TONY BENN: WILL & TESTAMENT was announced as the winner of the Audience Award at the Closing Night gala of the 68th edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). Directed by Skip Kite, TONY BENN: WILL & TESTAMENT paints a vivid portrait of a man whose career transcended politics. The long-time Labour MP participated in the making of this moving and informative tribute shortly before his death in March 2014. The EIFF Audience Award is voted for by cinema-goers attending public screenings. Fifteen films were eligible from across the Festival at the discretion of the Artistic Director.
EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara said: “Our audience’s decision reflects both the enduring significance of Tony Benn himself and the force and conviction with which the film pays tribute to him. The film is a rousing argument for compassionate politics, and this award shows how well that argument communicated to our audience.”
TONY BENN: WILL & TESTAMENT Director and Producer Skip Kite said: "Praslin Pictures, and everyone involved in the making of the film, are truly honoured that Will & Testament has been so wonderfully received by the Edinburgh International Film Festival audience. We are very proud to have launched the film here and our heartfelt thanks goes to all the Festival staff and everyone involved with the World Premiere. We know that Tony would have been absolutely delighted and humbled, and we are too."
Earlier this evening Simon Helberg, the star, writer and co-director of WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS, took to the red carpet at Festival Theatre Edinburgh with co-director Jocelyn Towne and producer Katie Mustard to close the Festival.
WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS is written and co-directed by Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), who also plays the lead, and co-directed by actor/director Jocelyn Towne (I Am I). The film also stars Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), Alfred Molina (Spiderman 2), Melanie Lynskey (Up In The Air), Jason Ritter (Parenthood) and Maggie Grace (The Twilight Saga). WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS is produced by Robert Ogden Barnum (Margin Call) and Katie Mustard (The Greatest), along with Helberg and Towne. WE’LL NEVER HAVE PARIS received its International Premiere at the Festival and will be released in the UK by Metrodome in August.
The gala evening marks the end of the 12 day Festival which hosted 11 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 7 European Premieres and 95 UK Premieres. The Festival opened with the World Premiere of Gerard Johnson’s HYENA and highlights included the long-awaited UK Premiere of Bong Joon-ho’s futuristic thriller SNOWPIERCER starring Chris Evans, John Hurt, and EIFF Patron Tilda Swinton; the World Premiere of SET FIRE TO THE STARS, a semi-biographical drama depicting the life of Dylan Thomas and starring Elijah Wood; and Anton Corbijn’s A MOST WANTED MAN, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances. The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film was awarded to Joanna Coates’s HIDE AND SEEK, which received its World Premiere at the Festival.
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The Edinburgh International Film Festival 18 - 29 June 2014
About Edinburgh International Film Festival:
Established in 1947, Edinburgh International Film Festival is renowned around the world for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema - and for heralding and debating changes in global filmmaking. Intimate in its scale, ambitious in its scope, and fuelled by pure passion for cinema in all its manifestations, EIFF seeks to spotlight the most exciting and innovative new film talent, in a setting steeped in history.
Notable films premiered in recent years have included: FRANCES HA, WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS, THE IMPOSTER, BRAVE, TABU, THE HURT LOCKER, MOON, FISH TANK, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, MAN ON WIRE, CONTROL, KNOCKED UP, RATATOUILLE, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, TSOTSI and BILLY ELLIOT.
EIFF is supported by Creative Scotland, the BFI, the Scottish Government through the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, the City of Edinburgh Council, and EventScotland.
The Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) was founded in 2010 with a mission to be at the forefront of the development of film and the moving image in Scotland. The CMI currently comprises EIFF, Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival Limited is a company registered in Scotland No: SC132453. It is a subsidiary of the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) which is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status with Scottish Charity No. SC006793.