Film Festival 2026 Announces Opening Feature
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced that Edinburgh-born filmmaker Louis Paxton’s spirited and witty debut film, The Incomer, will open its 79th edition.
The Focus Features and Universal Pictures International film, stars Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina, The Paper), Gayle Rankin (House of The Dragon, Glow) and Grant O’Rourke (Outlander) with ensemble cast including John Hannah (Sliding Doors, The Last of Us) Michelle Gomez (Green Wing, Doom Patrol) and Emun Elliott (The Gold Sexy Beast).
The Incomer is set on a remote Scottish island and follows siblings Isla (Rankin) and Sandy (O’Rourke) who have lived in peaceful isolation for decades, hunting seabirds, chatting to mythic creatures and defending their isle from dreaded Incomers. Their world is upended with the arrival of Daniel (Gleeson), an awkward council worker, tasked with uprooting them to the mainland.
Written and directed by bold new filmmaking talent Louis Paxton, the film won the NEXT Innovator Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival [see video interview below]. Produced by Bafta winner Shirley O'Connor and Emily Gotto and co-produced by Wendy Griffin, The Incomer has been praised by critics and audiences for its wit, heart and independent spirit.
EIFF CEO and Festival Director, Paul Ridd has said: “With wit, grace and intelligence, this striking, unpredictable and beautifully acted Scottish debut dazzled, moved and amused us immensely when we first saw it back in January. We are thrilled to open this year's edition with a film which embodies such a stirring and inspiring spirit of creativity, empathy and invention in filmmaking. This is precisely the kind of film that EIFF is all about.”
Film Producers, Shirley O’Connor and Emily Gotto said: “It’s such an honour to open Edinburgh with this film. Shooting in Scotland with this exceptional cast and crew was a genuinely special experience and bringing that work home to a Scottish audience means everything to us. Huge thanks to EIFF, and all our partners, including Screen Scotland, who helped get us here.”
Director Louis Paxton said: “Opening the Edinburgh International Film Festival with my debut feature is a dream come true. Screening in my beloved hometown, and the festival where I started as a teenage usher, sharing this story with a Scottish audience, is nothing short of mind-blowing. I couldn’t ask for a more meaningful premiere."