Daisy-May Hudson’s fiction debut Lollipop, a documentary about a man’s relationship with a life-sized AI-animated doll and Nina Conti’s Cannes Great 8 title Sunlight are among 18 world premieres at the new-look Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF, August 15-21).
A total of 37 feature films form the line-up of EIFF’s 77th edition, which is the first under the leadership of Paul Ridd as festival director and Andrew Macdonald as chair. The line-up includes 10 world premieres in the running for the £50,000 Sean Connery prize for feature filmmaking excellence, plus four retrospective screenings, a Midnight Madness strand and five short film programmes.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The films in the running for the Sean Connery prize include the BFI and BBC Film-backed Lollipop (see a first-look image above), that follows a young woman who, having just been released from prison, struggles to regain custody of her children from the care system. It was the first major title announced by former Embankment execs Calum Gray and Max Pirkis’s Architect. The cast includes Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023 Posy Sterling.
Smiles And Kisses You is a US documentary from Bryan Carberry, about the relationship between a man and his life-size AI-animated doll, exploring loneliness in the age of algorithmic dating apps.
Conti, a comedian, ventriloquist and Edinburgh Fringe Festival veteran, directs and stars in Sunlight, an absurdist road movie about a monkey, a man and a dead man’s watch. Metro International is handling sales.
The out of competition world premieres include Euros Lyn’s black comedy The Radleys, based on a novel of the same name by Matt Haig, that stars Damian Lewis and is being sold by Cornerstone. A seemingly ordinary family conceals an almighty secret – they are vampires.
Polly Steele’s documentary The Mountain Within Me is charts the recovery of rugby player Ed Jackson following a near-fatal accident, through a new-found love for mountaineering. Universal Pictures Content Group will release the doc in the UK-Ireland, in partnership with Dogwoof.
Daniel Reisinger’s unconventional romantic comedy And Mrs, starring Aisling Bea and Colin Hanks, also world premieres out-of-competition.
The Midnight Madness strand, which will screen horror, action and comedies late into the night, will open with the UK premiere of Alien: Romulus and close with Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes title The Substance. Also in this strand, Sunray: Fallen Soldier, a thriller created by and starring former Royal Marines Commandos and sold by Film Seekers, will world premiere.
The screening showcase for a new visionary work in honour of writer, academic and former EIFF director Lynda Myles, titled Lynda Myles Celebrates, will be the world premiere of Argentinian filmmaker Axel Cheb Terrab’s film Gala & Kiwi, presented to the audience by Myles.
The industry programme will run across the first weekend of the festival, with details to follow.
“Through a spirit of collaboration, passion and above all teamwork, we have worked to fashion something special out of a shared vision for what we want this historic festival to be going forward, and to offer a platform to an enormous range of film work. Since day one, the audience has always been front and centre in our thinking,” said Paul Ridd, EIFF director.
Venue partners are Cameo Cinema and Summerhall alongside sites that seek to embed the festival within the Edinburgh Fringe that also runs in August, including 50 George Square, Inspace on Crichton Street and Tollcross Central Hall.
EIFF 2024 line-up
*denotes world premiere
The Outrun (UK) – opening night film
Dir. Nora Fingscheidt
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story Of Scotland’s Girl Bands (UK)* – closing night film
Dirs. Blair Young, Carla J Easton
The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence
All The Mountains Give (Iran)*
Dir. Arash Rakhsha
The Ceremony (UK)*
Dir. Jack King
Fuga (Belg)*
Dirs. Mary Jiménez, Bénédicte Liénard
Lilies Not For Me (US)*
Dir. Will Seefried
Lollipop (UK)*
Dir. Daisy-May Hudson
A Shrine (Canada)*
Dir. Abdolreza Kahani
Smiles And Kisses And You (US)*
Dir. Bryan Carberry
Sunlight (UK)*
Dir. Nina Conti
To Kill A Wolf (US)*
Dir. Kelsey Taylor
Xibalba Monster (Mex)*
Dir. Manuela Irene
Out of competition features
Acting (UK)*
Dir. Sophie Fiennes
And Mrs (UK)*
Dir. Daniel Reisinger
Armand (Norway)
Dir. Halfdan Ullmann Tønde
Between The Temples (US)
Dir. Nathan Silver
Black Dog (Taiwan)
Dir. Guan Hu
Blue Sun Palace (US)
Dir. Constance Tsang
Bogancloch (UK)
Dir. Ben Rivers
Joy Dancer (US)*
Dirs. Suzanne Smith, Sylvia Solf
Mongrel (Taiwan)
Dirs. Wei Liang Chiang, You Qiao Yin
My Favourite Cake (Iran-Fr-Swe-Ger)
Dirs. Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha
A New Kind Of Wilderness (Norway)
Dir. Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust (India)
Dir. Ishan Shukla
Sing Sing (US)
Dir. Greg Kwedar
Steppenwolf (Kazakhstan)
Dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things (UK)
Dir. Mark Cousins
The Mountain Within Me (UK)*
Dir. Polly Steele
The Radleys (UK)*
Dir. Euros Lyn
Timestalker (UK)
Dir. Alice Lowe
Midnight Madness
Alien: Romulus (US)
Dir. Fede Álvarez
The Substance (US-UK-Fr)
Dir. Coralie Fargeat
Birdeater (Australia)
Dirs. Jack Clark, Jim Weir
King Baby (UK)
Dirs. Kit Redstone, Arran Shearing
Oddity (Ire)
Dir. Damian Mc Carthy
Sunray: Fallen Soldier (UK)*
Dirs. James Clarke, Daniel Shephard
Lynda Myles Celebrates
Gala And Kiwi (Arg)*
Dir. Axel Cheb Terrab
Retrospectives
I Know Where I’m Going! (UK)
Dirs. Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Suspiria (It)
Dir. Dario Argento (Gaspar Noé will take part in an ‘in conversation’ event following the screening)
The Untouchables (US)
Dir. Brian De Palma
Phantom Of The Paradise (US)
Dir. Brian De Palma
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