Special Halloween programme for October Drive-in Movies announced!

Picture: Lloyd Smith

Edinburgh International Film Festival and Unique Events, organisers of Drive-in Movies at Edinburgh Airport, are pleased to announce a special Halloween programme for the next four-day outdoor cinema extravaganza, supported by Edinburgh Live, taking place between 29 October and 1 November.

Packed-full with scary movies and fright-filled pre-film activities with ghoulish prizes, this special event is the perfect Halloween celebration in a safe, socially-distant environment.

Tickets for the Drive-in Movies – Halloween edition are now on sale at edinburghdrivein.co.uk with another fantastic programme of cinema classics including Ghostbusters, Jaws, The Lost Boys and Halloween alongside family favourites such as E.T., Coco and Jurassic Park.

Following a very successful opening weekend in August which saw over 4,000 people enjoying the event in a safe and family-friendly environment, Drive-in Movies fun continues this October with a scarily fantastic programme of Halloween-themed films and activities.

Edinburgh DJ Stewart Calverto will once again warm-up the crowds as ‘Count Calverto’ with Halloween-themed sing-along car disco and quizzes with spot prizes. There will also be ghoulish prizes for the best Halloween costumes and best Car-ved Pumpkins displayed on dashboards.

Edinburgh’s Drive-in Movies truly is the place to go for Halloween fun this year!

Audiences are being asked to vote on social media on their Fright Night Favourite horror film for the late Sunday slot: Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic Psycho (1960), John Carpenter’s sci-fi horror The Thing (1982), William Friedkin’s supernatural The Exorcist (1973) or Wes Craven’s first of the slasher series, Scream (1996). To cast a vote, check out Edinburgh International Film Festival’s poll on Twitter and Facebook.

SCHEDULE

THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER

6.30pm GHOSTBUSTERS, 1984 (captioned)

10pm ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, 1975 (captioned)

FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER

6.30pm THE LOST BOYS, 1987 (captioned)

10pm DONNIE DARKO, 2001

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER

10.30am COCO, 2017 (captioned)

2pm E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, 1982 (captioned)

6pm JAWS, 1975 (captioned)                   

10pm HALLOWEEN, 1978                

SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER

10.30am HOCUS POCUS, 1993 (captioned)

2pm LABYRINTH, 1986 (captioned)

5.30pm JURASSIC PARK, 1993 (captioned)

9.30pm public vote film: PSYCHO / THE THING / THE EXORCIST / SCREAM       

Tickets are available now at www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk, priced from £27.50 to £35.00 (+ booking fee) per vehicle for up to 5 persons.

This top-notch selection of films will be shown on a state of the art 100sqm LED screen, one of the largest mobile screens in the world with the audio broadcast straight to cars, for audiences to control the soundtrack.

Prior to each film, audiences will be able to sample some of the best fish and chips in the country from seafood specialists Alandas and for those not behind the wheel, Edinburgh-based award-winning brewery Cold Town Beer will be on site to serve beers and cocktails, as well as burgers and nachos.

Drive-in Movies off to a flyer!

PIC: Lloyd Smith

Edinburgh International Film Festival and Unique Events, organisers of Edinburgh’s brand new Drive In Movies event, have hailed the opening weekend a huge success.

Over 4,000 people flocked to Edinburgh Airport to experience a 4-day outdoor cinema extravaganza, supported by Edinburgh Live, for people of all ages which included family favourites, all-time classics and thrilling blockbusters.

PIC: Lloyd Smith

Tickets for the next Drive-in Movies (24 – 27 September) are now on sale at edinburghdrivein.co.uk with another packed programme of cinema classics including Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mamma Mia! Rocketman, Toy Story and Mean Girls, among others.

The opening weekend of Drive-in Movies saw thousands of people from Edinburgh and Lothians enjoying a fantastic outdoor cinematic experience in the comfort of their own vehicles and in the unique surroundings of Edinburgh Airport.

Strictly following the health and safety regulations and the Scottish Government’s advice, Drive-in Movies offered a safe and fun environment for people of all ages to experience what was the first post-lockdown outdoor event for many.

A top-notch selection of films was shown on a state of the art 100sqm LED screen, one of the largest mobile screens in the world with the audio broadcast straight to cars, for audiences to control the soundtrack.

Audiences sang along to Sunshine on Leith and Grease, shed a tear at Up, fell in love during William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet and enjoyed the planes landing and taking off nearby which was a particular treat at the screenings of Con Air and Airplane!

Prior to each film, audiences had a chance to sample some of the best fish and chips in the country from seafood specialists Alandas and those not behind the wheel, Edinburgh-based award-winning brewery’s Cold Town Beer.

Nairn’s Oatcakes distributed their ever-so-popular Oat Bars as a special treat for families who came to see Up and Mary Poppins Returns. Popular Edinburgh DJ Stewart Calverto became Captain Calverto as he warmed up the crowds with car disco and quizzes with spot prizes.

PIC: Lloyd Smith

Audiences took to social media to share their views of the event:

‘Great afternoon at #Edinburghdrivein @EdinburghAirpo1 Brilliantly presented by @UniqueEventsltd and @edfilmfest’

‘Had an epic time tonight at seeing alien at #EdinburghDriveIn, great set up’

‘brilliant night out at #EdinburghDriveIn’

‘Dreamy night at the drive-in. Thank you for the brilliant escape @edfilmfest @UniqueEventsltd’

Drive-in Movies’ opening weekend. Credit Lloyd Smith.

Drive-in Movies continues during the last weekend of every month for the rest of the year. September dates are confirmed as 24 to 27 September and the organisers are now pleased to reveal first titles for the event, an exciting selection of cult films and blockbusters: Back to the Future (1985) with some of the most recognisable lines and the inimitable Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, Big Trouble in Little China with Kurt Russell (1986), John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), all-time family favourite Toy Story (1995), teen comedy classic Mean Girls (2004), Drive (2011) with Ryan Gosling, and more recent hits, a homage to ABBA featuring Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia! (2008), Spike Lee’s Blackkklansman (2018), Incredibles 2 (2018) and Elton John’s biopic, Rocketman (2019).

Tickets are on sale now at edinburghdrivein.co.uk

SCHEDULE

Thursday 24 September

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (15, 1986) 10:00pm

Friday 25 September

INCREDIBLES 2 (PG, 2018) 2:00pm

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (12A, 1987) (CAPTIONED) 6:00pm

DRIVE (18, 2011) 10:00pm

Saturday 26 September

TOY STORY (PG, 1995) 10:30am

MAMMA MIA! (PG, 2008) (CAPTIONED) 2:00pm

BACK TO THE FUTURE (PG, 1985) (CAPTIONED) 6:00pm

BLACKKKLANSMAN (15, 2018) 10:00pm

Sunday 27 September

MARY POPPINS (U, 1964) 10:00am

MEAN GIRLS (12, 2004) 2:00pm

to be announced 6:00pm

ROCKETMAN (15, 2019) 10:00pm

Tickets available now at www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk priced from £27.50 – £35.00 (+ booking fee) per vehicle for up to 5 persons.

First titles for Edinburgh’s Drive-in Movies confirmed

Edinburgh International Film Festival and Unique Events are delighted to confirm the first film titles for their ambitious new project, Drive-in Movies, arriving at Edinburgh Airport on Thursday, 27 August. Tickets are on sale at www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk now. 

Organisers of the Drive-in Movies said“We are delighted to be able to share with our audiences the first batch of titles to be screened as part of Drive-in Movies next month.

With a broad selection of timeless classics, family favourites and blockbusters, it truly offers something for everyone. We’re already working behind-the-scenes on the programme for the future events, but in the meantime book yourself a wild ride and we’ll see you at Edinburgh Airport for some cinema magic.”

The Drive-in Movies August line-up includes 13 films: classics such as Airplane!, cult titles like The Princess Bride, family-favourites including Up and recent hits like Get Out and Mary Poppins Returns

Every month from August 2020 until January 2021, Drive-in Movies will welcome up to 250 cars at the Edinburgh Airport car park, offering film fans of all ages a world-class cinematic experience in a safe, controlled environment

Audiences are encouraged to book now at www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk for 27-30 August, the first weekend of Drive-in Movies. 

More titles for the future events, including the second Drive-in Movies weekend (24 – 27 September), are to be announced in due course. 

Line-up confirmed so far includes:

Thursday, 27 August

6pm – Sunshine on Leith (2013)

10pm – Get Out (2017)

Friday, 28 August

2pm – Grease (1978)

6pm – Airplane! (1980)

10pm – Con Air (1997)

Saturday, 29 August

10am – Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

2.15pm – Clueless (1995)

6pm – William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)

10pm – Alien (1979)

Sunday, 30 August

10.30am – Up (2009)

2pm – The Princess Bride (1987)

5.45pm – La La Land (2017)

10pm – Dirty Dancing (1987)

The films will be shown on a state of the art 100sqm LED screen, one of the largest mobile screens in the world with the audio broadcast straight to cars, for audiences to control the soundtrack.

Audiences will be able to arrive up to 1 hour prior to the film’s starting to take part in a car disco with a playlist relating to the screening, along with an interactive on-screen quiz with spot prizesFood and snacks will be available to purchase from a selection of local food suppliers who will have stalls on site. 

With cars suitably distanced apart Drive-In Movies will be a safe environment for families and friends to enjoy an event, in line with government guidelines for outdoor events. Standard tickets priced at £35.00 per vehicle for up to 5 people, with a number of tickets being made available to EIFF’s community partners.

Drive-in Movies offer accessible toilets and food units. Please check listings for captioned screenings. 

If you have access requirements please email admin@filmhousecinema.com.

Further details of Ed Film Fest At Home released

Edinburgh International Film Festival and Curzon Home Cinema are delighted to announce Clemency, written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu and starring Alfre Woodard, and Capital in the 21st Century, directed by Justin Pemberton and based on the bestselling book by Thomas Piketty, as the latest additions to the ED FILM FEST at Home programme presented by EIFF and CHC.

As announced last week, the ambitious programme also features such acclaimed titles as Last and First Men with Tilda Swinton, Ron Howard’s Rebuilding Paradise and the latest film from the Dardenne brothers, Young Ahmed.

A Q&A with director Thomas Clay and the cast of Fanny Lye Deliver’d – Maxine Peake, Charles Dance, Tanya Reynolds and Freddie Fox – will take place at 8.30pm on Monday, 29 June with further events to be announced in due course.

A brand-new film will be presented each day of the 12-day festival, with films playing for between 2 and 12 days, each priced at £9.99.

Full schedule of films is available to browse here.

Full line-up and dates for EDFILMFEST AT HOME include:

CLEMENCY (24 June – 5 July) written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu and starring Alfre Woodard. This award-winning feature focuses on a prison warden Bernadine Williams who confronts the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is now sanctioned to kill. Chinonye first had the idea for Clemency after Troy Davis’ execution in a state prison in 2011 and spent 4 years researching for the film.

CAPITAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY (3 – 5 July) directed by Justin Pemberton and based on the best-selling and one of the most powerful books of our time, written by French economist Thomas Piketty. This UK premiere is an eye-opening journey through wealth and power that breaks the popular assumption that the accumulation of capital runs hand in hand with social progress, shining a new light on the world around us and its growing inequalities.

REBUILDING PARADISE (29 June – 5 July) directed by Ron Howard. The UK premiere of the moving documentary, by Hollywood director Ron Howard, that chronicles the post-fire lives of the residents of Paradise, California, which was 95% razed to the ground by the so-called ‘Camp Fire’ of November 2018.

FANNY LYE DELIVER’D (24 June – 5 July) directed by Thomas Clay and starring Maxine Peake, Charles Dance, Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds. Set in Shropshire in 1657, this folk horror/thriller concerns a young woman living a remote, rural, puritan existence with her older husband and young son, until the arrival of a young couple on the run who introduce Fanny Lye to a world of possibilities…

PERFUMES (LES PARFUMS) (1 – 2 July) directed by Grégory Magne, starring Emmanuelle Devos, Gustave Kervern, Sergi Lopez, Grégory Montel. The UK premiere of this French comedy drama set in the ‘nose’ (nez) business. A once-famous ‘nez’ (in the perfume world) sells her extraordinary olfactory facility to any company that’s prepared to pay for it. She’s a selfish diva, but one that might just have a shot at redemption through her relationship with her new chauffeur, a man with many troubles of his own.

SAINT FRANCES (25 – 27 June) directed by Alex Thompson and written by and starring Kelly O’Sullivan. The UK premiere of this US comedy drama which sees Bridget, 34, aimless and accidentally pregnant, decide to have an abortion. Needing a job, she gets one (by luck rather than design) she’s not really very well suited to – that of nanny, to the precocious Frances.

THE TRAITOR (28 June – 5 July) directed by Marco Bellocchio and starring Pierfrancesco Favino. A masterful telling of the real-life story of Tommaso Buscetta, the main informant in the ‘Maxi’ (Sicilian Mafia) Trial in Palermo in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

A WHITE, WHITE DAY (27 – 29 June) directed by Hlynur Palmason and starring Ingvar Sigurdsson. Icelandic drama about a recently retired policeman who becomes obsessed that his recently-deceased wife was having an affair. His growing obsession starts to threaten the well-being of the rest of his family.

LAST AND FIRST MEN (3 – 5 July) directed by Jóhann Jóhannsson and narrated by Tilda Swinton. The UK premiere of the late, great composer’s directorial debut, a stunning audio-visual, science-fiction essay on human mortality and the end of all things. Loosely based on the 1930 Olaf Stapledon novel of the same name, Tilda Swinton voices a human from its 18th distinct evolution from some two billion years in the future (the Last Men), reaching back to the First Men (us) for help, as the end of time approaches.

YOUNG AHMED (25 June – 2 July) directed and written by Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. After taking to heart an extremist interpretation of the Qu’ran, a Belgian teenager hatches a plan to kill his teacher.

ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH (25 June – 5 July) directed by Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky and Nicolas de Pencier, narrated by Alicia Vikander. This stunning documentary, filmed in 20 countries across 6 continents, documents the impact the human race has had on Planet Earth to illuminate the question: have we entered a new geological epoch?

VOLCANO (26 June – 5 July) directed by Roman Bondarchuk. Lukas, a translator working for the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) gets stranded in the middle of nowhere in southern Ukraine. Life, and the people, are nothing like Lukas has ever imagined before, and getting out of there is his only priority. But warming to his strange new hosts, perhaps there’s more going on here than first meets the eye.

LITTLE GIRL (2 – 4 July) directed by Sebastian Lifshitz, UK premiere. Sasha, 7, a little girl living in the Northeast of France, was assigned male at birth. The film details, with extraordinary sensitivity, Sasha and her very supportive family’s seemingly endless quest for her to be recognised as a girl by the school she loves.

ED FILM FEST AT HOME runs 24 June – 5 July 2020.

Filmhouse closed

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL POSTPONED

In line with the UK Government and Scottish Government’s public health advice we are sad to announce that we will be closing both Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen from today (Wednesday 18th March) until further notice. 

We are also announcing the postponement of the 74th EIFF in June, and are looking at which elements of the Festival can be delivered later in the year.

Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences, and we wish you all health and strength through this difficult time.

Tickets purchased online for future screenings will be automatically refunded, however at this challenging time for the Filmhouse and Belmont cinemas we would ask you to consider converting your refund into a donation towards sustaining our charity and the work we will do in the future.

For tickets purchased at the Box Office, refunds will be available to customers when we re-open.

Memberships will be frozen until we are able to resume operating, but if you are able to consider continuing your membership payments it would be a significant support.

Other ways you can consider supporting the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse is through the purchase of vouchers to gift or enjoy when we are able to resume our screenings programmes. Please consider making a donation or supporting the Festival by becoming an EIFF Friend.

Opportunities to support can be found on our websites www.filmhousecinema.comwww.belmontfilmhouse.com and www.edfilmfest.org.uk

We look forward to a brighter time when our cinemas can bring us all back together in a shared celebration of film, and its role in giving us a window on the best and most diverse stories and story tellers from across the world.

Meanwhile we’ll be doing our best to keep everyone’s spirits up and conversation going through our social media and digital channels and hope that many of you will engage with us, retaining what we can of our sense of community and sharing our passion for film.

CEO of Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Belmont Filmhouse Aberdeen and Edinburgh International Film Festival, Ken Hay said: “It is with huge regret that we have taken the necessary decision to both close the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen for the foreseeable future, as well as postpone Edinburgh International Film Festival 2020.

“Both Filmhouse and Belmont Filmhouse provide unique windows on the world for their local communities, however the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences has to be the first consideration.

“As the longest running film festival in the world we are keen to continue even through these hard times, and we are looking at which elements of it may be delivered later in the year. We will keep you informed as plans develop.

“For now, we would like to thank our funders, sponsors, partners, staff, donors, patrons, filmmakers, sales agents, distributors, members and audiences for their loyalty, support and understanding in these unprecedented times.’

Schools Film Competiton: information session tomorrow

Hello, Edinburgh Teachers,

The Edinburgh and Lothians Film Competition is an opportunity for your students to showcase their talent at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2019!

Open to all City of Edinburgh council & Lothians schools, come along to the teachers’ information sessions tomorrow (Thursday 31st January) at the Filmhouse to find out more about the Edinburgh and Lothians Film Competition.

Seeking Scottish shooting stars

Saltire Society and EiFF celebrate milestone anniversaries with new £3,000 Most Promising Filmmaker Award

EIFF-Short-Film-Challenge-FC-Red

The Saltire Society and Edinburgh International Film Festival (EiFF) have announced a new award and £3,000 prize to be given to a promising young Scottish filmmaker to develop a short film, which will be shown as part of EiFF’s industry programme in 2017. Continue reading Seeking Scottish shooting stars