11th RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
**Record Breaking Attendances at 11th Raindance Film Festival
The 11th Raindance Film Festival has broken all previous attendance records with screenings averaging 70% audience attendance - a figure which is up 40% from last year.
The quality of films screened at this year's festival has led to audiences commenting that Raindance have this year offered the best selection of films than ever before - over 300 have been screened from all over the world.
**You Saw Them Here First...
Raindance Film Festival is renowned as a place for the discovery of films, often screening titles which go on to become box office hits months after the festival.
After screening at Raindance, Mexican film A Beautiful Secret sparked a bidding war for European distribution rights. The film, which moved some members of Raindance audiences to tears, opens in Mexico next week on an unheard of 450 screens.
Other audience favourites were UK horror picture The Last Horror Movie, Christina Ricci starrer Miranda and French film Malefique.
CLOSING NIGHT RAINDANCE
**Samantha Morton and Sadie Frost attend Jury Prize Awards
Raindance Film Festival will tonight recognise and reward the most outstanding films of this year's festival with the annual Jury Prizes, to be announced before the screening of closing night film 16 Years of Alcohol.
Prizes will be awarded for the best films in the following categories, as voted by the Raindance Jury Panel which this year included Samantha Morton, Trudi Styler, Sadie Frost and Rankin: Official Selection Feature, Official Selection Short, UK Feature, UK Short, Debut Feature and Documentary. The Raindance Audience Award will also be presented to the most popular film amongst Raindance audiences at this year's festival.
**BIFA Winning Director Introduces Closing Night Film
Richard Jobson, who took the Award for Best Directorial Debut at Tuesday's BIFA awards, will introduce closing night film 16 Years of Alcohol, the film on which his talents were recognised.
The film takes the audience on a journey into the violent world of Frankie Mac, and his 16 years of suffering as an alcoholic from boyhood to manhood. It is a painfully real piece of work, with the camerawork and direction beautifully capturing the city of Edinburgh where the film is set.
**Celebrate a Record Breaking Raindance at the Closing Night Gala Party
The Raindance Film Festival has, over the past two weeks, brought over 300 of the best independent films from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world to audiences, in the festival which has seen attendance records broken at many of the screenings and events. To celebrate the closing night of the 11th annual festival Raindance are hosting the Closing Night party at Rouge Nightclub.
