Black Box 2004 Highlights
The world of art collides with film and video

BLACK BOX programme, at the 58th Edinburgh International Film Festival, will include a major retrospective of the work of Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait and the world premiere of Sam Taylor Wood˜s installation art —STRINGS.˜

The Black Box programme was developed in order to explore video art and performance within the realm of film. This year˜s programme includes some of the most thought-provoking and pioneering work in experimental film today.

"Black Box is one of my favourite initiatives of the Festival", says Artistic Director Shane Danielsen. "It is an attempt to reconcile the world of experimental film with gallery art, and an opportunity to give space to truly visionary types of filmmaking."

Margaret Tait produced over 30 films between 1952 and 1996, including one feature, BLUE BLACK PERMANENT (1992) which features in Black Box 2004.

Says Black Box programmer Peter Todd, "Margaret Tait was one of Britain's most unique and individual filmmakers and this EIFF retrospective is the first chance to see the full range of her work. After an extensive preservation of her archives by Scottish Screen, the Edinburgh International Film Festival is proud to offer this unique opportunity to see her remarkable films."

Margaret Tait˜s short films will be screened in five different programmes of shorts running from Monday 23 August to Saturday 28 August, with the feature BLUE BLACK PERMANENT screening on Saturday 28 August.

Sam Taylor-Wood˜s STRINGS is an outstanding piece of installation art which will run for the duration of the festival at the Edinburgh College of Art. In the nine and a half minute film, the Royal Ballet˜s principal dancer Ivan Putrov moves gracefully in suspension over a string quartet performing Tchaikovsky˜s String Quartet No.2. STRINGS is exhibited in the neo-classical Sculpture Court, purpose-built for the appreciation of art. The exhibition is open daily 10am until 5pm until Thursday 26 August.

The anti-globalisation film poem CHAIN is the first solo feature from the US underground filmmaker Jem Cohen. Filmed over six years, in eleven American states and six other countries, CHAIN is an eloquent study of the lives of two very different female protagonists who wander through a landscape of malls and desolate urban spaces.

DRIFT is a programme of short films by UK artists which reveals the cinematic relationship between sound and image. An exceptional programme of films, DRIFT showcases some of the most talented artists working in Britain today.DRIFT includes work by Victoria Clare Bernie, Chris Bowman, Rob Kennedy, Kelly Richardson, Holger Mohaupt, Susanne Ramsenthaler, Aura Satz, Paddy Kernohan, Richard Ashrowan, Alexander Hamilton, Shannon Tofts, Simon Tricker, Peter Collis, Emily Richardson, Susan Black, Ian Heliwell, John Butler, Jayne Parker, John Carson and Michelle Deignan. DRIFT will be shown at the Stills Gallery in Edinburgh.

A stunning vision of America in decline, WAR is an outstanding debut feature film from director Jake Mahaffy. Set in what seems to be post-apocalyptic America, Mahaffy˜s film is like nothing else in present-day cinema and is an incredible accomplishment. WAR was shot in ravishing B&W, using a hand-cranked 16mm camera, and with a soundtrack featuring tracks by Godspeed You! Black Emperor alongside the rantings of Christian evangelists.

BLACK BOX 1: SPACE DEFINED and BLACK BOX 2: TIME REGAINED includes experimental films from Simon Green, Nicholas Provost, Johan Thurfjell, Carola Dertnig, Tomonari Nishikawa, Courtney Hoskins, Bill Morrison, Gockell & Winter, Moira Tierney, Kerry A Laitala and Jeanne Liotta.