Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF)
The world's oldest continually running film festival, held annually in August in Edinburgh, presenting competitive international and British cinema during the city's extraordinary festival season alongside the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Overview
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is the world's oldest continually running film festival. Founded in 1947 -- the same year as Cannes and Venice, but unlike them it has never paused operations -- EIFF holds a unique historical distinction as cinema's most uninterrupted festival tradition. The festival is held annually in August in Edinburgh, Scotland's magnificent capital.
August in Edinburgh is the most extraordinary festival environment in the world. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe -- the world's largest arts festival, with over 3,000 shows across the city -- runs simultaneously, filling every venue, every street corner, and every pub with performance and cultural activity. The film festival operates within this extraordinary context, competing for attention with theatre, comedy, dance, music, and visual arts in the city's most intense cultural week.
Edinburgh's history as the city of the Scottish Enlightenment, of Stevenson and Scott and Conan Doyle, and as the capital of a nation with a distinct cultural identity within the UK gives the festival a particular resonance for British and Scottish cinema.
Key Sections
- International Competition -- films competing for jury prizes
- British Film Program -- new British features
- Scottish Film Program -- films by Scottish filmmakers
- Documentary Program -- nonfiction features
- Short Film Competition -- competitive short programs
What Filmmakers Should Know
EIFF accepts open submissions. The historical prestige of the world's oldest film festival carries genuine institutional weight. The August timing during the Fringe creates the most intense cultural environment available for any film premiere in Europe.
Major Awards
- Michael Powell Award -- Best British Feature Film
- Special Jury Prize
- Audience Award
Festival History
EIFF was founded in 1947 and has operated without interruption for over seven decades, making it cinema's oldest continuously running festival.
See Also
For British cinema, see International Film Markets. For Sheffield DocFest, see Sheffield DocFest.
