The Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced its programme of films for Film Fest in the City 2021 in St Andrew Square.
The films are free, but bookings are required.
Tickets will be released via the EIFF website to Filmhouse Members and EIFF Friends on Wednesday 28 July, and will available generally from Thursday 29 July.
The series of free films will open on Thursday 19th August, a day after the EIFF opens, screening four films a day for the duration of the shorter-than-normal film festival which ends on Wednesday 25th August.
The festival will include many classic, crowd-pleasers such as: the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz, three films from the Stars Wars series, cult classic the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease, Mamma Mia!, Casablanca, Sleepless in Seattle, among others.
It will also include a one-hour cocktail event prior to the preview screening of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie! at Festival Theatre. This is a screen adaptation of the hit stage musical, about a teenager in a blue-collar English town struggling to pursue a career as a drag queen. The St Andrew Square evening will include drag queen entertainment and cocktails, with prizes for the best audience outfits. There will also be an online screening as well as the Festival Theatre screening.
As well as a Covid-safe setting, food and drink will be available on site, including EIFF’s Official Whisky Partner Johnnie Walker and EIFF Official Beer Partner Innis & Gunn, alongside Poco Prosecco offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments.
Audience members are encouraged to bring their favourite cinema snacks and picnic blankets or enjoy one of the St Andrew Square deck chairs.
Nick Varley, Lead Guest Programmer of EIFF and Film Fest in the City said: “This year our Film Fest in the City screenings are simply put a celebration of the big screen. After a year of cinemas remaining closed and audiences being deprived of the shared experience only cinema brings, we are delighted to present a selection of films that, in our opinion, represent the true meaning of big screen entertainment. For those looking for a theme or meaning in the selection let’s just say it’s cinema for cinema’s sake – enjoy!”