Trainspotting at 30, 21 World Premieres and a Festival Finding its Feet Again

Two years ago, the Edinburgh International Film Festival was rebuilding. In 2026, it finally feels like it can start looking forward.

The 79th edition of the world’s longest continually running film festival opens today, 13 August, with 38 new feature presentations, 21 world premieres and enough established names to give Edinburgh some serious star power. Ewan McGregor, Kenneth Branagh, Ken Burns and Bruce Dern are all heading north, while Trainspotting is coming home for one very loud 30th birthday party.

But the bigger story may be that Edinburgh itself is beginning to look healthy again.

Admissions increased from 12,000 in 2024 to 16,500 last year, while more than 300 filmmakers, producers and distributors attended. Industry events almost doubled from 13 to 25.

Festival director Paul Ridd describes this third edition of the revamped EIFF as the moment the festival is finally “hitting a stride”.

The programme certainly suggests confidence.

Opening film The Incomer, Louis Paxton’s feature debut starring Domhnall Gleeson and Gayle Rankin, is set on a remote Scottish island and arrives after winning Sundance’s NEXT Innovator Award.

Edinburgh closes with another Scottish story, the world premiere of Louise Lockwood’s documentary Bel, about Glasgow musician and artist Beldina Odenyo, better known as Heir of the Cursed.

Between those Scottish bookends, things become much more international.

Twenty-one films receive world premieres, including Abdolreza Kahani’s Empty Heaven, William Scoular’s Northbound with Bruce Dern, Paul Wright’s Mission starring George MacKay and Marc Turtletaub’s Borges and Me.

There are bigger names too. Gregg Araki brings I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde, Daveed Diggs and Charli xcx. Hirokazu Kore-eda has Sheep in the Box, Nicolas Winding Refn arrives with Her Private Hell, while Tamra Davis presents music documentary The Best Summer.

The festival is also putting real money behind discovery. Ten world-premiere features compete for the audience-voted £50,000 Sean Connery Prize, while the shorts competition carries a £15,000 Thelma Schoonmaker Prize.

For independent filmmakers, those aren't token trophies. They could help get the next film made.

And then there’s Trainspotting. Danny Boyle’s landmark film returns to Leith Theatre on 14 August for a 30th-anniversary screening featuring live cast and crew commentary, followed by a club night with Irvine Welsh and former Underworld member Darren Emerson DJing.

It’s difficult to imagine a more Edinburgh celebration.

McGregor will also appear separately for an EIFF career conversation, while Kenneth Branagh receives the festival’s inaugural Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award. Ken Burns, Bruce Dern and veteran producer Christine Vachon are also taking part in talks.

Perhaps the most important new addition, however, happens away from the screen.

The inaugural U.K. Film Conference takes place on 15 August, bringing figures including BFI CEO Ben Roberts together to discuss financing, low-budget filmmaking and how directors actually build sustainable careers after their first feature.

That feels significant.

Edinburgh no longer appears to be asking whether it can survive its reboot. It is starting to ask what role it wants to play next. And becoming the home of British independent cinema would be quite an answer.