The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival.[1][2][3] The EIFF aims to present both UK and international movie premieres and to exhibit the work of film-makers.
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The first EIFF, a programme of documentaries, was presented by the Edinburgh Film Guild alongside the 1947 Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), which continues to take place in August each year. At the time, Cannes and Venice were the most significant annual film festivals. Over the subsequent years, the programme expanded to include fiction films and experimental work in addition to documentary. From 2008, the film festival moved from its traditional August slot to June.[4]
The EIFF shows a range of feature-length films and documentaries as well as short films, animations and music videos. A jury awards The Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film while the audience can vote for the Standard Life Audience Award and a panel of judges adjudicates the Skillset New Directors Award. There are also several awards given for short films. UK domestic films shown are usually limited to premieres. European and other international premieres are also offered.
The Artistic Director from September 2006 to 2010 was Hannah McGill, previously a film critic and cinema columnist for The Herald newspaper.[5] Her predecessor, Shane Danielsen, served from 2002-2006.[6] Sean Connery, Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle and Seamus McGarvey are honorary patrons.[7] In December 2009 Hannah McGill collected the prestigious Talkback Thames New Talent Award at the Women in Film and Television Awards.[8]
Following McGill's departure a new format was announced with no artistic director and a series of guest curators led by producer James Mullighan [9]
Principal venues are the Edinburgh Filmhouse, which is formally the EIFF's partner organisation; Cameo, Fountainpark Cineworld; Edinburgh Festival Theatre; and the Dominion Cinema. Some of the events in recent years have taken place in The Sheraton Hotel, the Traverse Theatre, The Caves, and various other venues. In Glasgow the Glasgow Film Theatre and Renfrew St Cineworld participated until recently, but the EIFF has not arranged screenings in Glasgow since 2005. Proposals exist for a new Filmhouse to be built, designed by architect Richard Murphy and named the Sean Connery Filmhouse. It would be located close to the existing one and, with greater audience capacity, would become the future home of the festival.