Third Africa in Motion film festival

AiM 2008 will open with Egyptian director Youssef Chahine's feature "The Earth" (El Ard), as a tribute to the pioneering filmmaker who passed away on 27 July this year. We are extremely excited to announce that two of the continent's most celebrated and distinguished directors will be joining us in person at the festival: Malian director Souleymane Cissé (whose extraordinary coming-of-age feature, "Yeelen" was awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987), and Burkinabe director Gaston Kaboré (whose feature film, "Buud Yam" won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 1997) will both be in attendance to present retrospectives of their work.

AiM 2008 will include a programme of animation short films from all over the continent, consisting of various types of animation such as 2D, 3D, cut-out, claymation, stop frame animation, and computer animation. Animation film screenings will be accompanied by African storytelling events and a film animation workshop.

Nollywood, the prolific Nigerian video industry that has taken the continent by storm over the last few years, will receive a special focus with the screening of "Bleeding Rose," winner of Best Nigerian Feature Film at the 2007 Lagos International Film Festival, followed by a discussion with director Chucks Mordi afterwards.

For the first time at AiM, there will be a series of late-night screenings of African horrors, erotica and experimental work. This audacious programme will include the Namibian-set cult classic, "Dust Devil" by South African director Richard Stanley, and "SMS Sugar Man," the first feature-length film to be shot entirely on mobile phone cameras, by experimental South African director Aryan Kaganof.

Contemporary films will feature prominently; festival highlights are Nigerian director Newton Audaka's "Ezra," a hard-hitting film that deals with the pressing issue of African child soldiers and won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 2007; and Guinean director Cheick Fantamady Camara's "Clouds over Conakry," the closing screening of the festival and a film which offers a romantic twist on the tradition-versus-modernity theme.

Feature films from East Africa will also be screened (an area hugely under-represented in African cinema), including the UK premiere of an exciting new film from Tanzania.

Documentaries screened at the festival will include a range of films exploring African identity through various themes such as sport, music and dance. The screening of Nigerian-born broadcaster and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa's documentary "This is My Africa" will be accompanied by a discussion with Zina after the screening.

“This year we are hoping to challenge and delight our loyal audiences, and draw new audiences, with a programme more diverse and daring than ever before. AiM 2008 is a celebration and exploration of the multiplicity of forms, themes, styles and approaches we find in the African film industries today,” says Lizelle Bisschoff, director and founder of Africa in Motion.

As part of AiM's commitment to supporting filmmaking activity on the continent, the festival is hosting a short film competition for young and emerging African directors. Eight films by emerging filmmakers from Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Mozambique and South Africa have made the shortlist for the AiM short film competition.

The films on the shortlist span fiction and documentary genres: a magic realist tale from Tunisia; a Moroccan story of childhood nostalgia; a single-setting short from Egypt; an edgy tale about two gangsters set in the high-octane Nigerian capital Lagos; a heart-warming love story from Mozambique; and three films from South Africa: a stylistically experimental documentary on anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko; an innovative stop motion animation short; and a fascinating documentary on two lovers and community activists in the Cape.

All selected short films will be screened during the Africa in Motion film festival and the winner will be announced at a special awards ceremony after the screenings. There will also be an Audience Choice Award, voted for by the viewing public at the AiM film festival, to be announced at the end of the festival.

The winning film will be selected by a jury consisting of acclaimed Burkinabe filmmaker Gaston Kaboré; writer, presenter and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa; Director of the Scottish Documentary Institute Noe Mendelle; and high-profile film critic, writer and producer Mark Cousins. The winning filmmaker will receive £1,000 prize money to assist them in their filmmaking career.

Jury member Mark Cousins says of the competition: "Short films are the spurts of life, the new shoots, of the film world. It is great that Africa in Motion is focusing on them. That's where the discovery and vitality is. The short film competition, and its considerable prize, is a brilliant way of putting the festival's money where its mouth is, and giving a fillip to the zingy and daring new African directors. I am delighted to be part of it."

“We were impressed with the overall quality and standard of the entries”, says festival director Lizelle Bisschoff. “We received films all over the continent - from almost 20 African countries. This competition is part of the festival's commitment to support filmmaking talent on the continent and it is our hope that the competition will contribute to making it a bit easier for aspiring African filmmakers to fulfil their dreams.”

Rt Hon Jack McConnell MSP, First Minister of Scotland (2001 - 2007) has said recently of the festival, "AiM is a brilliant addition to Edinburgh's annual programme of festivals. Too often the common perception of Africa is a continent plagued by poverty and disease. It does face many, many, challenges, but it also has wonderfully rich and diverse cultures, and I'm particularly pleased that Scotland provides this great showcase for African filmmakers."

For full programme details visit www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/programme.html

Tickets go on sale Friday 19 September 2008 from the Filmhouse: Box Office 0131 228 2688 or www.filmhousecinema.com. Concessionary discounts and ticket deals will be available.