24/08/2011

The beleaguered Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), the world’s longest continuously running festival, took a body blow with the British Film Institute (BFI) deciding to pull funding.

The erstwhile UK Film Council (UKFC) was a munificent benefactor, having granted the EIFF £1.8 million over three years. That period has come to an end and the UKFC is no longer the country’s apex body for film, ceasing to exist and ceding the position to the BFI.

The BFI recently gave the EIFF £19,500 from its Transition Fund as a one-off payment. The EIFF could get in-kind support from the BFI, but further cash funding is unlikely. It remains to be seen whether the EIFF will be part of the BFI’s in-progress film strategy that is due in 2012.

The 2011 festival was a lacklustre affair with no red carpet events and the number of premieres down to 62, compared to 106 in 2010. Current festival director James Mullighan said, “In these straitened times, when this country especially has had to suck in its stomach a little bit, squandering taxpayers’ money flying in the stars for the sake of a few people who miss that, is just not something I’d be interested in even if I had the budget.”

Meanwhile, Scottish arts body Creative Scotland has thrown the festival a lifeline with a £400,000 grant that will kick off in 2012. A Creative Scotland spokesperson said: “EIFF has begun the recruitment process for an artistic director of international standing and that process will conclude very shortly. We are confident that the combination of a new artistic vision for the festival and a review of recent new initiatives will inspire all investors to ensure that the festival remains one of the UK’s leading film festivals.”