Of Time and the City at Sydney and Edinburgh Film Festivals

Of Time and the City has been selected to be screened at two of the world’s leading film festivals. The Digital Departures film was screened at the prestigious Sydney Film Festival last weekend and was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival on the 19th June.

Made by renowned British director, Terence Davies, together with Merseyside-based Sol Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter of Hurricane Films, the documentary, Of Time and the City, depicts Davies’ fascination with his home town of Liverpool and has already received rave reviews from critics at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also announced at Cannes Film Festival that the BFI has acquired UK Distribution rights and will release Of Time and the City in cinemas across the country on 31 October 2008.

Of Time and the City is one of three features to be made by the prestigious Digital Departures film making competition, devised by regional screen agency, Northwest Vision and Media, which works on behalf of the TV, film, radio and digital content industries in the Northwest.

Working with partners the Liverpool Culture Company, the BBC and UK Film Council, Vision and Media awarded each Digital Departures feature a budget of £250,000 to make their film ideas a reality.

Fiona Gasper, Artistic Producer at Liverpool Culture Company, said: ''I'm delighted that a Liverpool film will be seen on such an international platform during our year as European Capital of Culture. Of Time and the City is a beautiful story of Liverpool's past but it is also helping to shine a light on our film makers today and Liverpool's vibrant creative scene. This festival double is a fantastic follow-up to the rave reviews at Cannes and fully justifies our faith in the Digital Departures project. Hopefully this success will inspire more of our film makers to follow in Terence's footsteps.''

In its 55th year, the Sydney Film Festival showcases contemporary cinema from Australia and around the world with patrons including Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Baz Luhrmann. It is one if the longest running festivals making it a major cultural event on the city’s social calendar.

Other films that are being screened this year include Happy-Go-Lucky by British Director, Mike Leigh and the world premieres of Australian films The Square by Nash Edgerton and Three Blind Mice by Mathew Newton, both of which are in the official competition.

This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from the 18th-29th June and will showcase the very best of what the international film industry has to offer in 2008. Highlights of the festival include the UK premiere of Shane Meadows' new film Somers Town and the world premieres of Stone of Destiny and Summer, both staring Robert Carlyle.