August Film Events: 2009

Edinburgh is awash with choices for film events in August. If peace is what you seek, head to the Filmhouse on 21 and 28 August, when the Festival of Spirituality and Peace celebrates human relationships and the desire for inner calm with two films selected by Scotland's very own Mark Cousins.  The first of these is the recently restored War Requiem by Britain's cult filmmaker Derek Jarman, based on Benjamin Britten's opera about shell-shocked soldiers who were treated at Craiglockhart's War Hospital.  It is hoped that Tilda Swinton and producer Dan Boyd will attend the screening too.  The selection of films on the 28 August brought together under the title Scottish Shorts includes Norman MacLaren's 1952 pacifist work Neighbours which Picasso reportedly called 'the best film ever made' and shorts by Lynne Ramsay and Margaret Tait.

Also in Edinburgh, the Cameo has invited a whole host of interesting people for you to meet. Scottish jazz musician Freddie King is performing live on 1 August to celebrate From The Heart, a highly personal project about the singer's life. Phill Jupitus (of Never Mind the Buzzcocks fame) and Phil Wilding are appearing on 18 August to host The Perfect Ten podcast, a night which includes Blazing Saddles on the big screen, while 13 August sees cult legend and epitome of Troma entertainment Lloyd Kaufman here to answer your many questions following screenings of The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ‘Em High - uncut!

If you can’t get to the capital but jazz tickles your fancy, there is a chance to see Soul Power at the DCA in Dundee from 7-13 August, and also opportunities to catch Jean Luc Godard’s bizarre noir Alphaville 2-3 August. Amongst the wide selection of retrospectives, even David Cronenberg’s cerebral horror Scanners can be seen on 20 August.

Meanwhile, the GFT in Glasgow celebrates fifty years of revolution in film with the mini-festival, Cine Cuba. A rare chance to see some of the art to emerge from Cuba, the season, screening throughout August includes Diary of Maurico, an emotional revisiting of an old man’s life through a series of flashbacks that gives viewers a frank insight into the social and political history of the country following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

And finally, make sure you’re in Glasgow on 2 August to see the final in the GFT’s selection of lunar-themed films. Celebrating the release of Duncan Jones’ excellent, retro sci-fi Moon, this date marks the screening of The Right Stuff, a satire about America’s attempt to conquer space. You don't need to be outside to explore this month.