapes, her debut album proper Dirty Gold is due out later this month.