Edinburgh Film Festival To Launch First UK Film
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Edinburgh International Film Festival will host its first-ever UK Film Conference on Saturday, August 15, as part of the festival's Industry programme, billed by organizers as a 'state of the nation for independent film in the UK.'
- BFI CEO Ben Roberts has been confirmed as the inaugural keynote speaker, with Picturehouse Cinemas Creative Director Clare Binns set to host the day in an on-stage conversation with Roberts.
- Conference participants will include filmmakers, producers, exhibitors, distributors, and film professionals invited to 'engage with the future of independent film in the UK' through talks, discussions, and Q&A sessions.
- EIFF CEO Paul Ridd framed the conference as an extension of the festival's 'new-look' mission to be a destination for both audiences and industry, promising a day that is 'stimulating, provocative and exciting.'
- Roberts cited 'ever-changing audience habits,' 'new technologies,' and 'routes into the industry fundamentally shifting' as reasons the conference is a 'timely opportunity' to discuss the sector's future.
- The 2025 festival runs August 13–19, opening with Edinburgh-born Louis Paxton's debut feature The Incomer and closing with Louise Lockwood's debut documentary Bel.
Why it matters: EIFF is institutionalising a dedicated industry forum at a moment Roberts himself flagged as one of 'real change' for UK independent film — from shifting audience habits to new technology and evolving career pathways. Anchoring that first forum with the BFI's CEO and the head of a major exhibitor signals the festival is now competing with established industry events, not just showcasing films, which gives the trade a new concentrated touchpoint in Edinburgh's August calendar.
Ask SkimNews
