EIFF: Time to be bold

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is dead! Long live the Edinburgh International Film Festival! Don't panic, this week's budget hasn't added the EIFF to its list of cuts, but after a fortnight of watching films in darkened cinemas and avoiding the summer sun, I think something needs to change in 2011.

Donkeys. Winter's Bone. Get Low. Au Revoir Taipei. Monsters. HIGH School. Those were highlights in a festival which began with the stunning The Illusionist (walking through the Grassmarket the next day, I felt like I was on the best looking film set in the world) and ends tomorrow night with Third Star.

We had the usual mix of big and small films, Toy Story 3D placed next to movies such as Edinburgh's A Spanking in Paradise, like some sort of cinematic smorgasbord. The 1970s Retrospective was a revelation, appearances from Ken Russell and Mike Hodges welcome alongside some ultra-rare films.

But, apart from the return of Woody and Buzz to our screens, there was a feeling that the other buzz, old-school Hollywood glamour, was missing. One of my favourite EIFF strands is In Person, a chance to hear big-name actors and directors discussing their careers. This year, due to the cost to fly stars from LA, we had just one, Sir Patrick Stewart.

Many screenings were still attended by talent from around the world, but most were lesser known or first time writers/directors/actors. One director I spoke to noted that having his first film in Edinburgh in 2009 allowed him to make a second. While Cannes and London are great for red carpets, films often just disappear afterwards: here, things happen.

So, with 2011 looking to be hard on everyone, why not make a virtue out of the problem and try something radical for the 65th year? Scotland is known for punching above its weight, so let's think big and embrace technology. If we can't get one or two more of the heaviest hitters in cinema – Spielberg, Coppola, Redford – over here, why not beam live interviews from their homes to cinemas in Edinburgh and around Scotland?

Let's go one step further. Stream them on the Internet for anyone to watch, throw in a few ads from VisitScotland, and we have a global EIFF. If it's so hard to bring the world to Edinburgh, let's take Edinburgh to the rest of the world.

This article first appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News on Friday 25 June.