Eyes on the prize in Edinburgh

Dropped awards return to boost festival profile.

by Jennie Kermode

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is reaching for the stars once again. A year after being droped, three awards have returned to cement its place in the industry calendar. "I feel very strongly that having noteworthy awards is important for an international film festival," said new festival director Chris Fujiwara, adding that they "can stimulate creative dialogue and, above all, help shine the spotlight on emerging talent."

The awards in question include one for Best International Feature and one for Best Performance in a British Feature. The third is the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature, which has historically been important in heralding the appearance of new talent on the world stage. Fujiwara has stressed that documentaries will also be eligible in the Best Feature categories. The winners will be selected by international juries.

Share this with others on...
News

Learning to let go Gloria Mercer and Bethany Brown on filming sex, drugs and A Safe Distance

Framing a feature Michele Fiascaris on expanding his short Rain Catcher into a rain-slicked noir thriller

A heroine of the people Avid Liongoren on the Filipino animation industry and Zsazsa Zaturnnah

The girl who didn't want to be happy Julien Birban Levy on the spirit of Seoul and getting inside the head of Niko

Spirit of the art Takeru Shinozuka and Yoshihide Moriyama on animation and Foxing: Kitsuné-Tsuki

Colouring outside the lines Harrison Atkins on guerilla filmmaking, expanding options in cinema, and Sour Minnows

More news and features

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


San Sebastian Leigh, Naishtat and Larraín among those joining line-up


Fantasia Nighborn is Cheval Noir Best Film; full list of award winners announced


Frightfest Full line-up announced


Sarajevo Festival to honour Asghar Farhadi and present tribute programme


Locarno Juries announced