Edinburgh International Film Festival opens submission window for Scottish features and shorts
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has opened submissions for its 2023 edition and, for one year only, has waived the submission fee for entrants.
The 76th edition will be presenting a ‘compact selection of films’, meaning only Scottish features and shorts will be accepted. The deadline for submissions is Monday 17 April.
News of the submission period comes a few weeks after EIFF confirmed its return in scaled back form. The announcement came after months of uncertainty for the festival, when the Centre For The Moving Image (CMI) which funds it was forced to call in administrators last October. The CMI blamed rising costs and a reduction in profits for its closure, which included the loss of more than a hundred staff and the closure of Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and Aberdeen’s Belmont Filmhouse.
Organised with Screen Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival and EIFF, the festival will run from Friday 18 – Wednesday 23 August 2023.
EIFF’s new programming director Kate Taylor said, 'From the Opening Night screening of Aftersun, the 2022 edition of EIFF had a great energy and was welcomed by audiences and industry. We are glad to be working again with the programme team and our colleagues in the International Festival to build on that success. Huge thanks to the Edinburgh International Festival Board and the amazing International Festival team for their proactive and positive work in delivering the EIFF as part of their world-renowned Festival.'
Francesca Hegyi, Chief Executive of Edinburgh International Festival, said: ‘The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an important cultural touchstone in our festival city, and we are pleased to be able to support its return. Over the last few months the EIFF programming team have been developing a plan for an ambitious film programme to add to the International Festival's world-class dance, theatre, music and opera programme, ensuring that the Film Festival has a bright future. We look forward to working further with Kate and her team as we prepare for a compelling EIFF programme to be revealed in June this year.’
Full submission details can be found on the official EIFF site.