Scotland Film Event Highlights – August 2014

There's a chance to celebrate Scottish cinema this month with touring film programme To See Oursels and Stuart Murdoch's Glasgow-set debut God Help the Girl. Plus another filmmaking musician comes to the Cameo and some great anime screens at GFT

Preview by Becky Bartlett | 31 Jul 2014

Scots have a chance to see oursels this month with To See Oursels, an excellent selection of films made by Scots about Scots. With an emphasis on Scottish identity, the movies range from well known titles like Local Hero (3 Aug, GFT; 5 Aug, Filmhouse; 9 Aug, DCA – director Bill Forsyth will be attending the Edinburgh screening for a live discussion) to screenings of television programmes such as Your Cheatin' Heart (6-7 Aug, DCA; 10 Aug, Filmhouse; 24 Aug, GFT). Several guests will be touring, including musician King Creosote, performing live following new release From Scotland With Love (25 Aug, Filmhouse; 30 Aug, DCA; 31 Aug, GFT) – check local listings for the full programme.

Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys will be at the Cameo in Edinburgh for a live Q&A session following the screening of American Interior (21 Aug), a documentary in which the musician retraces the steps of explorer John Evans on his search for a fabled tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans. Rhys's journey, undertaken some two hundred years later, includes an “Investigative Concert Tour,” while the resulting film blends documentary, rockumentary and travelogue into a whimsical adventure – sure to be an amusing and intriguing combination.

While the Edinburgh Fringe dominates the capital this month, the CineFringe (Sweet Venues in Edinburgh, 31 Jul-3 Aug) provides a nice, film-based alternative. Showcasing independent short films, the programme offers a varied, international selection ranging from high octane documentary to experimental animation. Some noteworthy events include Fringe Docs (2 Aug), which includes a bonus film, Clavel, and the festival's closing selection, Total Cult!, featuring the eccentric YouTube hit, MeTube: August Sings Carmen 'Habanera.' Check festival.cinefringe.com for details.

Belle & Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch's directorial debut, God Help the Girl, is released this month, and he and various cast members will be attending the GFT (17 Aug) for a live Q&A. Various cinemas (including the Cameo and Grosvenor) are also showing the film (16 Aug) accompanied by a live set from Belle & Sebastian, broadcast via satellite from Edinburgh's Corn Exchange. (Turn to page [insert page number] for our interview with Murdoch.)

Further emphasising Scotland's love of animé, the GFT is showcasing the best of Hayao Miyazaki's works – Princess Mononoke (9 Aug), Howl's Moving Castle (16 Aug), and Spirited Away (23 Aug). The latter, which won an Oscar and brought anime a new, global mass appeal, is widely acknowledged as one of the finest animated films of all time – don't miss the chance to see it on the big screen.