Paul Ridd

Things were looking dicy for Britain’s longest-running film fest when its organiser went into administration in 2022. But after a patch that was rockier than Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh International Film Festival is back and looking more dynamic than ever for summer 2024. There’s a new leadership team and plenty of fresh energy to the UK’s oldest film fest as it kicks off on August 15. Tickets are on sale now for a programme with plenty to draw in Edinburgh movie lovers and film fans from further afield.  ‘This year’s festival has really strong competition films and world premieres,’ says festival director Paul Ridd, ‘but we're also screening films in non-traditional spaces. So we’ve got The Cameo, which has screened films at the festival for years and years, but also three pop-up spaces: Summerhall, 50 George Square and digital arts venue Inspace. It’s going to create the buzz and atmosphere of a Fringe show.’ But with a line-up encompassing dozens of feature films, docs and shorts, it’s handy to have a steer on what to see and which tickets to buy (priced between £8 and £14, with some ‘pay what you can’ options). To help, we asked Ridd to single out a few favourites from the line-up. RECOMMENDED: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Your ultimate guide to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024. 📽️ This year’s London Film Festival opener is a hometown gem.

A fixture in the UK’s cultural calendar since 1947, Edinburgh International Film Festival takes its place alongside the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this month. 2026’s iteration brings more exciting new independent films, big names (Bruce Dern, Kenneth Branagh, Ewan McGregor, indie super-producer Christine Vachon), and classic retrospectives. You’d have to travel many miles to find a cooler shindig than EIFF’s Trainspotting reunion on August 14, or better value for money than the fest’s 10-films-for-80-quid Choose Cinema pass. But with 38 films on the line-up, what to see? We asked festival director Paul Ridd for an inside track. When is this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival? The fest opens with Domhnall Gleeson-starring comedy The Incomer on August 13 and closes on the 19th with Louise Lockwood’s Bel, a documentary about Kenyan-Scottish musician Beldina Odenyo. In total, this year’s EIFF packs in 38 new films, including 10 films in competition for the Sean Connery Prize. Look out, too, for retrospectives, gatherings, events and parties. ‘Our intention has always been to be a home for independent cinema in the UK,’ says Ridd. ‘We’re building a broad range of films, events, retro screenings and special strands like our Midnight Madness strand, so there's lots on offer for audiences.’ What are the best films to see at EIFF? Edinburgh International Film FestivalBorges and Me Borges and Me ‘This wonderful film is about Jean Luis Borges and his journey across Scotland i