cinema · EIFF26 · Interviews

The Mad World of Harvey Kurtzman Interview: Bart Simpson – ‘I didn’t want this to be a puff piece’.

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Keen comic-book fans may well be aware of the satirist magazine MAD that was first published in the 1950s but they might not be so familiar with its creator, Harvey Kurtzman. In the programme notes for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, festival producer Emma Boa states that his “commitment to integrity and challenging the status quo with humour, edge and resilience is a hymn for our times”. With his sophomore feature, documentary filmmaker Bart Simpson paints a vivid portrait of the man behind the MADness and ‘The Mad World of Harvey Kurtzman’ celebrates its world premiere in Edinburgh. I was fortunate to sit down with the director Simpson to discuss the piece.

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cinema · EIFF26

Top 5 Must-See Movies of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026

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Tucked in amongst the biggest arts festival in the world, the latest edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival is nearly upon us. Back with its Midnight Madness strand, amazing In Conversation events, retrospective screenings, and a host of world and UK premieres, the programme is brimming with promise and potential. I have perused the offering to select five films to keep an eye out for this August…

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cinema

Film review: The Odyssey

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Known for his mind-bending stories and practical filmmaking prowess, writer and director Christopher Nolan has embarked on his most ambitious feature to date. Shot entirely with unwieldy IMAX 70mm cameras to craft immense scale and textured quality, action fantasy The Odyssey is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek poem. The plot follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the ruler of Ithaca who left his kingdom to fight in the Trojan War. With his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and their son Telemachus (Tom Holland) left behind to fend off potential suitors such as Antinous (Robert Pattinson) in his absence, he encounters gods and monsters including the wise Athena (Zendaya) and mysterious Circe (Samantha Morton) on his long and perilous journey home.

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DVD & Digital

Film review: Couples Weekend

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 Known for her work across television and commercials, actor and writer Nora Kirkpatrick makes her feature debut with comedy drama, Couples Weekend. Set within a snowcoated mountain landscape, the intimate plot centres around Debs (Alexandra Daddario), her husband Josh (Daveed Diggs), her old pal Mitch (Josh Gad), and his wife Melanie (Ashley Park) as they retreat to a cosy log cabin to ring in the new year. On their morning walk where a tree mysteriously falls in the woods, Debs and Mitch return to spot Josh and Melanie sleeping with each other through the bedroom window – later, the discovery of an old bottle of moonshine sees their trip spiral further out of control.

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cinema

Film review: Supergirl

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 James Gunn crafted a soft reboot of the DC Comics universe last summer with his pulpy Superman picture which featured a brief cameo from the Man of Steel’s chaotic cousin. Now, under the direction of Craig Gillespie, she is taking centre stage. Action adventure Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) as she drifts from one planet to the next, drinking heavily at dive bars and sleeping in what is essentially an intergalactic campervan. One evening she is approached by young orphan Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who asks for her help to take revenge on space pirate Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) after he and his gang brutally kill her family. Kara is initially hesitant to get involved but when her spaceship is hijacked and her beloved dog Krypto is attacked, she has her own score to settle.

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cinema

Film review: Toy Story 5

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 It’s been over three decades since the beloved series first came to our screens, and now cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) and space ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) return in the latest animated adventure, Toy Story 5. Directed by studio stalwart Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris, it centres around cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) whose place as favourite toy of eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is threatened when trendy tablet Lilypad (Greta Lee) arrives, intended to help the little girl make friends. Eager to tag along when Bonnie is invited to her first sleepover, Jessie and her trusty steed Bullseye embark on a dangerous mission, reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones along the way.

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cinema

Film review: Blue Heron

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After her short film Still Processing received widespread critical acclaim, Canadian writer and director Sophy Romvari has expanded on the same ideas in her feature debut, Blue Heron. Inspired by her own upbringing, the semi-autobiographical drama follows eight-year-old girl Sasha (Eylul Guven) in the late 1990s as she arrives in Vancouver Island from Hungary with her mother (Iringó Réti), father (Ádám Tompa) and three siblings. Her oldest brother Jeremy (Edik Beddoes) experiences severe mental health issues as the family try to settle into their new suburban home, and in the present-day we see an older Sasha (Amy Zimmer) reflect on this formative time as a 30-something filmmaker.

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cinema

Film review: Backrooms

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In 2022, a photograph within a 4chan messageboard thread inspired teenager Kane Parsons to publish a web series on YouTube that expanded upon the initial prompt to post “disquieting images that just feel off”. Four years later as his creepypasta videos have gone viral, he has fleshed out the idea by directing a feature-length film.

 Sci-fi psychological horror Backrooms follows furniture salesman Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is recently divorced and struggling with alcoholism. After discovering a strange portal within the basement of his showroom, he confides in his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve) who is battling demons of her own. When he goes missing, she enters a mysterious dimension to find him.

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cinema

Film review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu

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After three series of television, director Jon Favreau brings the adventures of a bounty hunter from a galaxy far, far away to the big screen. Space-western Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu sees Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his little green apprentice working for the New Republic, hunting down criminals linked with the Galactic Empire. Commander Ward (Sigourney Weaver) assigns them a mission to rescue Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White) from planet Shakari and bring warlord Janu Coin (Jonny Coyne) to justice.

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