Director Friedkin stars in The Filmhouse Connection

RENOWNED director William Friedkin is to discuss his career at a special screening of his 1971 crime classic The French Connection.

Friedkin, perhaps best known as the man behind horror classic The Exorcist, is heading to the Capital for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which will open with a gala screening of his latest movie, the darkly comic thriller Killer Joe. Ahead of the red carpet event, however, he is set to meet fans at the Filmhouse following a showing of The French Connection, a fictionalised account of New York City’s largest drug bust starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.

The hugely influential thriller is also about blurring the line between good guys and bad guys, and features one of cinema’s most dizzying chase sequences.

After the film screening Mr Friedkin will take part in an extended career question and answer session moderated by EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara.

The event is being held at the Edinburgh Filmhouse on Lothian Road tomorrow at 7.30pm.