Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is one of the great film festivals. Acclaimed and respected around the world, EIFF has been a leader in festival curation and exhibition since it launched 73 years ago, bringing the best of world cinema to enthusiastic and appreciative audiences.
In many ways little has changed over the years. Yes, technically things are very different in terms of projection and exhibition and there is no doubt that technology has made the world a smaller place in terms of access to information. But the fundamental and underlying truth about the excitement and atmosphere of a cinema screening remains the same, with audiences over the years sharing a sheer passion for the moving image culture.
At its core programming EIFF also remains the same. EIFF has always striven for a balance between old and new. Combining a celebration of the past through carefully structured retrospectives that enable contextualisation and celebration that help tell the story of cinema that is set alongside shining a light on new and emerging filmmakers.
Our programming team scours the world looking for new, exciting, challenging, thrilling, provocative and sometimes plain old scary films to bring to our audiences. We attend the major film festivals and markets; have strong partnerships with sales agents, distributors and national films bodies; and utilise our long-rooted relationships with directors, producers, performers and other film professionals to constantly reinvigorate our programme and reflect the ever-changing landscape of the film world.
It is enthralling, exciting and, at times, challenging putting together the jigsaw puzzle that is the EIFF programme, but the underlying privilege remains the same… the opportunity to share great films with our audiences.
Meet the Programmers