Editor

Guests from around the world will be attending the 69^th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), ranging from internationally acclaimed directors and producers through to some of film’s most recognisable actors, the Festival announced today. 

The Festival’s main Juries will judge five award categories: The Michael Powell Award for Best British Film; Best Performance in a British Feature; Best International Feature; Best Documentary; and Best Short Film.  Jurors include actress/director Karen Gillan (whose short film Coward shows at the Festival); actress Natascha McElhone; veteran film critic for the LA Times, Kenneth Turan; award-winning director Amy Berg (whose films Prophet’s Prey and Every Secret Thing screen at EIFF); actress Archie Panjabi; director Kyle Patrick Alvarez (whose feature The Stanford Prison Experiment shows at the Festival); actress Jessica Hynes; actor Denis Lawson; Jacqueline Lyanga, director of the AFI film festival in Los Angeles; and actress Dolly Wells (who stars in Black Mountain Poets, 45 Years and Doll & Em 2, all showing at this year’s EIFF).

Other awards include The Student Critics Jury Award, supported again this year by James and Morag Anderson; The McLaren Award for New British Animation, supported by the British Council; and the EIFF Audience Award.

EIFF Artistic Director Mark Adams said: “We very much look forward to welcoming guests from all over the world to help us celebrate this year’s fantastic programme of films and events. It’s a huge honour for us to welcome some amazing filmmakers and acting talent, and for us to be able to share this with our audiences throughout two fantastic weeks of cinema here in Edinburgh in June.”

This year’s Festival is also brimming with guests who will attend screenings of their films. These include: EIFF Honorary Patron Robert Carlyle, Ashley Jensen, Kevin Guthrie, Brian Pettifer, Martin Compston, James Cosmo and Tom Courtenay among the guests for the Opening Night World Premiere of The Legend of Barney Thomson, while Ruth Negga will be attending with other guests from the film for the Closing Night World Premiere of Iona.

As well as taking part in an In-Person on-stage interview with radio and television broadcaster Edith Bowman, actor Ewan McGregor, with director Rodrigo Garcia, will also introduce his new film Last Days in the Desert. Actor Rhys Ifans will be on hand at several films he features in, including the world premiere of drama Len and Company, Welsh film Under Milk Wood; and the world premiere of the feature cut of Sky Arts TV series The Marriage of Reason & Squalor.

Alexander Skarsgård and Bel Powley will be in Edinburgh for the UK premiere of the acclaimed drama The Diary of A Teenage Girl, while German director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) will attend the screening of his new film 13 Minutes.  Model and actress Sophie Kennedy Clark will attend for The Marriage of Reason and Squalor and Stephen Tompkinson and Keith Allen will attend with their film Hector.

Director Asif Kapadia (Senna) will attend the screening of his much-anticipated documentary Amy. Emily Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola and Dolly Wells will attend a special screening of the full season of their hit TV series Doll & Em, while actor Denis Menochet (Inglourious Basterds) will attend the UK premiere of Norfolk.

Singer/songwriter (and sometime actor) Fish, from rock band Marillion, will be in town for the premiere of documentary Polska. Director/actress Talulah Riley will attend the world premiere of her directorial debut Scottish Mussel, along with many of the cast and crew, while Scottish legend James Cosmo will also attend the world premiere of his new film The Pyramid Texts.

As previously announced Asian Film Awards Academy presents In Person: Johnnie To, financially supported by Create Hong Kong and Hong Kong Film Development Fund, and supported by Brand Hong Kong and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London.  Malcolm McDowell, Neil Innes and Jane Seymour will also present In-Persons at the Festival, and acclaimed cinematographer and EIFF Honorary Patron Seamus McGarvey will be in conversation with two-time Oscar winner Haskell Wexler.

Scores of other cast and crew from many of the films screening at this year’s EIFF will also attend the Festival, allowing a rare opportunity for audiences to quiz them about their projects. Updates and full details of extra guests and events can be found on the EIFF website, www.edfilmfest.org.uk