| Edinburgh International Film Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Film festival |
| Date | 14 – 20 August 2025 |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Summerhall,The Cameo, Edinburgh,Edinburgh Filmhouse |
| Location | Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland |
| Years active | 78 |
| Inaugurated | 1 June 1947 (1947-06-01) |
| Most recent | 2025 |
| Previous event | 77th |
| Next event | 79th |
| Website | www |
 78th | |
TheEdinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually runningfilm festival.[1][2][3]
EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in all genres and lengths. It also presents themed retrospectives and other specialized programming strands.
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The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) originated as theInternational Festival of Documentary Films and was opened byJohn Grierson, founder of the British documentary movement.[4] The International Festival of Documentary Films was presented by theEdinburgh Film Guild alongside the 1947Edinburgh International Festival.[5] Key figures in this initiative were the Guild's Norman Wilson and the film journalist and wartime civil servant,Forsyth Hardy.[6] The second Festival, in 1948, opened withRobert J. Flaherty'sLouisiana Story. In 1949, The Festival planned to screen the doubleAcademy Award winnerBicycle Thieves as the highlight of the third Festival but the film was given UK distribution and the distributors pulled it from the Festival.[7]
1952 marked a shift from documentary programming and the festival includedLe Plaisir andDeath of a Salesman, and theDuke of Edinburgh attended the opening of this sixth Festival.[8] The Festival was expanded in 1954 and showcased films and events at theCameo cinema and other cinemas around Edinburgh, andJohn Huston also agreed to serve as Honorary President.[9]
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The late Sixties saw Hollywood films showcased, mainly from independent studios, for example AIP. Film critic John Russell, reviewed these changes for the LondonTimes and wrote:[10]
Last year the Edinburgh Film Festival was radically remade: out with drably conservative features and solid documentary, in with Roger Corman, international underground and the young idea. The idea was not only young, but good. By choosing to lay the festival’s main accent on specialist weeks devoted to a particular country or school and on retrospectives of the sort of film-maker rarely so honoured over here, the organizers immediately gave it a new twist, and removed it from the regular rat race, in which too many festivals chase too few films of any real merit
— John Taylor Russell, Edinburgh Goes Pop,The Times (23 August 1969)
DirectorMurray Grigor recruited two undergraduates at University of Edinburgh,Lynda Myles and David Will, who had written an article published inThe Scotsman criticising the Festival's programming as conservative. Wills and Myles were credited bringing influence from French film theory and American cinema.[11] They worked with British theorist and filmmakerPeter Wollen and introduced film retrospectives, educational and publishing events to the festival. Peter Stanfield writes that this changed the festival saying "as of 1968-69 the Festival was no longer a purveyor of middlebrow film fare; from the onwards it would assume an innovative, oppositional face, offering a platform for cultish directors and a window for some of the most exciting developments in international filmmaking."[11] The EIFF was funded by grants from the Scottish Film Council and Edinburgh Cooperation and, at the time, had no industry sponsorship.
In 1970 the Festival continued to show international films from Eastern and Western Europe includingThe Rain People andFive Easy Pieces. Cult films were also screened including the work ofMonte Hellman, whose work the EIFF called "self-conscious" and "schematic" in the 1970 programme.[12] In 1975, the EIFF showcased the work ofJonathan Demme, screeningThe Hot Box,Caged Heat andCrazy Mama because "Demme sought to subvert the traditional conservative values of the genre! (written in the EIFF 1975 programme).[13] However, the decision of the EIFF to screen exploitation films was met with criticism and local magistrates responsible for passing films as suitable for public screening took offence to the violence inBloody Mama, for example, and allowed it only one screening.[11]
The EIFF, under the guidance of Lynda Myles,Laura Mulvey andClaire Johnston, championed the screening of female directors and was the first of its kind in Europe to screen a variety of different films showcasing the lives, histories and work of women. This was known as "The Women's Event" organised by Myles, Johnston and Mulvey at the 1972 Festival.[14]
In 1977 the EIFF founded theEdinburgh International Television Festival as a five-day event including the MacTaggart Memorial Lecture presented byMax Ophuls.[15]
DirectorJim Hickey took over the Festival in 1981 and inherited a financial deficit, meaning his budget was £31,000 instead of the £75,000 the previous year, and the 1981 Festival was to run for nine days instead of a fortnight.[16] Hickey decided that he would screenAbel Gance's five-hour long filmNapoleon, and this was shown as the 1981 Festival's closing performance to drum up interest and publicity.
TheEdinburgh Filmhouse was under reconstruction and when opened, the main auditorium would make a 285 seating capacity venue available for the EIFF. On the 15th February 1982, the main auditorium was opened to the public. The Filmhouse and the EIFF were financially linked for administration purposes, and the Scottish Film Council said it could not bail out the Filmhouse and that other sources of financial aid would need to be found.
The 1982 Festival opening film wasE.T. The Extra Terrestrial screening at thePlayhouse.[17] The first week of this Festival also included theScotch Reels event in which there were discussions and screenings of Scottish films, and the programmes were selected by Colin McArthur, who also convened the organising group. This event, discussing Scottish film, continued at the 1983 Festival but was renamedNew Images of Scotland.[16]
The 1984 Festival opened with the premiere of the filmComfort and Joy screened at The Playhouse. The EIFF executive was now made up of ProfessorColin Young as Chairman, Murray Grigor as Vice-Chair, Film, Jane Cousins, Vice-Chair, Television, and others. Jim Hickey remained Director of the Festival, as well as director of the Filmhouse.[16] Financial negotiations for the Filmhouse development were ongoing and the Duke of Edinburgh agreed to open the completed Filmhouse in July 1985.[18]
The 1986 Festival marked the EIFF's 40th anniversary and theScottish Television produced a filmHooray for Holyrood which included archival footage and interviews from those who had been associated with the EIFF.[19] The main event at this Festival was a three-day conference on Cultural Theories and Practices associated with the Notion of a Third World Cinema, organised in association with theBritish Film Institute.[16]
In 1988, the financial situation regarding the co-administration of the EIFF and the Filmhouse was ongoing and an outcome was eventually reached. The two bodies would separate by the end of the year but each would share the debt of both organisations. Being separate organisations required separate administration and therefore different directors.[20] Jim Hickey was made Chairman of the Filmhouse, John Crichton remained Director of the Filmhouse.David Robinson was appointed Director of the EIFF, and Colin Young remained the Festival's chairman. Robinson explained, in an interview withThe Times, that his aim was "the promotion of young film-makers and new talents."[citation needed] In a change with tradition, Robinson hosted prizes and competitions including the Charles Chaplin New Directors Award and the Young Film-maker of the Year prize offered by theBBC andVirgin at the 1989 Festival.[21]
Robinson introduced two new awards for the 1990 Festival; a prize for the best animated film financed by thePost Office and theMichael Powell Prize for the best British film of the year sponsored byBAFTA/Shell. There was also a return to hosting a Celebrity Lecture, which has been initiated byOrson Welles in 1953, andDavid Puttnam spoke at the Cameo.[22]
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At the 1991 Festival it was announced thatSean Connery would becomePatron of the EIFF and he attended the closing performance of that year's Festival with his wife at the Cameo.[23] Changes to the EIFF's administration were also made, including Murray Grigor becoming chairman of the festival, succeeding Colin Young who became chairman of the Edinburgh International Film and Television Festivals Council.[16]
In the spring of 1992, Penny Thompson took on the role of Director of the EIFF and she stated in an interview that her aim was to combine "a bit of analysis with a bit of fun."[24] Thompson introduced a new award for European Script Writing.
The artistic director from September 2006 to 2010 was Hannah McGill, previously a film critic and cinema columnist forThe Herald newspaper.[25] Her predecessor, Shane Danielsen, served from 2002 to 2006.[26]Tilda Swinton,Robert Carlyle andSeamus McGarvey were honorary patrons.[27] In December 2009, Hannah McGill collected the prestigiousTalkback Thames New Talent Award at theWomen in Film and Television Awards.[28]
The 60th Festival in 2006 saw American actressSigourney Weaver attend and receive the first EIFF Diamond Award for outstanding contribution to world cinema.[29] In 2010, Patrick Stewart chaired the Michael Powell Award Jury and attended an In Person: BAFTA Scotland interview.[30]
Following McGill's departure, a new format was announced in December 2010 with no artistic director and a series of guest curators led by producer James Mullighan.[31] The Festival returned to a more conventional format in 2012 under artistic director Chris Fujiwara, who stepped down in 2014.
In 2014, the film critic/programmer Mark Adams – who had been Chief Film Critic for Screen International; Director of Cinema at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), and Head of Programme Planning at the National Film Theatre – took over as artistic director. He decided to step down in late 2019 after heading five editions.[32]
2022
In November 2023, Paul Ridd, a long-term acquisitions executive atPicturehouse Cinemas, was named as the new Director of the Festival.[44] Shortly after, Emma Boa was appointed as the Festival's Producer.[45] With revitalised leadership, the EIFF team worked to embed the Festival within the wider cultural offering taking place in Edinburgh in August.
In January 2024, it was announced the EIFF would relaunch as an August fixture, running from August 15 to 21.[46] This attracted the Fringe audiences and integrated the Festival into the larger arts landscape accessible during this month.
The 77th anniversary of EIFF had a particular focus on industry, delivering a series of panels and networking opportunities that created a hub for local industry to network with international executives and directors.[47]With the support of The Sean Connery Foundation, the Festival launched its inaugural World Premiere features competition, a programme of ten, brand new films from all over the world competing for a £50,000 cash prize, decided by audience vote.[48]The Ceremony, a UK debut directed by Jack King, won the award and recouped much of the film's budget.[49]
EIFF also launched a new Shorts Competition, named in honour ofThelma Schoonmaker, which awarded £15,000 to the makers ofManny Wolfe, including the film's director, Trevor Neuhoff.[50]37 new feature films, 18 World Premieres including 10 World Premieres competed for the new Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, 4 special retrospective screenings, 5 short film programmes including the new Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence competition, an In Conversation event with filmmakerGaspar Noé and a strand of thrilling Midnight Madness screenings made up a seven-day celebration of world-class new cinema which allowed audiences, press and industry to engage with Edinburgh's other arts and cultural Festivals.[51]EIFF initiated new collaborations and partnerships with theEdinburgh Festival Fringe, opening up the Film Festival programme in new venues across the city, including non-traditional cinema spaces inSummerhall, 50 George Square and Inspace. This allowed audiences to experience the Fringe along with the programme of cinema at EIFF.
The 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF 2025) took place from 14–20 August, presenting a seven-day programme focused on international cinema and film industry engagement.
EIFF 2025 included 194 screenings and 34 industry and panel events, attended by over 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors, as well as more than 16,500 audience members. The programme featured 43 new feature films, including 18 World Premieres. Ten of these competed for The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, which was awarded toAbdolreza Kahani’sMortician. Six short film programmes were also presented, withMother Goose by Joanna Vymeris receiving The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence.
The festival’s retrospectives includedSacred Bonds, featuring the six original James Bond films starring Sean Connery and introduced by members of the Connery family and guest speakers, andThe Ranown Cycle by Budd Boetticher, shown in partnership with the Edinburgh Film Guild. Other retrospective screenings featured introductions byAndrea Arnold,Kevin Macdonald,Nia DaCosta andDavid Hayman.
A series of In Conversation events were held with figures from across the film industry. Participants included Thelma Schoonmaker,Ken Loach,Paul Laverty andRebecca O’Brien,Jeremy Thomas andMark Cousins,Eva Victor andAdele Romanski,Nia DaCosta,Ben Wheatley andAndy Starke,Andrea Arnold, andKevin andAndrew Macdonald, in partnership with BAFTA Scotland. Sessions were hosted by Mia Bays (BFI Filmmaking Fund), Guy Lodge (Variety), Rowan Woods (Edinburgh TV Festival), Rose Matafeo, Sam Clements (90 Minutes or Less podcast) and Anthony Andrews (We Are Parable).
The Festival opened with the UK Premiere ofEva Victor’sSorry, Baby and closed with the World Premiere ofPaul Sng’sReality Is Not Enough, a documentary on Irvine Welsh. EIFF 2025 featured 39 World Premieres and 48 UK Premieres across features and shorts, and highlighted emerging Scottish talent through the NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab and the Scottish Documentary Institute’sBridging the Gap programme.
Films were presented from 36 countries, including Scotland, the UK, the US, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, France, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Iran, Argentina and South Africa.
Screenings were held at several Edinburgh venues, including the reopened Filmhouse, Cameo Cinema, Vue Omni, Monkey Barrel Comedy, and a new pop-up cinema at the National Galleries of Scotland’s Hawthornden Theatre, in partnership with Assembly Festival. Tollcross Central Hall operated as the Festival Hub, hosting industry panels, networking sessions and informal meeting areas.[52][53][54]
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The first films shown at The International Festival of Documentary Films wereThe Cumberland Story,The Seventh Age andThe Festival of Youth. The closing film for the Festival wasRoberto Rosellini'sPaisa, six documentary episodes about theliberation of Italy at the end of theSecond World War. The second Festival in 1948 opened withLouisiana Story. In 1949, the Festival opened with a screening ofBerliner Ballade and closed withJour de Fete. The EIFF shifted from only screening documentaries and in 1950 opened withThe Wooden Horse. In 1951, the EIFF screenedThe Man in The White Suit as the opening film, a sci-fi comedy.Gene Kelly opened the 1956 Festival with a screening of his filmInvitation to Dance, and the same Festival also introduced the work ofSatyajit Ray with a screening ofPather Pancahli. The 1957 Festival introduced the first Midnight Matinee and screenedA Face in the Crowd at 11.30pm at the Regal cinema. The 1958 Festival was opened with a screening ofWild Strawberries and a popular film at this Festival wasRoman Polanski'sTwo Men and a Wardrobe.Bert Haanstra's first feature filmFanfare opened the 1959 Festival.
In 1960,I Aim At the Stars was shown at the Opening Gala and the films main actorsCurt Jurgens andGia Scala attended.The Pleasure of His Company had its European Premiere at the ABC cinema on Lothian Road as part of the EIFF in 1961. The 1962 Festival celebrated literature and the theme was The Film and the Literature and featured literary adaptions includingA Streetcar Named Desire,The Innocents,Last year at Marienbad,Wuthering Heights, andThe Quiet American. The theme of the 1963 Festival was The Film and the Drama with a special opening screening ofAn Evening with the Royal Ballet. The 1964 celebrated the work ofIngmar Bergman with a Retrospective screening films includingThe Seventh Seal,Wild Strawberries,The Face,Virgin Spring andThe Devil's Eye. The 1965 Festival screened the work ofFred Zinnemann includingFrom Here to Eternity andThe Nun's Story. The 20th EIFF in 1966 opened with the UK premiere ofDr Zhivago. The 1967 Festival celebrated the work of Carol Reed and screened films including:Odd Man Out,The Fallen Idol,The Third Man,An Outcast of the Islands,The Man Between andOur Man in Havana. The 1968 presented aSamuel Fuller Retrospective and screened the complete works of Fuller.Country Dance was screened at the 1970 Festival and its starSusannah York attended. The 1971 Festival presented aNorman McLaren Retrospective and screened films includingNew York Lightboard andKorean Alphabet. The 1973 Retrospective celebrated the work ofWerner Herzog. The 1974 Festival screenedFootball as Never Before which followedGeorge Best in close-up for the match betweenManchester United andCoventry City. The 1978 Festival screenedLong Shot. DirectorRidley Scott attended the midnight screening ofAlien at the New Victoria cinema at the 1979 Festival.
In 1980Tess was screened as the closing film, and it was the final70mm film to ever be screened at theCaley Picture House.The Draughtsman's Contract premiered at the 1982 Festival andPeter Greenaway andMichael Nyman attended. The 1983 Festival presented a Japanese Cinema Perspective.Streets of Fire was screened at the Filmhouse in 1984 andWalter Hill attended. The 1986 Festival screenedBetty Blue at the Playhouse as the opening film andJean-Jacques Beineix attended.Bill Forsyth arranged for a special screening of his filmHousekeeping at the 1987 Festival.John Cleese attended the 1988 Festival for a screening ofA Fish Called Wanda.The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover was screened as a surprise film at the 1989 Festival, and was not revealed to the audience until they had sat down in their seats. In 1990,Clint Eastwood andQuincy Jones attended the Festival for a screening ofWhite Hunter Black Heart. The 1991 Festival premieredJungle Fever,Life is Sweet,Truly Madly Deeply,Boyz In The Hood andPump Up The Volume, andBarton Fink closed the Festival.Reservoir Dogs,Glengarry Glen Ross,Man Bites Dog andLes Amants du Pont Neuf were all screened at the 1992 Festival.The Piano was screened at the opening of the 1993 Festival. The 1994 Festival premieredShallow Grave, andDanny Boyle,Ewan McGregor,Christopher Eccleston andKerry Fox attended.Clerks,Dazed & Confused,Killing Zoe,Muriel's Wedding andThe Last of England were also screened at the Festival.The Usual Suspects premiered at the 1995 Festival. Sean Connery attended the 1996 Festival for a screening ofDragonheart at the Odeon cinema which opened the Festival.Mrs Brown premiered at theDominion cinema for the 1997 Festival and bothBilly Connolly andJudi Dench attended. The 1998 Festival premieredFear and Loathing In Las Vegas and directorTerry Gilliam attended.The Thomas Crown Affair premiered at the 1999 Festival andPierce Brosnan andRene Russo attended.The 2000 Festival opened with a screening ofDancer in the Dark and also premieredBeautiful Creatures,Amores Perros,Audition andBilly Elliot.The Pledge was screened at the 2001 Festival andSean Penn attended. The 2002 Festival opened with the premiere ofMorvern Callar andSamantha Morton attended.Young Adam opened the 2003 Festival. The world premiere ofMy Summer of Love was part of the 2004 Festival.Guy X premiered at the 2005 Festival andAlassandro Nivola,Natascha McElhone andJason Briggs attended. Sigourney Weaver attended the 60th EIFF in 2006 and attended the premiere of her filmSnow Cake.The Edge of Love premiered at the 2008 Festival andKeira Knightley andSienna Miller attended. Robert Carlyle's directorial debutThe Legend of Barney Thompson opened the 2015 Festival.Story of a Girl premiered at the 2017 Festival andAndrew Herr andKevin Bacon attended. The International premiere ofPuzzle opened the 2018 Festival and closed with the UK premiere ofSwimming with Men. The European premiere ofGet Duked! (originally titled Boyz in the Wood) opened the 2019 Festival andMrs Lowry and Son premiered and closed the 2019 Festival andTimothy Spall attended.Yesterday andAstronaut were also screened and Danny Boyle andRichard Dreyfuss attended.
The 2020 EdFilmFest At Home collaboration between EIFF andCurzon Home Cinema offered a series of at-home viewings including titles such asClemency,Saint Frances andA White, White Day.
The 2021 Festival premieredAnnette, and screened a special preview ofEverybody's Talking About Jamie.Pig opened the Festival and premieredHere Today as the closing film. The 75th EIFF in 2022 opened with a screening ofAftersun and closed withAfter Yang. The 2023 Festival opened with the World Premiere ofSilent Roar and closed withFremont. It also presented a Retrospective screening ofShane Meadows’Dead Man's Shoes.
In 2024, the new iteration of EIFF opened with the UK premiere ofThe Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan and the UK premiere ofAlien: Romulus as a Midnight Madness screening. The Festival closed with a strong display of Scottish talent in the World premiere ofSince Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands and a Midnight Madness UK premiere ofThe Substance.
The current Director of the EIFF is Paul Ridd who was appointed in 2024.[55] Below is a list of previous directors:
| Director | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Grigor | 1967 | 1973 | |
| Linda Myles[56] | 1973 | 1980 | |
| Jim Hickey | 1981 | 1988 | |
| David Robinson | 1988 | 1992 | |
| Shane Danielsen | 1992 | 2002 | |
| Hannah McGill | 2006 | 2010 | After McGill's departure, the EIFF appointed a series of guest curators led by producer James Mullighan from 2010 to 2012 |
| Chris Fujiwara | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Mark Adams | 2014 | 2019 | 2020 EIFF was cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic |
| Kirsty Matheson | 2021 | 2023 | |
| Kate Taylor | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Paul Ridd | 2024 | Present |
Previous patrons of EIFF include Scottish actorRobert Carlyle, Scottish actorJames Cosmo, Irish-Scottish directorMark Counsins, Scottish actressKaren Gillan, Irish cinematographerSeamus McGarvey, and Scottish actressTilda Swinton.[57][58]Sean Connery was also a previous patron.
The EIFF accepts submissions of short films (30 minutes or less runtime) and feature films (over 31 minutes runtime), and each incurs a submission fee for entry.[59] Submissions normally open in the January of a year and the deadline will be the April of the same year, with the Festival taking place that August.
EIFF's 2024 relaunch heralded a new Festival programme, comprising the following categories:[60]
During the Festival's early years, screenings took place at various cinemas and other venues across the city of Edinburgh, including the New Victoria in Clerk Street, the Playhouse in Leith Walk, the Odeon on Lothian Road and the Central Hall in Tollcross.[61]
Film House: Hill Street
In 1946, the Festival established its roots in the Film House on 6–8 Hill Street. Norman Wilson, who was Chairman of the Edinburgh Film Guild and EIFF at the time, wrote in 1951: "Since its inception, the Film Guild has always maintained premises of some sort. For one reason or another, we were continually migrating and never finding satisfaction in any of the places we rented. The only solution was to obtain a house of our own."[62] Film House was crucial in enabling the Guild to launch the first International Festival of Documentary Films (later renamed the Edinburgh International Film Festival). The first Festival office was at Film House, and most screenings took place in the Guild Theatre at Film House.[62]
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Film House: Randolph Crescent
In 1958, EIFF relocated to a new Film House at 3 Randolph Crescent, a Georgian townhouse with its own cinema. The purchase of the building and the installation of a 100-seat cinema was funded entirely by the Guild. When not in use during EIFF, the cinema provided Edinburgh with its first "regional film theatre" based on the National Film Theatre in London.[63] Film House continued as the base of EIFF until the property was sold in the late 1970s.
Filmhouse: Lothian Road
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The Guild was one of the key partners in establishing "Filmhouse". As part of this, the Guild sold its Randolph Crescent property and invested in purchasing and developing 88 Lothian Road in 1976. The Guild's name "Film House" was initially retained at the new location, but the two words were eventually merged to become "Filmhouse". One of the Guild's intentions, stretching back as far as the 1940s, had been to create a regional film theatre for Scotland. It was hoped that the new Lothian Road property would make that intention a reality. Throughout its history, the Guild had been a private film society, which members of the public could join. The new Filmhouse was to be a large public cinema and early publicity described Filmhouse as "Scotland's new cinema centre".[62] Screenings commenced in 1978. Full restoration work was completed in 1985, with the opening of the 280 seat Cinema 1, the café bar and Lothian Road entrance. Cinema 3 was added in 1997.
In 2010, theCentre for the Moving Image (CMI) was created to run both the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Filmhouse. The CMI abruptly went into administration in October 2022, resulting in the closure of Filmhouse, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen (operated by the CMI from 4 April 2014).[64]
Since the closure of Filmhouse in 2022
With CMI going into administration, there was a focus "on marketing the assets for sale, including the Edinburgh Filmhouse building, and looking to transfer the brand and trademark of EIFF".[65]
Creative Scotland bought the EIFF brand, trademark and editions of the Film Festival had a special one year iteration in 2023 under the auspices of theEdinburgh International Festival. They partnered with cinema venues Vue Edinburgh Omni and Everyman Edinburgh at the St James Quarter, while the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh was used for the outdoor screening series, Cinema Under the Stars.[66]
EIFF 2024 and onwards
2024 was regarded as "Year Zero" for the revitalised EIFF; a brand new organisation was established and they delivered a completely new iteration of the Festival, honouring its legacy while looking firmly to the future. EIFF initiated new collaborations and partnerships with theEdinburgh Festival Fringe, opening up the Film Festival programme in new venues across the city, including non-traditional cinema spaces inSummerhall, 50 George Square andInspace. This allowed audiences to experience the Fringe along with the programme of cinema at EIFF.[67]
The Edinburgh International Film Festival has given out a number of awards at the end of its festival run.
These new EIFF awards were established in the Festival's 77th iteration in 2024 to support new and emerging filmmakers in their careers. Both awards are decided by audience vote.
| Year | Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence | Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mortician (dir.Abdolreza Kahani) | Mother Goose (dir. Joanna Vymeris) | [70] |
| 2024 | The Ceremony (dir. Jack King) | Manny Wolfe (dir. Trevor Neuhoff) | [71] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
