After serving as Artistic Director of Edinburgh International Film Festival for five festivals, Mark Adams is stepping down from his role on 30th November.
During Adams’ tenure at EIFF overall admissions increased to 70,000 in 2019. Innovations introduced included the People’s Premiere, as well as providing gala experiences, extending the reach of the festival and delivering immersive cinema experiences for new festival audiences.
Mark Adams said: “It’s been a real pleasure to work with the team in Edinburgh and help deliver the growth and development of EIFF over the last five festivals and to be instrumental in reestablishing its international profile. I have decided it is time to move on and look to new and exciting opportunities.”
Ken Hay, Chief Executive of EIFF, said: “Mark has played an important role in developing EIFF over the last 5 years, introducing innovative programming and reaching new audiences. We are sorry to see him go, but are excited and ambitious for the future of EIFF.”
Sandy Begbie, Chair of EIFF, added: "Mark has worked tirelessly to ensure that EIFF remained relevant to old and new audiences alike. As we look forward to the future, we are hugely grateful for all that Mark has done for the Festival."
Rod White, Director of Programming for EIFF’s parent charity, CMI, will work alongside the existing team in delivering EIFF’s 74th edition in 2020 (17 to 28 June). Recruitment for a new Artistic Director for EIFF will commence next year.
Ken Hay said, “I’m delighted that Rod has agreed to oversee the curation of the screenings programme of the 2020 EIFF. Rod has led the programming team at Filmhouse for the past 20 years, delivering a hugely rich and diverse programme for an increasingly broad audience, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for our 74th edition.”
The 74th Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from 17th to 28th June 2020, and the full programme will be announced on Wednesday 27th May 2020.