Edinburgh International Film Festival to Host Talent Development Programs

Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has today revealed an inclusive range of new and continuing programmes created to support and develop burgeoning filmmaking and curatorial talent across the film industry.

With EIFF celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, these programmes feed into the film festival's history of supporting new film talent by connecting audiences with innovative and essential storytellers.

The programmes are supported both through the PLACE programme, a partnership between the Scottish Government - through Creative Scotland - the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Festivals and also through the Scottish Government's Festivals Expo Fund.

Kristy Matheson, Creative Director of EIFF has said: "This suite of programmes acknowledges that storytelling takes infinite forms - from the production of new films to the creative interpretation of cinema for audiences. Creating meaningful connections is a value we hold dear, and as we celebrate our 75th anniversary, Edinburgh International Film Festival is excited to look to the future of our industry and the makers and audiences who will shape it."

Sambrooke Scott, Head of Audience Development at Screen Scotland said: "Screen Scotland and Creative Scotland are proud supporters of EIFF. As the festival celebrates its 75th year we're excited that the talent-development programme offers a suite of forward-looking initiatives and bold new schemes that will support voices at different points in their careers from across the film industry. The programme sets out an exciting new vision for EIFF's talent development activity, defined by experimentation and inclusion."

Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "The festival's continued commitment to emerging talent is further cemented with this announcement. We're proud to support the city's Film Festival as it continues to identify, support and highlight new screen talent. It is a great example of what the PLACE festivals funding programme can support, which in this instance is providing pathways to television and film industry skills development for participants from across Scotland."

Running since 2011, EIFF Talent Lab sees four days of workshops, masterclasses and 1-2-1 sessions bringing together 30 emerging writers, writer/directors, directors and producers with established industry professionals. Past participants in the programme include: Anna Griffin (CALIBRE); Ben Sharrock (LIMBO); Claire Oakley (MAKE UP); Daniel Kokotajlo (APOSTASY); Eva Riley (PERFECT 10); John McPhail (ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE); Lucy Brydon (BODY OF WATER); Moin Hussain (BIRCHANGER LANE); Rob Savage (HOST); Sarah Brocklehurst (ANIMALS).

Talent Lab Connects, running since 2019, is a 9-month programme to help support filmmaking teams with professional script editing and mentoring. The initiative is open to EIFF Talent Lab alumni and their collaborators to develop a feature film or serial drama project. EIFF will work with story editor Kate Leys and industry mentors to guide the 6 selected teams towards achieving a series of specific goals for their projects. The 6 selected projects are:

• DROVERS ROAD | Producer: Deb Charles | Writer: Morna Young | Director: Robin Haig (Talent Lab 2016)
• BEFORE I WAKE | Producer: David Brown (Talent Lab 2017) | Writer/Director: Kevin Pickering (Talent Lab 2018)
• PUNZEL | Producer: Rajita Shah (Talent Lab 2012) | Writer: Polly Courtney | Director: Tessa Joffe
• SUNBURN | Producer: Hollie Bryan | Writer/Director: Jack King (Talent Lab 2021)
• THE COMPUTER | Producer: Jessie Mangum (Talent Lab 2018) | Writer/Director: Lynsey Murdoch (Talent Lab 2018)
• ULA (Working Title) | Producer: Cat Marshall | Writer: Lucy Kaya & Mandy Lee (Talent Lab 2012) | Director: Alex Browning

EIFF & Curate-It Fellowship is a 12-week online curatorial training programme for 7 early career programmers created to develop an online programme with digital access on the Curate-It platform and a public event for EIFF in 2022. This programme is developed and delivered by professional curators, Justine Atkinson (director) and Carmen Thompson (producer) of Curate-It.

Justine Atkinson, Director of Curate-It said 'We are delighted to be partnering with the EIFF this year to create the Fellowship programme. Curate-It uses the digital space to make information about film curation more accessible, creating a unique platform to learn and share curatorial perspectives. Through this we hope to bring together a programme of films that will inspire, entertain and inform audiences as we celebrate the historic 50th anniversary of the Women's Film Festival'.

Curate-It is a training app that uses the digital space to make information about film curation more accessible. Through doing this it creates a unique platform through which people from all over the world can learn the processes of implementing their own screening event, connect and collaborate. The app will be launched during EIFF in August.

Other curatorial programmes include EIFF Curatorial Commission an annual commission for world class film programming based on a particular theme or provocation. In 2022, EIFF will invite 3 mid-career programmers to develop a programme for public presentation.

EIFF Curatorial Mentoring Programme is a 1:1 mentoring programme pairing 3 mid-career programmers with a leading international curator. Support will also include actively connecting participants with key decision makers at institutions.

EIFF Critical Writing Commission is an annual writing commission based on a particular theme or provocation that connects 10 mid-career Scottish born or based cultural critics to global editors and audiences.

EIFF 2022 Theme:

In 1972, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) presented the first global film event entirely dedicated to the cinematic achievements of female directors. Comprising works drawn from historical and contemporary cinema, the Women's Film Festival was produced by Claire Johnston, Lynda Myles, Laura Mulvey. Honouring the spirit of the original event, in 2022, EIFF welcomes the opportunity to work with independent collaborators to craft a bold, political, and wildly celebratory responses to the 50th anniversary of the Women's Film Festival that acknowledges the multiplicity and variety of feminisms.

Pictured: A BFI Roundtable development event at EIFF 2019.

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