People are watching us, looking for us to trip up, maybe amplifying the small stumbles

Really? People are watching us, looking for us to trip up, maybe amplifying the small stumbles. Rosetta Stone But you cant be thrilled when you read stories suggesting the festival is in a state of chaos or drift. No, its unwelcome and also its untrue. Thats the stuff that does irk. That we are accused of not knowing what were doing. Or festival in meltdown. Thats just peoples hyperbole. Mullighan is a personable Australian who has been coming to the film festival for years. Hes 43, single, straight, no kids as far as Im aware , and most of his family still live in his hometown of Adelaide. Hes living in a mates flat in Abbeyhill and hes been tasked with giving the film festival a radical reboot, with far fewer resources than previous incumbents.Where then, in this years programme, is his own personality to be found? In the typographical errors, he notes ruefully, paging through the brochure. No, he adds, the festivals Mullighanness can be found in its initiatives. Theres a concentration on short films and documentaries, an interest in war reportage, scientists discussing the science of science fiction; in short what Mullighan defines as brainy fodder . Less eye candy, more eye fibre, you could say. Im not saying all these innovations are permanent. No way. At the end of the festival well sit down and analyse some data and write some reports and send thank you cards and then the next phase of my work would be a deep survey of all stakeholders to say go on, if you think it was a bad idea that we got rid of the Michael Powell Award, tell me why and Ill listen. This is not a dictatorship in any way. Im an air traffic controller. Everyone has their own planes to fly, all of which are crucial. Mullighan first took wing in Adelaide, the son of a lawyer father and a mother from a military Rosetta Stone Hindi family. His gran taught him the piano, but as a kid he admits all he cared about was Australian Rules Football, cricket, riding his bike and chasing girls. I was a bit callow culturally, he says.Since 1960, however, Adelaide, had been a festival city, in a barefaced copying of the Edinburgh model, and when Mullighan was 20 he caught the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Ballet and about 20 other things, and the combination just blew my mind. It made me realise how small a town Adelaide was and how far away from the world Australia was .He spent a couple of years studying for a law degree most of which he spent speaking in the debating society, playing music, watching cricket and learning to smoke and then picked up an arts degree with a classical music major. He started writing for Rolling Stone and Vogue and began working for Sony Classical before becoming label manager for Columbia Records. At the end of the 1990s he realised he could stay in Sydney, get a mortgage, lose his hair and get fat or he could see the world. He decided on the latter. In 1998 he finally made it to Edinburgh.The sheer architectural grandeur of the city blew me away. And its got a volcano in the middle of the city! Rosetta Stone Italian The locals are friendly and then, of course, it exploded into life with all of the festivals. And I was just stunned you could exhaust yourself, barely sleep and still feel like youd seen nothing. So in many ways and I wouldnt say this about much in my life it does feel like destiny, this job. And yet in some ways he doesn’t strike me as a natural film festival director. Music seems to be his area of expertise (my ears are a more powerful tool than my eyes in a way ). Still, he talks of the revelation of seeing Lawrence of Arabia in a 70mm print on a huge screen in Adelaide and hes certainly evangelical about the idea of film festivals.Theres a lesson to be learned in the almost insane proliferation of film festivals at the moment. And the lesson is that despite the abundance of iPads and smartphones people dont want to see films on their own. And people want to watch films that maybe wont get a theatrical distribution. Whatever the reaction to this years programme, the important thing Rosetta Stone Languages is the festival is still here. For the next two weeks Mullighan is going to be insanely busy. He hopes that as long as he remembers to eat and say no to the second glass of wine hell be fine. And then? I hope it goes well and Im welcomed back for a full years run at it. If anyone sees EIFF body armour on sale in the Filmhouse foyer next June, I want my commission.