Leith School of Art Open Days: visit the school to hear about its courses and see the students in action. Short presentations will be given by course leaders and there will be a chance to ask questions. Today’s presentations will be on Critical and Professional Development (1pm), Figurative Course (1.30pm) and Painting Course (2pm), all at the North Junction Street Campus, and Foundation Course (1.30pm) at the St James Campus, and both campuses will be open to visitors 10am-3pm. Leith School of Art, 25 North Junction Street. The School has independent status; its courses are structured around set projects and personal work, with a high staff: student ratio. If you would like to arrange a portfolio review with a tutor, please contact the school in advance on 0131 554 5761. Also on Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th May and Friday 8th May 2015 (with different presentations each day).
The Play Talk Read Bus is in Edinburgh this week: enjoyable learning and fun for pre-school children and their parents and carers. There are games and activities downstairs and a Bookbug session upstairs, all facilitated by friendly Play Leaders. Today the bus will be at Granton Library, Wardieburn Terrace 10am-1pm and 2-4pm. It’s free and all are welcome.
The Times They Are A-Changin’: Time, Economics and a Political Economy of Britain since 1945. Professor Martin Chick, Personal Chair of Economic History (University of Edinburgh) delivers his inaugural lecture. 5.15-6.15pm, Meadows Lecture Theatre, Old Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place. Free and open to all.
Back to Work 2015: if you would like some help in looking for work, come along to the library for the first of four sessions run by Community Learning & Development in association with Edinburgh Libraries. Today will be the opportunity for an informal chat over tea and biscuits to find out how the programme can help you; subsequent sessions will be held on 19th May (Build Up Your CV), 2nd June (How to Search for Jobs) and 16th June (Preparing for Interviews). You can come to all of the sessions or just one or two. 1-3pm, Kirkliston Library, 16 Station Road. For more information please contact Lawrence Arscott on 0131 334 9301 or Nicola Tonner on 0131 529 5510 – or just turn up at any of the sessions.
French Cinema: Gare du Nord. Claire Simon’s blend of documentary and fiction follows the everyday lives of dozens of passers-by in one of the largest stations in Europe. A focused and serious sociology student Ismael is leading a study in this fast-paced urban environment when he meets the elegant fifty-something Mathilde… ‘A calm but powerful film where motion and emotion are the cornerstones’. In French with English subtitles. 6-8pm, Institut Francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. Free. Also showing 1-3pm on Wednesday 6th May 2015.
Leith Folk Club: Fraser Bruce. The singer returns to Leith with a wealth of songs and stories from around the world. 7.30pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, 221 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £7 and may be reserved online here or by texting 07502 024 852. Tickets must be collected by 7.30pm on the night.
Cameo Discover Tuesdays: a weekly slot showing forgotten classics, art-house gems and riveting documentaries. Today’s film is German Concentration Camps Factual Survey (18): filmed by army and newsreel cameramen as the Allies liberated Nazi concentration camps, this harrowing but vitally important film is a stark reminder of humankind’s capacity for inhumanity. Assembled by a team led by Sidney Bernstein and including Alfred Hitchcock, the footage was shelved unfinished after the war, when Britain’s priorities for Germany had changed from de-Nazification to reconstruction; the Imperial War Museum has now restored and completed it, following the original filmmakers’ directions and drawing on seventeen hours of rushes. 6pm,  Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723.
The Southside Association: a non-political amenity group with an interest in social, welfare, environmental, educational, planning, licensing and recreational matters as they affect the Southside area. Meetings often include guest speakers, plus a police officer and local councillor. 7pm today and every first Tuesday (except July & August), South Side Community Centre, 117 Nicolson Street. New members very welcome. More information here.
Folk Film Gathering: the world’s first folk film festival. The inaugural programme explores the use of folk tale and storytelling in film, rhapsodic mixes of cinema and song and a particular focus on women’s stories and perspectives. Each feature will be preceded by a related short by a contemporary Scottish filmmaker. Today’s film is Kaos (15) (in Italian with English subtitles): based on the short stories of Pirandello, Kaos marries Italian cinematic neorealism with the lyricism of folk tales, among them the story of the bride who discovers on her wedding night that her husband is a werewolf, and the hapless landlord who becomes stuck in an enormous clay pot. ‘A rich, kaleidoscopic work of folk cinema’. (No short today). 7.40pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688.
Right Now: ‘It’s Abigail’s Party meets Rosemary’s Baby‘. Preview performances (as a full English-language production) of Quebecois writer Catherine-Anne Toupin’s thrilling modern comedy. As Alice and Ben settle into their new flat they realise that the family across the hall hope to be more than just friends…. ‘Right Now walks a delicate line between playful laughs and horrified gasps….one of the funniest and most terrifying things you’ll see this season’. Director: Emma Callander, translator: Chris Campbell. For ages 16+. 8pm, Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street. Tickets cost £10/£7 and may be purchased in person, online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 1404. Also at same times on 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th May 2015.
Cameo Silver Screen: if you are 60+ join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets (usually £5) plus free tea, coffee and biscuits at the weekly Silver Screen shows. Membership is free – ask at the Box Office. Non-members are welcome to attend the screenings, but will need to pay standard ticket prices. Today’s films are Far From the Madding Crowd (12A), which is showing at 12 noon and 3pm, Avengers: Age of Ultron (12A), showing at 12.45 and 4pm, and The Falling (15), showing at 12.30 and 3.15pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Scotia Nova: Poems for the Early Days of a Better Nation. This anthology of poems, edited by Alasdair Finlay and Tessa Ransford, speaks to the questions, uncertainties and hopes of Scotland as a nation on the brink of change. Join the editors and contributing poets for an evening of poetry – and possibly a song or two – dedicated to Scotland’s future. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
