What’s on at the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival?
The 79th Edinburgh International Film Festival [EIFF] running from 13-19 August 2026 continues its mission to be the home of independent cinema in the UK, showcasing the very best filmmaking talent in a format rooted in a Scottish context whilst embracing the international diversity of creative expression.
The Festival encourages audiences, film fans and industry professionals to head to Edinburgh this Summer to continue the journey of discovery, with a programme showcasing diverse themes, ideas, perspectives and forms and bringing new work to Edinburgh from filmmakers from Scotland, Ireland, UK, US, Italy, Greece, The Netherlands, France, Denmark, Lithuania, Japan, Canada, Portugal and many more.
Highlights include:
- 38 new feature film presentations; 21 feature film World Premieres including 10 World Premieres competing for The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence
- The launch of the inaugural EIFF Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award presented this year to Kenneth Branagh alongside In Conversation events with acclaimed filmmaking talent Bruce Dern, Christine Vachon and Ewan McGregor
- A special 30th anniversary celebration of Trainspotting at Leith Theatre with live cast and crew commentary and DJ sets from Irvine Welsh and Darren Emerson
- 7 special retrospective screenings including anniversary screenings of The Rock, Visitor Q and Hamlet, Hal Ashby’s Coming Home plus4K anniversary restorations of Sexy Beast and Little Miss Sunshine
- 7 short film programmes including The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence competition and the presentation of new short form work by the second NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab
- An Out of Competition strand showcasing some of the most exciting new global cinema including new films from Molly Manners, Nicolas Winding Refn, Gregg Araki and Hirokazu Kore-eda and the return of a strand of thrilling Midnight Madness films
Opening/Closing Galas
The Opening Night film is Louis Paxton’s delightful debut feature The Incomer – winner of the NEXT Innovator Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival - starring 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). And the Closing Night film is the World Premiere of Louise Lockwood’s sensitive and beautifully composed new documentary Bel which tells the story of Beldina Odenyo, the Kenyan-Scottish musician, singer and songwriter.
Festival Prizes
The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence returns to present a panorama of contemporary film and exciting new filmmakers. The Competition comprises ten feature-length World Premieres, with the winning filmmaker awarded £50,000 to support their future projects. Decided by audience vote, the winner will be announced at the end of the festival and the award is generously supported by The Sean Connery Foundation. The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence presents the World Premieres of new exciting work from across the world including Scotland, Lithuania, Iran and France all competing for a £15,000 cash prize in honour of legendary film editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Out of Competition Features
This year’s Out of Competition strand showcases a selection of World, International and UK Premieres with standout new films spanning genres, forms and perspectives. With a line-up of award-winning titles from Sundance, Berlinale and Cannes, this is a showcase of the most exciting global cinema from established auteurs to emerging voices. As part of this strand, this year’s Lynda Myles Celebrates screening will be the World Premiere of Theodore Schaefer’s surreal and reflexive The Arrow at Rest at Every Instant of its Flight which sees three seemingly disconnected stories unfolding in a whirlwind of black and white imagery across New York City - with the film introduced by producer, screenwriter and former EIFF Director Lynda Myles.
Retrospectives
This year’s EIFF plays host to 7 Special Retrospective Screenings headlined by a very special 30th anniversary celebration of Trainspotting at Leith Theatre featuring a live cast and crew commentary followed by a club night with DJs Irvine Welsh and Darren Emerson paying homage to the iconic soundtrack. Other Retrospectives include
- a 30th anniversary screening of Kenneth Branagh’s iconic adaptation of Hamlet;
- a 4K restoration screening for the 20th anniversary of the warm, witty and original Little Miss Sunshine;
- an anniversary restoration screening of Sexy Beast, the electric debut from Jonathan Glazer;
- a special screening of Hal Ashby’s complex and deeply humane portrait of the impacts of war, Coming Home, starring Bruce Dern, Jane Fonda and Jon Voight [with the film introduced by Bruce Dern];
- a 30th anniversary screening of Michael Bay’s action-packed film The Rock introduced by Jason Connery;
- and a 25th anniversary screening of Takeshi Miike’s darkly subversive masterpiece of extreme cinema Visitor Q
Alongside these, the Festival presents Martin Scorsese’s sprawling and endlessly fascinating 1995 documentary A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies produced with the BFI, screened in its entirety with a special introduction from producer Bob Last.
In Conversation
EIFF’s In Conversation strand also features a range of other major filmmaking talent who will discuss their creative careers to date including
- Bruce Dern, a true titan of cinema and independent film;
- Christine Vachon, one of the most prolific and exciting producers working in modern cinema;
- Ken Burns, one of most skilled and versatile documentary filmmakers working today, in conversation and presenting a special screening of his new work on The American Revolution
- and one of Scotland’s biggest global stars, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actor Ewan McGregor.
This year’s recipient of the inaugural EIFF Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award will be acclaimed actor and director Kenneth Branagh who will also participate in a wide-ranging discussion of his illustrious career to date.
Midnight Madness
Bookending EIFF’s popular Midnight Madness strand, presenting the best in genre cinema from around the world, is the World Premiere of Chee Keong Cheung’s no-holds-barred POV thriller Bad Day at the Office starring John Hannah and the UK Premiere of Daniel Goldhaber’s wildly inventive new take on Faces of Death. Complementing a range of ferocious new midnight movies are World and European Premieres of short films including the European Premiere of Gregory JM Kasunich’s Meeting Your Maker; Austin Cauldwell’s IDYLL; Anabelle LeMieux’s No One Believes in Me; and Alexandra Ruggier’s Skinned.
Shorts Programme
The Festival will present the World Premiere of six enterprising and innovative shorts showcasing the work of talented emerging filmmakers in Scotland created through the second NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab. Abuses of power and intense relationship dynamics are explored through surrealism and brutal realism in this year’s Out of Competition Shorts programme. This year’s Animation Shorts is a collection of UK and World Premiere global animations exploring human connection in distinct, memorable ways, acting as a powerful reminder of how the medium can surprise and challenge in every genre.
EIFF is also pleased to continue its partnership with Scottish Documentary Institute to present the short documentary films created through the Bridging the Gap training programme. This collection of short films offers surprising, intimate and poetic insights of contemporary Scotland. EIFF is also delighted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Screen Academy Scotland with a selection of World and International Premieres of new short films emerging from the academy. Our Cinema ‘26 Shorts is an innovative new approach to film education in Scotland delivered by Transgressive North and Folk Film Gathering and modelled on Japan’s world-leading Children Meet Cinema project.
UK Film Conference
The inaugural UK Film Conference on 15 August will be a state of the nation for independent film in the UK situated at the heart of the festival’s Industry offering. The day will bring together filmmakers, producers, exhibitors, distributors and film professionals from all areas of the local and international film industry to engage with the future of independent film in the UK. Beginning with a lively and wide-ranging headline discussion with BFI CEO Ben Roberts in conversation with Picturehouse Creative Director Clare Binns. With talks, Q&As and events open to public audiences, the purpose of the day is to be ambitious, to think outside the box and to celebrate the bright future of the medium we all love and cherish.