ACTOR, John Hurt, is to lead an all-star cast in judging the best new British feature film at this month’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
With singer, Chrissie Hynde, adding a touch of rock ‘n’ roll to the judging panel, which will be chaired by Hurt, the task is to name the winner of this year’s Michael Powell Award, set up in 1993 to honour one of Britain’s most original filmmakers.
Also adjudicating will be Irish writer, and winner of the Man Booker Prize 2005, John Banville; Danish filmmaker, Lone Scherfig; and Scottish-born director, Michael Caton-Jones, whose many credits include the critically-acclaimed Shooting Dogs, about the Rwandan genocide, and more recently, Basic Instinct 2.
Said Paul Trijbits, head of the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund, which is sponsoring the award: “Gavin Hood’s Tsotsi, winner of last year’s Michael Powell Award, was discovered by audiences before going on to win the Oscar for best foreign language film. The year before, Pawel Pawlikowski’s My Summer of Love got everyone excited before it went on to win BAFTA’s Korda Award.”
The Edinburgh International Film Festival starts next Monday and runs until the 27th.
Spike will be providing comprehensive coverage.
