Silent Roar opens Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023
The opening gala film for the new-look Edinburgh International Film Festival will be Outer Hebrides-set teen movie Silent Roar
Only nine months ago, the prospect of a 76th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival looked like a pipe dream after the collapse of its parent company, the Centre for the Moving Image. While the other organisations that were taken down in CMI's demise – the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont in Aberdeen – are still waiting for a lifeline, the Film Festival itself is set to make a welcome return thanks to the efforts of Screen Scotland and the support of the Edinburgh International Festival.
We’ll find out the full programme of this new-look EIFF on 6 July, but today the opening film has been revealed. The festival will kick off with the world premiere of the Outer Hebrides-set Silent Roar. Described as “a teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire”, the film stars newcomer Louis McCartney as Dondo, a young surfer in a tailspin following the recent disappearance of his father at sea. As well as dealing with grief, we’re told Dondo is also going through the pangs of first love – his crush is the rebellious Sas (played by Ella Lily Hyland), a high achiever who dreams of escaping island life. And when an oddly-behaved new minister arrives in town, our teen hero begins having cosmic visions…
Silent Roar is the debut from writer-director Johnny Barrington, who’ll be well known to local short film fans for his sharp, brutal and very funny Bafta-nominated short Tumult which sees a band of Norse warriors find a surprise in the aftermath of a bloody battle. “Silent Roar is a fun ride into surfing, death and the cosmos and awkward high school memories from the 90s,” says Barrington. The film was shot in Uig, on the Isle of Lewis, and draws inspiration from Barrington’s teenage years on the Isle of Skye.
Kate Taylor, Programme Director at EIFF, describes the festival opener as a film that's easy to fall in love with. “Stylistically, Silent Roar is the kind of bold, vivid and highly absorbing cinema that EIFF wants to champion,” says Taylor, “and we can’t wait to give the film a beautiful launch into the world.”
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 runs from 18 to 23 Aug. The full programme will be revealed on 6 Jul; tickets go on sale at midday on 7 Jul via eif.co.uk/edfilmfest