The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and the UK Film Council (UKFC) announced yesterday at a press conference in Edinburgh Filmhouse that the Festival has won substantial national Lottery funding. The sum, £1.88 million over three years, respresents a large slice of the festival's annual budget of £1.2 million.
The EIFF is the first to receive lottery money as part of a £4.5million UK Film Council fund to support UK film festivals at a time when the media landscape is rapidly fragmenting and increasingly competitive.
Festival heads say the funding will go towards the EIFF's growth plan for public audiences and industry professionals at national and international levels and allow it to continue with its arthouse and independent filmmaking remit as it moves from its traditional August slot to 18-29 June this year.
Hannah McGill, EIFF Artistic Director said, "The UKFC's Film Festival Strategy has recognised EIFF's national and international significance and our potential to grow. This support will enable our development, and our ability to make a bigger impact in the UK, Europe and beyond."
EIFF Managing Director Ginnie Atkinson commented, "It is a significant strategic investment and one that will benefit both our major constituencies - the public audience and the film industry. The funding is attached to specific activities planned to make EIFF even more effective as a meeting place in the broadest sense of the word; a place where culture, ideas and business can be progressed - and in the unique setting of one of the world's most amazing cities."
Chair of EIFF John McCormick said: "The Board of the Edinburgh International Film Festival is delighted at this news. The funding is not only a valuable investment in the Festival's development - enabling us to grow, to have a bigger impact and to make our mark in June - but also signifies recognition of the EIFF's importance for the UK."