The 78th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) returns from 15-21 August with renewed confidence and bold programming choices, presenting 43 new features, including 18 world premieres. This year’s line-up also features six special retrospective screenings, a big-screen tribute to James Bond and a celebration of the work of cult filmmaker Budd Boetticher. Other highlights include the launch of the NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab with six new short films, and a strong line-up of speakers in the In Conversation strand.

EIFF continues to embrace strong storytelling and genre experimentation. The festival opens with Sorry, Baby, a dark comedy directed by Eva Victor, and closes with the world premiere of Reality Is Not Enough, a documentary by Paul Sng exploring the life and legacy of Irvine Welsh. These films bookend a diverse and dynamic programme filled with emerging voices, acclaimed auteurs and inventive narratives.

A major highlight of the festival is the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence, which returns with ten feature-length world premieres from around the world. Competing for the £50,000 audience-voted award, supported by The Sean Connery Foundation, are: Blue Film by Elliot Tuttle (USA), an emotionally raw debut that follows an intense encounter between a queer camboy and a mysterious stranger; Concessions by Mas Bouzidi (USA), which captures the final day of an independent cinema; In Transit by Jaclyn Bethany (USA), starring Jennifer Ehle, a poignant portrait of an artist’s fleeting connection with a young bartender; Low Rider by Campbell X (South Africa/UK), a soulful and subversive black queer road movie bursting with attitude and affection; Best Boy by Jesse Noah Klein (Canada), a darkly comic exploration of sibling rivalry and emotional inheritance; Mortician by Abdolreza Kahani (Canada), a surreal and unpredictable drama about an undertaker who bonds with a fading pop icon; Novak by Harry Lagoussis (Greece/Switzerland), a haunting mystery centred on an ostracised neuroscientist lured back into a dangerous world; On the Sea by Helen Walsh (UK), a sensuous and intimate study of masculinity and desire set on a windswept mussel farm; Once You Shall Be One of Those Who Lived Long Ago by Alexander Rynéus and Per Bifrost (Sweden), a poetic documentary chronicling the slow death of a mining town; and Two Neighbours by Ondine Viñao (UK/USA), a visually spellbinding modern-day fable starring Anya Chalotra and Ralph Ineson.

The Out of Competition section features several world premieres that challenge cinematic form while exploring universal themes. These include Crushed by Simon Rumley (UK), an intense meditation on grief and vengeance; Fires of the Moon (UK), a bold fusion of theatre and cinema adapting a Welsh-language opera with music by Gareth Glyn; and Grow by Christopher Forster (UK), a magical Scottish fantasy directed by John McPhail, featuring Nick Frost, Jane Horrocks and Sanjeev Kohli. Also premiering are Misper by Harry Sherriff (UK), where a fading seaside hotel becomes the backdrop for creeping dread, and The Memory Blocks by Andrew Kötting (UK), a poetic reflection on memory and neurodivergence.

The Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence will showcase new work from Scottish, UK and international filmmakers, all competing for a £15,000 prize named in honour of the legendary film editor. Among the highlights are six world premieres of films developed through the inaugural NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab, marking an important step for emerging creators in short-form cinema.

The EIFF In Conversation strand brings together influential figures for a series of wide-ranging discussions. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ben Wheatley
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intervista: Andrea Arnold
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Following its reinvention in 2023 (see the news), EIFF continues to grow into its renewed identity, carefully balancing Scottish and global cinema. With the support of Screen Scotland and cultural partners, the 2025 edition reaffirms the festival’s role as a vital space for discovery, exchange and bold cinematic expression.