After months of drip-feeding details of venues and screenings, Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has finally dropped the full programme for its 2025 outing. The 78th edition of the festival is set to take place from Thursday 14 – Wednesday 20 August and claims to explore the ‘fragile ties that bind communities new and old’, with features from Scotland, UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, France, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Japan and beyond.

This year’s line-up comprises 43 feature films, ten of which are competing for the Sean Connery Prize For Feature Filmmaking Excellence. The ten in that prize are Best Boy, an exploration of toxic masculinity; Blue Film, in which a ‘queer camboy’ spends the night with a mysterious stranger; the love letter to indie cinemas, Concessions;  In Transit, a portrait of an egotistical artist; queer road movie Low Rider; Iranian director Abdolreza Kahani’s latest work Mortician; the dark comedy about idealism Novak; Welsh-set love story On The Sea; documentary on a small Swedish town, Once You Shall Be One Of Those Who Lived Long Ago; and Ondine Viñao’s punky  debut, Two Neighbors. 

One intriguing feature being screened out of competition is About A Hero, in which an AI version of Werner Herzog narrates a crime mystery, proving Herzog can create meme-worthy art even when he’s not really present. Also of note is Barnaby Roper’s stylish thriller All The Devils Are Here, which stars underrated living legend Eddie Marsan; Simon Rumley's Crushed, a meditation on grief that’s sure to contain his trademark visceral tone; Cutting Through Rocks, a documentary following the first councilwoman in an Iranian village and her push against rigid patriarchal institutions; and the return of arch British experimenter-in-chief Andrew Kötting, who’s showing Memory Blocks, which describes itself as an ‘experimental reflection on the changeable and complex nature of memory’. 

New films added to the Midnight Madness strand, which is returning for its second outing this year, include Dead Lover, about a gravedigger who reanimates his drowned lover (think Evil Dead with romantic overtones); Julia Pacino’s debut I Live Here Now, which explores female pain and identity; The tale of a ruthless real estate agent, Odyssey; and Redux Redux, which charts a grieving mother’s journey through the multiverse, which seems like a welcome revision of the time travel genre. 

The tentpoles of this year’s retrospective season are burrowing into the comforts of genre, first with a retrospective of the first six James Bond films (which arguably remain the franchises’ peak) and Budd Boetticher’s Ranown Cycle, a series of taut westerns which have been championed by Martin Scorsese. There will also be In Conversations with Andrea Arnold (who’s screening Red Road), Kevin and Andrew Macdonald (who are screening The Cranes Are Flying) and Nia DaCosta (who’s screening Go). 

Also on the bill is the Thelma Schoonmaker Prize For Short Filmmaking Excellence, animation shorts (including a debut film from Renée Zellweger), out of competition shorts, and a host of industry events. 

Paul Ridd, CEO and festival director of EIFF said: ‘I am absolutely thrilled to launch this year’s beautiful programme of films, talks and events into the world. This programme represents a year of incredibly hard work from our team, headed up by myself and my brilliant collaborator Emma Boa, from our supportive Board, and from our partners across film and the arts. I am enormously grateful to all of them for their encouragement and support. For one week in August we celebrate film and its bright future in the heart of Edinburgh. But we hope the ripple effect for our films, for our filmmakers and for our audiences is felt year-round and all over the world. Bring it on.’

A few screenings had been announced over the past few months to tease the programme; the comedy-drama Sorry Baby will open the festival, while a documentary on Irvine Welsh titled Reality Is Not Enough will close it. Also previously announced were additions to the Midnight Madness strand, including Ben Wheatley’s latest experimental outing Bulk and a Peter Dinklage-fronted remake of The Toxic Avenger. Wheatley will also be in attendance with his longtime producer Andy Starke for an In Conversation event. Meanwhile, the Sean Connery Talent Lab revealed that it’ll host a short film showcase at the festival, spotlighting the first completed films from its inaugural batch of young talent. 

Also previously announced were the varied venues the EIFF will take place in, including a pop-up cinema at National Galleries Scotland: National and a live podcast recording at Monkey Barrel, as well as the usual collection of screening hubs like VUE Omni and Cameo Picturehouse. 

Included in the list of venues is Filmhouse, which reopened its doors last week after a near three-year hiatus and a £2 million refurbishment. Check out our coverage of the cinema’s new look here. 

Edinburgh International Film Festival, various venues, Thursday 14–Wednesday 20 August; main picture: Kat Gollock.