There’s just over a month to go before the start of the “rebooted” Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024.
There are only 37 new feature-length films, whereas the pre-pandemic Edinburgh Film Festival 2019 hosted 121 features. And the festival is now a week long, whereas before it was a 12-day affair.
This year’s EIFF stretches into Edinburgh’s Southside to venues better known as destinations for Fringe shows: Edinburgh University’s theatre at 50 George Square (in partnership with Assembly Festival) and Inspace (in partnership with Monkey Barrel Comedy Club); the converted veterinary school at Summerhall, near the Meadows and Central Hall on Lothian Road. The more traditional cinematic “hub” of this year's EIFF is the Cameo in Tollcross.
It may not be the kind of film festival we’re used to, but there is a sense that this festival is ready to create some buzz.
This will be the third iteration of the annual film festival since the charity that ran the festival, Centre for the Moving Image, went into receivership in October 2022 almost taking film festival and Filmhouse down with it.
It’s also the first festival since producer Andrew Macdonald took over the role of EIFF chair with a new board and festival director, Paul Rudd, and new festival producer, Emma Boa taking the reins.
Rudd has said that this is the year that the new EIFF team can “set our stall and then grow”.
Competitions
In February, EIFF announced significant prize money for two competitions, to be decided by audience vote. The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence carries a £50,000 award to support future projects. The award is fully funded by The Sean Connery Foundation.
The second, Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence, carries a £15,000 prize. Thelma Schoonmaker will attend the Festival and introduce a retrospective screening of Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell’s much loved film I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) set on the Isle of Mull.
There are 10 world-premiering films in the feature-length competition, each of which will have four screenings, once at each of the festival’s four partner venues (Cameo, Inspace, 50 George Square, and Summerhall).
The films include Kelsey Taylor’s reimagined tale of Little Red Riding Hood, set in snowy Oregon, To Kill A Wolf; a documentary looking at a man and his life-sized, AI-animated doll in Bryan Carberry’s smiles and kisses you; and Jack King’s black-and-white tragi-drama set in the Yorkshire hills The Ceremony.
Popular Edinburgh Fringe ventriloquist Nina Conti launches her absurd, road movie Sunlight in competition at the EIFF. She plays a life size version of her monkey sidekick in the film.
Outside Competition
As previously announced, the Festival will open with Nora Fingscheidt's Orkney-set The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan. A theatrical adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s sobriety-seeking memoir is also showing at the Churchill Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Closing Film is the previously announced World Premiere of Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s new documentary Since Yesterday: the Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands.
Other highlights of this year’s EIFF include an In Conversation event with unsettling filmmaker Gaspar Noé (Irreversible, Climax, Enter The Void), ahead of presenting a screening of Dario Argento’s classic horror Suspiria (1977).
Lynda Myles Celebrates is a new special screening showcase for new work in the pioneering spirit of writer, academic and former EIFF director Lynda Myles. This year’s film is the World Premiere of Argentinian filmmaker Axel Cheb Terrab’s film Gala & Kiwi which will be presented to audiences by Myles.
In total, there are 18 World Premieres, with the Out of Competition strand offering additional World and UK premieres such as Sophie Fiennes’s immersive documentary about theatre-makers Cheek by Jowl and Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Acting and (former EIFF director) Mark Cousins’s new documentary on Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things.
In the new Midnight Madness strand that showcases new, edgy, darker cinema you can find the latest from the Alien franchise, Demi Moore in a gore comedy The Substance, and a PTSD thriller created by and starring former Royal Marine commandos in Sunray: Fallen Soldier.
“Through a spirit of collaboration, passion and above all teamwork, we have worked to fashion something special out of a shared vision for what we want this historic festival to be going forward, and to offer a platform to an enormous range of film work,” said Rudd.
“Since day one, the audience has always been front and centre in our thinking. And I cannot wait to see these formally exciting, thematically rich and unforgettable films to find their audience with us. Bring it on.”
The relaunched EIFF runs from Thursday 15 August to Wednesday 21 August.
Programme of films below (provided by EIFF):
The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence
ALL THE MOUNTAINS GIVE (Arash Rakhsha, Iran) World Premiere
A powerful documentary about the Kolbari covert goods trades between the Kurdish cities and towns of Iran and borders of Iraq, the film follows friends Hamid and Yasser as they balance fragile work and family lives.
THE CEREMONY (Jack King, UK) World Premiere
A fight over stolen property - and a tragic death - brings together two migrant workers as they search for a suitable burial place. Shot in black and white against a rolling Yorkshire landscape, this drama packs a powerful punch.
FUGA (Mary Jiménez, Bénédicte Liénard, Belgium) World Premiere
A richly poetic journey to the heart of the Peruvian jungle, where a lover must be laid to rest. This drama - where we uncover lives of intimidation and violence - has a unique visual and sonic style.
LILIES NOT FOR ME (Will Seefried, US) World Premiere
Told through elegant flashbacks, two men wrestle with their sexuality in the repressive English society of the 1920s. Exploring a neglected period in queer history, this drama is defined by a haunting mix of romanticism and unflinching honesty.
LOLLIPOP (Daisy-May Hudson, UK) World Premiere
A stirring drama about a mother desperate to maintain custody of her children, following her release from prison. When things seem dark for Molly (Posy Sterling), an encounter with an old friend may spark something new.
A SHRINE (Abdolreza Kahani, Canada) World Premiere
A mobile religious shrine acts as a get-rich-quick scheme for an ambitious man. But there may be consequences... This subversive comedy drama also offers an intriguing and offbeat window into the diasporic Iranian community in Montreal.
SMILES AND KISSES YOU (Bryan Carberry, US) World Premiere
The relationship between a man and his life-size AI-animated doll is explored in this moving documentary. A clear eyed and open hearted take on machine learning and loneliness, in an age of algorithmic dating apps.
SUNLIGHT (Nina Conti, UK) World Premiere
An absurd, original and darkly comic road movie about a monkey, a man and a dead man’s watch. Written, produced and directed by EdFringe favourite Nina Conti, the comedian stars as a life-size iteration of her stand-up sidekick.
TO KILL A WOLF (Kelsey Taylor, US) World Premiere
Reimagining the classic fable Little Red Riding Hood, a young girl is discovered in the snowy Oregon landscapes by a social pariah. This dark psychological drama interrogates trauma, grief and redemption in a dangerous world.
XIBALBA MONSTER (Manuela Irene, Mexico) World Premiere
A young boy forms an unlikely friendship with an ageing hermit while struggling to make sense of the death of his parents. This delicately moving film explores the circle of life, the human experience and the order of the natural world.
Out Of Competition Features
ACTING (Sophie Fiennes, UK) World Premiere
In an old castle, a dozen young actors work on Shakespeare’s Scottish Play (Macbeth) with an insightful theatre director. This immersive documentary looks behind the scenes at the acting process, and is a celebration of artistic collaboration.
AND MRS (Daniel Reisinger, UK) World Premiere
When Gemma’s (Aisling Bea) fiancé (Colin Hanks) dies shortly before their wedding day, she decides to marry him anyway. An unconventional romantic comedy which explores fidelity, strength and the lengths we go to honour our commitments.
ARMAND (Halfdan Ullmann Tønde, Norway) UK Premiere
Camera D’Or Winner, Cannes 2024. Elizabeth (Renate Reinsve) is shocked to discover that her son has been accused of crossing boundaries at school. A tightly wound and exhilarating drama examining the assumptions that adults can make when trying to uncover the truth.
BETWEEN THE TEMPLES (Nathan Silver, US) UK Premiere
A cantor having a crisis of faith is reunited with his high school music teacher, who is intent on having a late life Bat Mitzvah. This elegantly observed comedy drama delicately balances farce and romance.
BLACK DOG (Guan Hu, Taiwan) UK Premiere
Un Certain Regard Main Prize Winner,Cannes 2024. Returning to his hometown following time in prison, a young man befriends a stray whippet in this tale of companionship and redemption. This profound and moving drama is a soulful delight for dog lovers everywhere.
BLUE SUN PALACE (Constance Tsang, US) UK Premiere
Far from home, Amy and Didi have built new lives for themselves in Flushing, Queens. But tragedy will break the world they have created. A beautiful drama about absence, grief and the human need for connection.
BOGANCLOCH (Ben Rivers, UK) UK Premiere
Observing a solitary soul at the edge of the world, this mesmerising documentary follows forest-dwelling hermit Jake Williams as he lives a self-contained existence in the Scottish wilderness. The director revisits his subject after Two Years at Sea (2011).
JOY DANCER (Suzanne Smith, Sylvia Solf, US) World Premiere
A dance-filled documentary about South African choreographer and activist Gregory Maqoma and composer Thuthuka Sibisi, and their creation of a dance theatre piece based on the true story of the first Black South African choir travelling to the UK.
MONGREL (Wei Liang Chiang, You Qiao Yin, Taiwan) UK Premiere
An undocumented Thai careworker in a remote region of Taiwan navigates a lack of status and currency alongside the people he looks after. This compassionate drama observes people disenfranchised by a system that barely acknowledges them.
MY FAVOURITE CAKE (Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha) UK Premiere
An elderly Iranian widow befriends a lonely taxi driver in Tehran, railing against strict social structures. A profoundly moving meditation on ageing, loneliness and love in unexpected places - and a reflection on societal repression of both men and women.
A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS (Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, Norway)
Grand Jury Prize & World Cinema Documentary Winner, Sundance 2024. When a tragic event shatters the world of the Payne family, they are forced to give up their idyllic, off-the-grid lifestyle in the Norwegian wilderness. An ode to nature and resilience, this documentary is warm, potent and deeply moving.
SCHIRKOA: IN LIES WE TRUST (Ishan Shukla, India) UK Premiere
Animation NETPAC Award Winner, Rotterdam 2024
In a dystopian world where differences are erased, pressures mount towards revolution. Spectacularly animated using video game technology, our societal fears about social control and liberation are confronted in this unique and timely nightmare.
SING SING (Greg Kwedar, US) European Premiere Presented by We Are Parable and EIFF
With a career-best performance from Colman Domingo, this poignant drama unfolds in the walls of the notorious Sing Sing prison in upstate New York. A story of resilience and the restorative impact of art, it offers us pieces of hope in even the darkest places.
STEPPENWOLF (Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Kazakhstan) UK Premiere
A woman searching for her son encounters a corrupt sociopathic investigator who will stop at nothing to carve the way forward for them both. This is a dystopian, modern and brutal take on classic Western and Samurai films, with an unlikely female heart.
A SUDDEN GLIMPSE TO DEEPER THINGS (Mark Cousins, UK) UK Premiere
This riveting documentary focuses on the life and work of Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, 20 years after her death. Exploring the artist’s life and her wordless language of colour, new ways of seeing are found.
THE MOUNTAIN WITHIN ME (Polly Steele, UK) World Premiere
Following an almost fatal injury, rugby player Ed Jackson’s recovery is charted through a new-found love for mountaineering. This courageous documentary is starkly honest and unsentimental in its examination of a life forever changed.
THE RADLEYS (Euros Lyn UK) World Premiere
A bloodthirsty, dark comedy about a suppressed family of vampires. Adapted from Matt Haig’s (The Midnight Library) titular novel by comedian Jo Brand and writer Talitha Stevenson, this is a fresh, inventive reimagining of the vampire genre.
TIMESTALKER (Alice Lowe, UK) UK Premiere.
Screening with short film DON’T HATE ME (Grace Campbell, UK). Would you chase true love across centuries? With a reincarnation twist, this romantic comedy is full of big hair and a big heart. Emotionally insightful and entertaining, and with a terrific supporting cast, this hilarious and moving film is truly unique.
Midnight Madness
BIRDEATER (Jack Clark, Jim Weir, Australia) UK Premiere (M/M)
Screening with short film MAKE ME A PIZZA (Talia Shea Levin, US) UK Premiere
When Irene joins fiancé Louis on his stag-do in the remote Australian bush, the night slowly devolves into chaos. Blending psychological horror with an exploration of toxic masculinity, audiences will be on the edge of their seats.
KING BABY (Kit Redstone, Arran Shearing, UK) UK Premiere
Screening with short film DUCK (Rachel Maclean, Scotland)
Prompted by a royal vision, a king and his servant carve themselves a queen. A surreal comedy about serving others, arrogance, and the slippery nature of power. Enigmatic performances make for a royally unexpected watch.
ODDITY (Damian Mc Carthy, Ireland) UK Premiere
Screening with short film ONE MORE ROUND (Zach Magid, Andrew Tyrell, US) UK Premiere
A medium is determined to find her sister’s murderer with the support of an unnerving wooden mannequin. Set in rural Ireland, this ghoulish haunted house horror is a dread-inducing thrill ride from start to finish.
SUNRAY: FALLEN SOLDIER (James Clarke, Daniel Shephard, UK) World Premiere
Screening with short film MEAT PUPPET (Eros V, UK) UK Premiere
Created by and starring former Royal Marines Commandos, this adrenaline fuelled thriller follows a war veteran seeking justice in a violent criminal world. The film also offers a hard-hitting portrayal of PTSD.
Lynda Myles Celebrates…
GALA AND KIWI (Axel Cheb Terrab, Argentina) World Premiere
Screening with short film SIESTA (Gustavo Rene Sanabria, Argentina)
During a wild drunken night, two women face hard truths about their friendship. This gritty and emotional drama is a dazzling showcase for new talent, and will be introduced by producer, screenwriter and former EIFF Director, Lynda Myles.
Special Events and Retrospectives
I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, 1945 UK)
Iconic editor Thelma Schoonmaker delivers an extended intro to Powell and Pressburger’s 1945 romantic masterpiece. Moving, funny and deeply serious in its exploration of love, history and the secrets buried in the remote Mull landscape.
IN CONVERSATION: GASPAR NOÉ
We are joined by the iconic filmmaker and master provocateur for a wide-ranging discussion of his career and filmmaking.
SUSPIRIA (Dario Argento, 1977 Italy)
Director Gaspar Noé presents a cult classic. An American newcomer to a prestigious ballet academy comes to realise that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
THE UNTOUCHABLES (Brian De Palma, 1987 US)
The Festival welcomes The Connery Foundation and members of the Connery family to present a special screening of Brian De Palma’s iconic gangland thriller.
PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (Brian De Palma, 1974 US)
Featuring a knockout soundtrack, spectacular production design and standout performances from Paul Williams, William Finley and Jessica Harper, prepare for a sensory delight.
Competition Shorts
PATERNAL ADVICE (Lisa Clarkson, Scotland) World Premiere
A starkly realist short from Scottish director Lisa Clarkson exploring tough love and masculinity passed down the generations.
HOMEWORK (Jamie di Spirito, UK) World Premiere
A powerful film about the secrets kept between a mother and her daughters from British director Jamie di Spirito. Director: Jamie di Spirito.
MY DAD AND THE VOLCANO (Gavin Reid, Scotland) World Premiere
Scottish director Gavin Reid explores his relationship with his father and his art in this quirky and poignant documentary short.
MY EXPLODING HOUSE (Liberty Smith, UK) World Premiere
An experimental documentary by British director Liberty Smith investigating her mother’s thirty-year-old memory of their old house being blown up for a television film.
NICO (Max Olson, US) World Premiere
American director Max Olson debuts their unique visual style, in this bold and haunting short about a trans man who reminds an elderly widow of her late husband.
MANNY WOLFE (Trevor Neuhoff, US) World Premiere
A funny and moving spin on classic noir featuring a werewolf actor who can’t catch a break in Hollywood, directed by Trevor Neuhoff.
SHOAL (Cardumen) (Inés Villanueva) World Premiere
Given the task of writing a song about molluscs and existentialism, a young singer works on her entry during a birthday party in this beautiful Argentine comedy from Inés Villanueva.
THE JUBILEE (Wilma Smith, Scotland) World Premiere
Blending live-action with napkin-based stop-motion animation, this Scottish short directed by Wilma Smith explores dementia through a new and potent lens.
Out Of Competition Shorts In Association With Screen Academy Scotland
- ANALOG MEDIUM (Tom Campbell, Australia) InternationalPremiere
- ALWAYS RETURN (Paulina Urreta, Mexico) International Premiere
- AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF (Janet Harbord, UK) UK Premiere
- MOTHER TONGUE (Vea Mafile’o, New Zealand) European Premiere
- WHERE MY MEMORY BEGAN (Priscilla Kounkou Hoveyda, Sierra Leone) UK Premiere
- THE WATERGAW (Lewis Cranston, Scotland) World Premiere
- FRATER (Valentin Guiod, France) International Premiere
- STEPMOTHER (Negar Naghavi, France, Turkey) International Premiere
Animation Shorts
- BUG DINER (Phoebe Jane Hart, US) UK Premiere
- Short Film Jury Award for Animation winner at Sundance, 2024
- BUNNYHOOD (Mansi Maheshwari, UK) UK Premiere
- La Cinef Prize Winner at Cannes, 2024
- EXTREMELY SHORT (Koji Yamamura, Japan) UK Premiere
- FAIRGROUND FEVER (Linda Hughes, Scotland) World Premiere
- LIMINAL ROOTS (Aliyah Harfoot, UK) UK Premiere
- ON HOLD (Delia Hess, Switzerland) UK Premiere
- PLUNGE (Ellie Land, UK) World Premiere
- SILENT PANORAMA (Nicolas Piret, Belgium) International Premiere
- TAKO TSUBO (Sorgo Fanny, Pedroza Eva, Austria/Germany) UK Premiere
- THE BLEACHER (Adam Wilder, Nicole Daddona, United States) UK Premiere
- THREE BIRDS (Zarja Menart, Slovenia, Croatia) UK Premiere
Experimental Shorts
- KYKLOP (Telemach Wiesinger, Germany) UK Premiere
- FRIEDL (Christiana Perschon, Austria) UK Premiere
- I DON'T WANT TO BE FILMED BUT RATHER SHOOT MYSELF (Friedl vom Gröller, Austria) UK Premiere