The Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced a marquee lineup of filmmakers, actors and industry figures for its expanded 2026 industry program, featuring Kenneth Branagh, Ewan McGregor, Bruce Dern and Ken Burns alongside producers, executives and emerging talent across five days of talks, panels and networking events.
Branagh will receive the festival’s inaugural Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award and participate in an on-stage conversation. McGregor will take part in a separate in-conversation event in partnership with BAFTA Scotland. Both Burns and Dern will take part in one-on-one Q&As at the event.
Acclaimed indie producer Christine Vachon (Carol, Past Lives) will headline multiple industry talks at Edinburgh, including a session called “Would This Get Made?” alongside executives from Film4, BBC Film and U.K. distributor Altitude discussing what projects greenlit in past decades would make it if pitched in 2026.
On August 15, the festival will launch its inaugural UK Film Conference, billed as a state-of-the-nation assessment of independent British filmmaking. The conference will open with a keynote from British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts in conversation with Picturehouse director Clare Binns, examining the future of UK independent film.
