'Tsotsi' hot in Scotland

Edinburgh fetes U.K.-South African co-prod

By DEREK ELLEY

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Public and jurors gave the thumbs-up to "Tsotsi" at the Edinburgh Intl. Film Festival, which closed Sunday.

The U.K.-South African co-prod, centered on a violent young gangster in a Johannesburg township, scooped the audience award and the Michael Powell Award for new British film.

Pic was a favorite from its world preem early in the festival, with extra screenings for industry and press; some observers compared it to "City of God" in its mix of slick technique, powerful drama and social content. Helmed by South African-raised Gavin Hood, it gets its North American premiere at the Toronto festival in September.

Five-member jury, headed by onetime PolyGram Films prexy Michael Kuhn and including director Antonia Bird and actor Alessandro Nivola, gave a special commendation to director Josh Appignanesi for his debut feature, "Song of Songs." Lowkey drama stars Natalie Press as a young woman in a conflicted Jewish family in north London.

The New Directors Award went to Mike Mills for "Thumbsucker," already honored at this year's Sundance and Berlin fests.

The EIFF's lineup of new British cinema was the strongest in years, with over a dozen pics competing for the Powell Award. Fest kicked off Aug. 17 with the world preem of actor Richard E. Grant's directing debut, "Wah-Wah," a semi-autobiographical crowdpleaser set among the expat set in Swaziland in the early '70s. Closing film, Nick Love's gangster dramedy, "The Business," set among criminal expats on the Spanish riviera in the '80s, was also popular.

Other British pics of note included genre/gender-bender "Kinky Boots," a Miramax release Stateside; "Guy X," a "Catch-22"-like satire set on a Greenland airbase; and "The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael," which shocked some with its sexual violence.

A much greater percentage than usual of the British lineup had commercial potential, with business already brisk for "Wah-Wah" and "Tsotsi" prior to their North American bows at Toronto.

But the Scottish contingent griped that not enough local fare was included. Two rejected pics, Richard Jobson's "A Woman in Winter" and Adrian Mead's "Night People," organized their own screenings during the fest, the latter at the event's prime venue, Filmhouse. Jobson's movie will preem at the London Film Festival in October.

Fest attendance was up, and the celeb count also seemed higher at EIFF, the fourth go-round of artistic director Shane Danielsen, who's quitting after next year's 60th event.

Directors Paul Schrader, Joss Whedon (with the world preem of "Serenity"), Anthony Minghella and Albert Maysles attended for Q&A sessions, as did d.p. John Mathieson, production designer Ken Adam and editor Thelma Schoonmaker.

Actors in to plug their movies included Elijah Wood, Gabriel Byrne and Emily Watson ("Wah-Wah"), Jason Biggs, plus the leads of "Serenity."

The complete list of award winners:

New British feature (Michael Powell Award): "Tsotsi" (dir. Gavin Hood, U.K.-South Africa)
Special commendation: "Song of Songs" (Josh Appignanesi, U.K.)
New Directors award: Mike Mills ("Thumbsucker," U.S.)
Audience award: "Tsotsi"
British short: "Hibernation" (John Williams)
European Film Academy short film award: "Autobiographical Scene Number 6882" (Ruben Ostlund, Sweden)
New British animation (Norman McLaren Award): "The True Story of Sawney Beane" (Elizabeth Hobbs)
Scottish documentary short: "Arts: The Catalyst, The Craigmillar Story" (Simon Hynd)