We’re excited to announce our in-competition programme for our 16th edition! The 2026 ESFF opens on Friday 6th November Filmhouse Edinburgh and continues until 21st November at the Filmhouse and Summerhall. With 7 nights of in competition short films competing for our 2026 awards, ranging from Chinese neo-noir to Finnish stop motion and from Kurdish documentary to Australian horror, Q and As, panel discussions and networking events. Tickets coming soon!

🇪🇸🍿 Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival is back in Scotland for its 13th edition this autumn! 💃🏽 Opening weekend kicks off this Thursday, 1st October, so join us in celebrating the joy of being together at the big screen. 🎟️ Don't miss our grand opening with… 01/10 Lust for Life (2026) 18:15 @ Filmhouse, joined by producer Rodrigo Espinel 02/10 Band Together (2025) 18:15 @ VUE OMNiCentre, joined by Scottish-Spanish actor Judith Fernández.

The 13th Edition of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, screening at Filmhouse, French Institute and Vue Omni in Edinburgh, and touring across Tranent, Stirling, Ayr and Glasgow

The Scottish Youth Film Festival is back for a weekend of cinema, connection and celebration of Scotland's best filmmakers! Join us for this FREE event on the 2 & 3 October at Prestwick Academy for your chance to dive into the world of film and TV. Book your FREE ticket for this year's festival and workshops at www.scottishyouthfilmfestival.co.uk *Please note - you MUST book a General Admission ticket as well as your desired workshop ticket separately* Fri 2 & Sat 3 Oct 2026 Prestwick Academy, KA9 2LB Please note this festival is only open to people aged between 12-26.

A graceful, penetrating study of a couple’s deteriorating marriage, set against the backdrop of a small Mediterranean fishing village. La Pointe Courte is both a stylized depiction of the couple’s complicated relationship and a documentary-like look at the daily lives of the villagers. “A stunningly beautiful and accomplished first film,” which has also achieved a cult status as “the first film of the nouvelle vague.” (G. Vincendeau)

An opera night on a giant screen: Verdi’s Macbeth comes to screens! Each autumn, Opéra en direct becomes an unmissable event for opera lovers and for those seeking powerful emotions. This year, Macbeth takes centre stage: the first Shakespeare adaptation set to music by Verdi, and perhaps the darkest. It follows the downfall of a power-hungry couple, set to a score of striking dramatic intensity. Far from traditional romantic love stories, Verdi focuses here on psychological depth and a fantastical atmosphere. The voice becomes theatre: that of Lady Macbeth, rough and relentless, shakes the conventions of bel canto. Filmed in Rouen, this opera will be broadcast live on big screen, in partnership with France Télévisions. A unique opportunity to experience, together, a great evening of opera, as if you were there. Formed in 2024 from the merger of the Regional Orchestra of Normandy and the Opéra de Rouen Normandie Orchestra, this 58-member ensemble is deeply rooted in its region and open to all repertoires, from baroque to contemporary music. Based in Rouen and Mondeville, it performs over a hundred concerts across Normandy each year, maintaining a strong commitment to artistic excellence in all formats. Actively engaged with local communities, it also leads numerous outreach initiatives, bringing music to diverse audiences. In Italian with French subtitles

Charles Burnett’s follow up to his debut, Killer of Sheep, explores Black working class life in 80’s LA. Pierce Mundy lives at home with his parents, working at their dry cleaning business, and caring for his folks. His brother on the other hand is a lawyer, set to marry into an upper middle-class Black family. Pierce's friend Soldier is once again released from prison, and with even lower prospects than Pierce because of his reputation. The two move about town with no grand plans, to the disappointment of Pierce's family. Pierce is increasingly conflicted between the expectations of his parents and his own tenacity. Having never earned a wider release due to distributors' fear of low sales, My Brother's Wedding (1983) is finally here to stay. A newly restored cut with frame-by-frame image repairs, color correction and digital mastering has promised new life to Burnett's funny and moving film. This film will be presented with descriptive subtitles.

The second session of our Film Club at Morningside Library (Edinburgh) will take place on Tuesday 6th October! This month's session will focus on our Colombia, Presente! programme. Across six contemporary short films, Colombia emerges through bodies, landscapes, memory, desire and conflict — but also through music, humour, imagination and tenderness. Colombia, Presente! offers a portrait of a country that refuses to be reduced to a single image. With this programme, we bring together new and emerging voices from Colombia’s vibrant film scene alongside established auteurs, including Theo Montoya, whose new short Pelotón Trueno (Thunder Platoon) premiered in the Official Short Film Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and Leinad Pájaro de la Hoz, whose Un pájaro voló premiered and won at Berlinale. These are films that have travelled widely, from Cannes and Berlinale to Tribeca, Locarno, FICCI and Bogoshorts, gathering awards, special mentions and audiences along the way. We can't wait to share this programme with you and discuss it together! Nos vemos pronto! FREE ENTRY, tea and coffee on us!

Tired of their mundane jobs, five friends set out on a drug-fuelled weekend in Cardiff, hopping from pubs, clubs and parties. A cult classic of the ‘Cool Cymru’ era, Human Traffic is a charming social commentary about 90s rave culture and the alienation of a generation. An unapologetic exploration of youthful hedonism and rebellion, this is the debut film by 25 year old Welsh writer/director Justin Kerrigan. Celebrating music that shaped the generation, featuring Orbital, Underworld and Primal Scream, the film is also packed with numerous cameo performances as well as a young Danny Dyer in his debut feature. Recently restored in 4k courtesy of the BFI. Following the screening, Cinetopia will be hosting an interactive exhibition, exploring Scottish nightlife across different generations. Reminiscing on beloved venues of the past that have embedded themselves in culture. Attendees of all ages are invited to share stories and engage in dialogue about the art of a good night out. We wrap the night with a DJ session packed with 90s bangers and tunes inspired by the film. Come for the film + DJ session, or just the DJ session. Ticket options available. Timeline of the evening below. This event was curated by young programmer Rowan Sharp, and is part of Transmission: Youth Across Generations - a multi-event programme exploring how youth culture has shaped identity, belonging and collective memory in Britain from the 1980s to the present, developed as part of BFI FAN's Rip It Up season. Rowan Sharp is a theatre/filmmaker from the Highlands based in Glasgow. From Rowan: "Human Traffic is a truly charming film that celebrates messiness and hedonism, and does so in this strangely earnest and sympathetic way. It’s full of these deeply relatable characters that remind me of my pals, or those random strangers you end up in weird conversations with in the corner of a gaff (how I met quite a few of my aforementioned pals). Like many people my age, I wish I was around to experience rave/club culture in the 90s, of course from a music stand point but also the freedom that came with it. It's been an especially bleak year for the arts as commercial interests and conservative politics continue to threaten spaces that have played such an important part in Scotland's culture, community and social heritage. I can’t help but feel that my “self disciplined" generation is not entirely blameless. I’m curious as to what we can learn from other generations who found joy through escapism in times of difficulty." Film information: dir. Justin Kerrigan | Wales/UK | 1999 | runtime: 99 mins | English | BBFC rating: 15 Cast: John Simm, Danny Dyer, Lorraine Pilkington Timeline of the evening: 7pm - Welcome + intro 7.15pm - Film screening 9pm - Short break - audience members are invited to share stories and engage in dialogue about the art of a good night out. 9.30pm - DJ session - 90s bangers and Human Traffic-inspired tunes! DJ to be announced. Student concession tickets available. _____ This screening is part of Cinetopia’s TRANSMISSION: YOUTH ACROSS GENERATIONS programme - a multi-event programme exploring how youth culture has shaped identity, belonging and collective memory in Britain from the 1980s to the present. TRANSMISSION is part of Rip It Up, supported by Film Hub Scotland as part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), made possible by the National Lottery. Cinetopia is a film events and exhibition company based in Edinburgh with a mission to connect the film industry, foster conversations, and produce engaging opportunities for audiences to experience cinema through various offerings such as film screenings, pop-up cinema, workshops, masterclasses, and networking events.

This charming documentary follows the events of the 2023 World Porridge Making Championships in Carrbridge, Scotland. Tickets £3/£5/£7 on a sliding scale, with free entry for Grassmarket Community Project Members, open door meal attendees, and anyone else in need of a free ticket. Please select the ticket price that feels right to you; all income from tickets will be directly used to support the continued running of our cinema screenings. Notes Duration: 75 minutes Certificate PG - Infrequent mild bad language, rude humour The film will screen with English subtitles transcribing all dialogue in the film The film will start promptly at 7pm without trailers The Grassmarket Community Project is a wheelchair accessible venue