Well, that went by rather quickly. This year's Edinburgh Film Festival lacked the big name film's of festivals past—look to your left for reference, or think about the The Hurt Locker from last year's event—aside from a special screening of Toy Story 3 that I wasn't allowed to attend. That being said, the experience of a film festival is truly unique. Seeing multiple motion pictures per day is a treat, especially when the majority of them are premiere screenings.

This year's festival leaves me a bit disappointed. A bit. The festival's top prize went to Skeletons, a film I ho-hummed through. The Audience award went to Get Low, a film that will no-doubt make a splash in the U.S. and potentially at the Academy Awards come February 2011. Below is a picture of my pass for all to see:

For all of my American readers, look for these film's to make it in the States:

Winter's Bone - June 11, 2010 - slowly expanding

The Extra Man - July 30, 2010

Get Low - July 30, 2010

Film's with the potential to be picked up for distribution in the States (from most likely to least likely):

HIGH School

The Illusionist

Boy

Jackboots On Whitehall

I wasn't able to review every single film I saw, but here are quick ratings of each film I saw in chronological order:

The Illusionist - 3.5

World's Greatest Dad - 2.0

Skeletons - 2.5

Evil In The Time Of Heroes - 1.0

Boy - 3.0

And Everything Is Going Fine - 3.0

Winter's Bone - 3.5

The Runaways - 2.5

Jackboots On Whitehall - 3.0

Cherry Tree Lane - 2.5

HIGH School - 3.5

The Kid - 2.0

The Good Heart - 2.0

The Rebound - 1.0

The Extra Man - 1.5

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? - 2.0

Get Low - 3.5

Third Star - 3.0

So was my experience at this year's festival a winner? Of course, I wasn't able to see every film, and I know I missed a few winners just from discussion—22 Bullets, Kawasaki's Rose, and a special screening of The White Balloon come to mind. However, judging from what I saw, the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival averages out to a: 2.44

Average. Does this mean I'm regretting my decision to attend? By no means! There were plenty of films to be excited about, especially these 5:

The Best of the Festival

5. Boy

4. HIGH School

3. Winter's Bone

2. Get Low

1. The Illusionist