Meera Syal, the actress and comedienne, will host a masterclass at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) as part of Skillset’s Trailblazers scheme.

EIFF and UK training body Skillset launched the initiative three years ago to develop and promote new British talent.

The Trailblazers – new filmmaking talent selected from Skillset’s Screen Academy and the EIFF British feature programme – include actress Kate Jarvis who stars in Andrea Arnold’ Fish Tank and Justin Molotnikov, the director of Crying With Laughter, which is in the running for the Michael Powell award.

Skillset is also sponsoring the new directors award at the festival, which will be announced on June 28. The award is selected from first and second time film-makers in the Rosebud and British Gala sections. Previous winners include Paul Andrew Williams for LondonTo Brighton and Morgan Spurlock for Supersize Me.

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