The 2025 Edinburgh Short Film Festival opens Friday 7th Nov at the Filmhouse with award winners from international film festivals and around 35 UK Premieres. There's also a filmmaking masterclass with Jan Harlan; Stanley Kubrick's producer, and guest programmes from Amsterdam and Vilnius. Our European Film Festivals night returns with a showcase of films handpicked by festival programmers from across Europe. Your one chance to see some of the world's best short films of 2025! Tickets on sale now at the Filmhouse and online: https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/edinburgh-short-film-festival

Havana Glasgow Film Festival celebrates the twin cities of Glasgow and Havana through a programme of Cuban film screenings, discussions and joyful cultural events each November. This year, the festival celebrates its landmark 10th anniversary with a jam-packed programme celebrating Solidarity & Kindness - expect everything from treasured classics to powerful new releases, innovative art installations to thought-provoking panel discussions.

Marcel Pagnol Anniversary & Introduction By Pasquale Iannone. When the village baker refuses to bake bread because his unfaithful wife has left with a handsome shepherd… the individual drama takes on a collective dimension. Raimu gives us a prodigious interpretation that made Orson Welles say he was the greatest actor in the world. The film was, along with La Trilogie, one of Pagnol’s greatest successes. Of the casting of Raimu, Pagnol said: “He’s a prodigious actor… At first he didn’t want to play the baker. It had to be Maupi. But when he read the text, he came to me and said: “Don’t you think I should do it? When he gets drunk and tries to roll a cigarette, he who had never rolled one in his life, he is fantastic, everyone was in admiration, we did not dare stop the camera.” Language: In French with English subtitles. “Bursting with bucolic vigour and sly satirical wit.” Time Out

Black comedy about solitude and the dehumanisation of the modern world, through the adventures of three men. First introduced is Alphonse Tram, an unemployed young man. His only neighbour is the police chief – Inspector Morvandieu. Then a third man appears: he is Alphonse’s wife’s murderer… Bizarre and unreal. Bertrand Blier paired frequent star Gérard Depardieu and his own father Bernard Blier as, respectively, the needy Parisian and the disenchanted police inspector upstairs – who soon become strangely male-bonded with hapless serial murderer Jean Carmet. Screened in tribute to Bertrand Blier who died earlier this year. He won his first César Award for his offbeat original screenplay. Festival Trustee Sue Harris will provide insights into the cinema and legacy of the man she knew and admired. Language: In French with English subtitles. “Rigorously absurd contemporary film noir”. Time Out

Lost for Words is a chorale documentary which celebrates our relationship with nature. It is a scientific film with an artistic heart, that actively invites us to explore and reshape our anthropocentric point of view through an odyssey around the UK where we meet artists, scientists, children, the elderly, and all different people in between. Their words and philosophy drift organically through the four seasons which each have their own colour, sound and feel. By reminding us that we too are part of nature, these various voices bring us to see what we are losing and how to reconnect with it. By observing one landscape closely, the characters explore vast and global questions about our planet.

Marcel Pagnol Anniversary & Introduction By Pasquale Iannone. Albert Topaze, a serious schoolteacher addicted to “rote” morality, works at a private school run by supremely money-grubbing M. Muche, whose daughter, also a teacher, makes cynical use of the knowledge that Topaze loves her. Alas, Topaze’s naive honesty brings him unjust dismissal…and makes him fair game for the “aunt” of his private pupil, really the mistress of crooked politician Régis, who needs an honest-seeming “front man.” Can artful Suzy Courtois keep Topaze on a string? With steadily escalating disillusion comes moral crisis… This was Pagnol’s second attempt at putting on the screen his 1928 stage hit. Schoolmaster Topaze clings to his sense of right and wrong, despite being exploited at work and then tricked into becoming the front for a crooked businessman. Finally seeing himself as others do – a dupe and a dope – he changes character, seizes control and takes revenge on bullies past and present. Language: In French with English subtitles. “Pagnol exposes the pliability of the human conscience…” New York Times

Film Networking Night is back! Join us this November for our film networking night in partnership with Edinburgh Short Film Festival. 🙌 Meet and connect with fellow film industry folks over informal drinks and chats, whether you're a seasoned pro, or just starting out and keen to learn more. Our film networking events are all about building connections and community in the local film industry, in a friendly, low-key, no-pressure environment. We're at The Filmhouse, and starting a little earlier than usual to allow those going to watch the short films at 8.30pm to take part! The event is free to attend and you can purchase food and drinks from the bar. When and Where: 13 November, 6-10pm (there is a screening of ESFF short films "Living Memories" at 8.30pm at the Filmhouse, but we will remain in the bar for those who wish to continue networking!)

Scottish Premiere Including Q&A With Filmmaker Stevan Lee Mraovitch. Seydou (Oumar Diaw) is a migrant delivery worker in the heart of Paris. He navigates the challenges of survival and solitude, finding unexpected moments of connection that illuminate his path. His routine is a cycle of hardship, fleeting interactions and quiet resilience. Among indifferent customers and struggling workers, he forms an unexpected bond with Albert (Albert Delpy), a lonely elderly Parisian. Their friendship offers Seydou a rare connection, reshaping his perspective on belonging. This is ultimately a meditation on faith, connection and resilience in an increasingly fragmented world. Through Seydou’s journey and his bond with Albert, the film invites viewers to see beyond labels, to find strength in unlikely places, and to recognise the shared humanity that unites us all. This is an understated film about economic migration, told in a straightforward and powerful style. An appropriate companion piece to last year’s Festival hit, The Story of Souleymane now on release through Conic. Winner, Special Jury Award for Bridging Cultures, Arizona International Film Festival 2025. Language: In French, Pulaar, and Chinese with English subtitles. “Gorgeous visuals and story about under-represented groups, critiquing the treatment of immigrants in France.” Letterboxd

Gaumont Anniversary Screening & Intro By Sue Harris On The Golden Age Of Gaumont Comedy. One of the biggest box office hits in French cinema history, Le Dîner de cons features a particularly Gallic blend of social satire and adultery. But it is also a trenchant social commentary on middle-class snobbery, fear of failure and humiliation. The wealthy editor Pierre Brochant (Thierry Lhermitte) and his friends have a weekly competition where each invites the most foolish man he can find for dinner. Tonight, Brochant is ecstatic, for he has found the ultimate idiot. But his guest, tax official Francois Pignon (Jacques Villeret), is a master in bringing on catastrophe. Language: In French with English subtitles. “Writer-director Veber delivers a marvellously wrought plot… a classic example of a French farce”. Empire

An exquisite and enchanting new animated feature, featuring the voice talents of beloved French cinema icons Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. Ten-year-old Nina has always filled her imagination with her dad’s diverting tales about hedgehogs. But when he loses his job, Nina starts to worry about the future of her family. After hearing rumours of a treasure hidden by the old factory’s boss, Nina and her best friend Mehdi decide to embark on a risky hold-up and wild adventure to search for the swag and share it between her father and his fellow workers. Thus, an incredible adventure begins. From Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, the Academy Award-nominated directors of A Cat In Paris. Language: In French with English subtitles. “Dazzling. An ingenious film with superb colours and full of humour.” Télérama