Chris Mackrell

The Edinburgh International Festival’s opening nights have been getting bigger year by year, they’ve projected onto The Usher Hall, Edinburgh Castle and this year they have taken over St Andrews Square for two nights of large-scale projection, light, sound and music. ‘Bloom’ celebrates the origins of the International Festival but also pays tribute to the Jazz & Science Festivals and the famous Tattoo. The fantastic projection and light show runs for […]

Last night Kyra Sedgwick presented her directorial debut to a Edinburgh Film Festival audience at the dominion theatre. The film follows the story of Deanna and the turmoil in her life after a underage sex tape goes viral in the small town that she lives in. The story picks up three years later as she's looking for summer work so she can save up and escape her broken relationships at home.  We […]

 A few years ago I visited the Usher Hall to see Holst’s Planets Suite presented by the Chicago Philharmonic. Behind the orchestra were projected images taken by the two Voyager Spacecraft and since then I've been fascinated by these machines launched in the 70’s that have managed to become the two man made objects the furthest from our little blue dot.  ‘The Farthest’ a documentary by Emer Reynolds focuses on the […]

Last night the Edinburgh International Film Festival kicked off its 71st year with the UK premiere of 'God's Own Country' The film focuses on young farmer Johnny Saxby (Josh O'Connor) who numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) who not only helps Johnny around the farm but gives him another outlet for his fustration, but soon their relationship becomes […]

Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off its 71st year tonight at The Festival Theatre with ‘God’s Own Country’ if you think the film festival is not for you then here are some quick suggestions. Music Fan?‘Teenage Superstars’ is Grant McPhee’s documentary about the Scottish music scene in the 80’s and 90s featuring bands, such as The Bluebells, The Pastels and The Soup Dragons along with interviews with some of the key […]