Mark Cousins will take his audience on an inspiring journey with ‘A walk and talk about movies and creativity’ when he presents as part of this year’s Creative Scotland Edinburgh Lecture, taking place today, 26th April at the city’s Filmhouse.

Mark will share his thoughts about movies and creativity with the audience, using 189 images, to discuss his passion for film, the imaginative thought process and his inspirations. A fascinating presentation about the city of Edinburgh and about cinema!

Describing himself as a filmmaker, author, curator and wanderer, Marks recent films ‘The First Movie’ and the ‘The Story of Film: An Odyssey’, have been acclaimed – the latter being an epic 15 hour film about the history of innovation in the movies, made over six years on four continents, covering eleven decades and a thousand films.

Other career highlights include directing documentaries on subjects ranging from Neo-Nazism to Iranian cinema and Ian Hamilton Finlay. He has four film books which have been published around the world and was Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which he took to Sarajevo during the siege. He also created the 8 ½ Foundation with Tilda Swinton and co-founded the charity Scottish Kids are Making Movies.  

His presentation will be an exciting addition to the already hugely successful Edinburgh Lecture Series (http://edinburghlectures.wordpress.com/). The Edinburgh Lectures are committed to addressing a range of public issues on both a national and international scale, with over 200 high-profile speakers from home and abroad taking part over the last 20 years. Contributions and presentations have come from royalty, religious leaders, Nobel laureates, writers, politicians, academics, scientists and broadcasters.

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development, Creative Scotland commented: 

‘We are absolutely delighted to have Mark presenting at our Edinburgh Lecture.  He is an incredibly inspiring and thought provoking man, who continues to push the boundaries of creativity within film, producing outstanding work and highlighting the possibilities that come from great imagination’.

Mark Cousins commented: 

‘I am honoured to have been asked to present my work and ideas for Creative Scotland’s Edinburgh Lecture.  To write this Lecture about movies and creativity, I decided to go for a walk around Edinburgh, the city that inspired the series of lectures and that has inspired me for 25 years. I look forward to sharing my discoveries with the audience’.

Source: Creative Scotland