Like Jason Statham in Crank, the Edinburgh International Film Festival was dead… but it got better. The longest continually-running film fest in the world, EIFF is back between August 18-23 with an exciting new line-up and fresh impetus.
That line-up has just been announced. There are 24 new movies, 5 older films, a short film strand and an outdoor screening programming to keep the Scottish capital in thrilling new cinema.
The fest opens on Friday, August 18 with ‘Silent Roar’, an Outer Hebrides-set ‘teenage tale of surfing, sex and hellfire, and closes five days later with Babak Jalali’s ‘Fremont’.
Also on the line-up are ‘Choose Irvine Welsh’, a docu-portrait of the legendary ‘Trainspotting’ novelist, Celine Song’s gorgeous ‘Past Lives’ and Ira Sachs’s sweaty love triangle drama ‘Passages’.
‘Designed for an eclectic spectrum of film fans, and defined by a love of independent cinema, this compact programme shines a light on new talent, and offers a smashing six-day journey for the EIFF’s passionate audiences,’ says EIFF programme director Kate Taylor.
Look out, too, for a homecoming screening of sorts for Shane Meadows’ classic indie ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’, which had its world premiere at the festival nearly 20 years ago and gets a retrospective showing this year.
The film festival has suffered through some torrid times of late, with the company behind it going into administration in 2022, but this short-but-sweet incarnation bodes well for the future.
Venue-wise, the EIFF screenings are taking place at the Vue Edinburgh Omni at the top of Leith Walk and Everyman Edinburgh in St James Square.
The outdoor cinema – Cinema Under the Stars – will be setting up in the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh. On the programme? ‘Safety Last!’, ‘The Lego Movie’ and ‘Parasite’.
Tickets go onsale on from the official festival site at 12pm on July 7.