Two years ago, Edinburgh Intl. Film Festival was talking rebuild. Now it can start talking momentum.
The world’s longest continually running film festival opens its 79th edition Thursday with 38 new feature presentations, 21 world premieres, a pumping 30th-anniversary celebration of “Trainspotting,” Ewan McGregor, Kenneth Branagh and Ken Burns in town, a beefed-up industry program and, for the first time in the U.K., a Variety Lounge.
Running Aug. 13-19, EIFF 2026 marks the third edition under CEO and festival director Paul Ridd and festival producer Emma Boa. Their reboot has sharpened Edinburgh’s proposition: a historic festival, compact footprint, meaningful cash prizes and a determined bid to become the U.K.’s “home of independent cinema.”
Admissions rose from 12,000 in 2024 to 16,500 last year, when more than 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors attended. Industry events nearly doubled from 13 to 25.
“Heading into the third edition of our revamped, reimagined and reinvigorated Edinburgh International Film Festival feels like hitting a stride we have been working towards since the start of 2024,” Ridd said on unveiling the program.
