The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced today that its 79th edition will run 13-19 August 2026.
The third edition of the "revitalized" EIFF, which came back from the brink after the collapse of its parent company CMI in 2022, will build on the week-long format of the previous two editions. Prior to the pandemic the Film Festival was a 12-day affair.
Submissions for this year's festival will open in January via the Festival website.
Helmed by CEO and Festival Director Paul Ridd and Festival Producer Emma Boa the festival has focussed on accelerating the discovery of new film talent and engaging with audiences, industry members and local, national and international media.
Organisers reported that the EIFF 2025 saw 194 screenings and 34 Industry and panel events take place.
Over 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors presented their films, with over 250 industry delegates, and over 170 press delegates in attendance.
This year also saw the first screenings of work from the new NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab.
Abdolreza Kahani's Mortician won The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence and Joanna Vymeris's Mother Goose picked up The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence.
More information will be released on the shape of the 2026 Festival, venues and partners in coming months.
EIFF CEO and Festival Director, Paul Ridd has said: "As we head into our third year and our third edition, we are thrilled to once again position our Festival at the very heart of festivals season in Edinburgh in August and alongside the Fringe. I am immensely proud of all the work we have done so far as a team to honour decades of Festival history and bring EIFF into a new era, and I cannot wait to get started on putting together another terrific edition for August 2026."