Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival logo 2015
StatusActive
GenreFilm festival
Date(s)18 to 23 August 2023
FrequencyAnnually
VenueEdinburgh Filmhouse, Fountainpark Cineworld, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Odeon Lothian Road
Location(s)Edinburgh
CountryScotland
Years active76
Inaugurated1 June 1947 (1947-06-01)
Websitewww.edfilmfest.org.uk

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival.[1][2][3] EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, International, European, UK or Scottish Premieres), in all genres and lengths. It also presents themed retrospectives and other specialized programming strands.

History

The International Festival of Documentary Films, a programme of documentaries, was presented by the Edinburgh Film Guild alongside the 1947 Edinburgh International Festival.[4] At the time, Cannes and Venice were the most significant annual film festivals. Over the subsequent years, the programme expanded to include fiction films and experimental work in addition to documentaries.

Linda Myles was director of the Festival from 1973-80,[5] initiating a number of reappraisals and new viewpoints, notably "The Women's Event" organised by Myles, Claire Johnston and Laura Mulvey at the 1972 Festival.[6]

In 2008, the film festival moved from its traditional August slot to June.[7]

The film festival shows a range of feature-length films and documentaries as well as short films, animations and music videos. A jury awards The Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film while the audience can vote for the Audience Award, and a panel of judges adjudicates the Best International Feature Award. There are also several awards given for short films.

The artistic director from September 2006 to 2010 was Hannah McGill, previously a film critic and cinema columnist for The Herald newspaper.[8] Her predecessor, Shane Danielsen, served from 2002 to 2006.[9] Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle and Seamus McGarvey are honorary patrons.[10] In December 2009, Hannah McGill collected the prestigious Talkback Thames New Talent Award at the Women in Film and Television Awards.[11]

Following McGill's departure, a new format was announced with no artistic director and a series of guest curators led by producer James Mullighan.[12]

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 after heading five editions in late 2019.[13]

As of June 2021, the festival board introduced its newest creative director, Kristy Matheson, who formerly served as Director of Film at Australia's national museum of screen culture, ACMI.

In October 2022, the festival's organiser, the Centre for the Moving Image, went into administration.[14]

In March 2023, it was announced that the festival would return in a special one-year iteration as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, with the support of the Edinburgh International Festival in Screen Scotland. The 2023 programme will be led by EIFF’s new Programme Director Kate Taylor, with Kristy Matheson leaving the role. Details of the programme, which included 36 features films, of which 24 were new, were published in July.[15]

Venues

Edinburgh Filmhouse was the festival's home cinema, until its closure in 2022. The festival uses a range of other cinemas and venues across the city including Fountainpark Cineworld, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, VUE Cinema at the Omni Centre and the Odeon.

Film categories

The festival uses the following film categories (2022):[16]

  • Opening and Closing Galas
  • Animation
  • Shorts
  • Film Fest In The City
  • Heartbreakers
  • Night Moves
  • Postcards from the Edge
  • Reframing the Gaze: Experiments in Women’s Filmmaking, 1972 to Now
  • Social Studies: Six Films by Kinuyo Tanaka
  • The Chamber
  • The Conversation
  • The Powell & Pressburger Award for Best Feature Film

EIFF Awards

  • The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, with a £20,000 cash prize
  • The Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film
  • The Award for Best International Feature Film, with a £10,000 cash prize
  • The Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, with a £10,000 cash prize
  • The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation
  • The Award for Best Short Film
  • The Award for Creative Innovation in a Short Film
  • The Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to a Short Film
  • The Audience Award

References

  1. ↑ "Scotland Hosts the World's Longest Running Film Festival". Scotland.com. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  2. ↑ "WebFilmFest.com – Your Online Source for Film Festivals". WebFilmFest.com. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Filmhouse – Edinburgh International Film Festival". lastminute.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  4. ↑ "Film Attractions. Big Programme of Documentaries". The Glasgow Herald. 23 August 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Lloyd, Matt (1 February 2013). "Hero Worship: Lynda Myles". Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Hayward, Susan (2002). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (2 ed.). Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 9781134587902. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Edinburgh International Film Festival". Edinburgh-History.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  8. ↑ Gillian Bowdtich (17 May 2009). "Hannah McGill: The Glamour Girl of the Pictures". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Shane Danielson (10 August 2006). "Five Years' Hard Labour of Love". The Times. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  10. ↑ Tim Cornwell (28 April 2009). "Oscar Nominee is Edinburgh Film Festival's Latest Patron". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  11. ↑ "EIFF Artistic Director Hannah McGill Wins Award at Women in Film and Television Awards". Filmhouse. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  12. ↑ Brian Ferguson (22 December 2010). "Film Festival promises big changes as new producer is announced". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  13. ↑ Ferguson, Brian (16 December 2014). "Mark Adams to head up Edinburgh Film Festival". The Scotsman. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Jack Ewing (6 October 2022). "Edinburgh film festival and cinemas cease trading". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (6 July 2023). "Edinburgh film festival announces lineup after seeing off closure threat". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Strands". Edinburgh International Film Festival. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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