Two Irish films set for Edinburgh

Two Irish films are among the world premières to be screened at the 58th Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs from August 18th to 29th.

Damien O'Donnell's third feature, which has the working title Inside I'm Dancing, is a serious comedy featuring James McEvoy and Steven Robertson as disabled Dubliners setting up home together. Terry Loane's Mickybo and Me is set in Belfast in 1970 as two young boys (Niall Wright and John Joe McNeill) from opposite sides of the sectarian divide find a shared obsession in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The cast includes Adrian Dunbar, Ciaran Hinds, Gina McKee, Julie Walters and Susan Lynch.

The festival will also present the world premières of the new films by Shane Meadows (Dead Man's Shoes), Antonia Bird (Hamburg Cell), Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love) and Richard Jobson (The Purifiers). The event opens with the Walter Salles film The Motorcycle Diaries, and closes with Wong Kar-wai's 2046. Several events will mark the 10th anniversary of Lindsay Anderson's death, including a stage performance by Malcolm McDowell (who made his film debut in Anderson's If...), in which he will read from Anderson's letters, diaries and critical writings.