Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), which this year is hosted by Edinburgh International Festival, has today announced the programme for its 2023 edition. The programme celebrates the work of local and global independent filmmakers.
EIFF is working with its cinema venue partners Vue Edinburgh Omni and Everyman Edinburgh at the St James Quarter, while the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh is the setting for a weekend of outdoor screenings.
This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival programme has been brought together by a team of programmers led by Kate Taylor, Programme Director of the Festival, including feature film programmers Rafa Sales Ross and Anna Bogutskaya, and short film programmers Abigail Addison, Lydia Beilby and Holly Daniel. Alongside Taylor, the EIFF Team is led by Executive Producer Tamara Van Strijthem and Festival Producer Emma Boa.
The full programme consists of 24 new feature films, 5 retrospective titles, 5 short film programmes, and an outdoor screening weekend including 7 further features in a six-day celebration.
Five feature films will be presented as world premieres, and the festival also sees the launch of The Lynda Myles Project, including a discussion event on the legacy of Myles’ contributions to film culture, and a special work-in-progress preview of new documentary, The Lynda Myles Project: A Manifesto.
The festival opens with Johnny Barrington’s Silent Roar, which follows a young surfer overwhelmed with grief for his dad lost at sea who is brought to his senses by a rebellious girl in his class.
American independent cinema is celebrated in a retrospective of four films made by rebellious filmmaking voices in the 1980s and 1990s, while Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes, which had its World Premiere at EIFF in 2004, is given a Retrospective Gala presentation.
Closing Night film Fremont caps an international selection that includes work from arthouse directors Kelly Reichardt, Ira Sachs, Cauleen Smith, and Christian Petzold, and showcases work from Argentina, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
“With this year’s vivid film selection the EIFF programme team has favoured the bold, drawn to filmmakers with searching perspectives and style to burn,” said Kate Taylor, Programme Director, Edinburgh International Film Festival. “Designed for an eclectic spectrum of film fans, and defined by a love of independent cinema, this compact programme shines a light on new talent, and offers a smashing six-day journey for the EIFF’s passionate audiences.”
Themes across the film programme include: non-fiction activism; films making use of genre to explore social, sexual and psychological issues; films made by artists; LGBTQIA+ stories; animation; and films that are category-defying.
Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from Friday 18th to Wednesday 23rd August 2023.
For more information, click here.
