Meet future collaborators and learn tips and tricks on how to make your no-low-budget feature film. Join us in person for an exciting day at the SI-FAN Fantastic Film Festival. With industry professionals sharing their advice on how to make your no-to-low-budget feature film. Connect with filmmakers, producers, writers and creatives in a relaxed atmosphere hosted by the Scottish International Fantastic Arts Network. As part of SI-FAN Film Festival 2026

SI-FAN is a festival which spans the quirky, the surreal, the fantastic and fantastical. A wonderful spectrum of cinematic gems pushing the boundaries of genre". BAFTA-winning director Morag McKinnon The Scottish fantastic genre film festival, SI-FAN, are ecstatic to announce its 2026 Film Festival programme coming to Edinburgh between the 1st and 4th of May. And we are further delighted to call Edinburgh’s favourite independent cinema, Filmhouse, as our main venue partner for this year’s festival. SI-FAN are proud to introduce two lauded, bold and original fantastical films to make their Scottish premiere. Thai director and writer Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut feature, the supernatural black comedy-drama A Useful Ghost. An angry ghost seeks revenge upon the factory that led to his death by possessing the machinery and a vacuum cleaner, sparking off a series of events. Winner of The Grand Prix Cannes’ Critics Week, A Useful Ghost perfectly blends outlandish, fantastical absurdism with sharp satire on late-stage capitalism and political corruption. Screening May 2nd at Filmhouse. Discovering emerging film talent and new voices is of particular pride for SI-FAN, as they will be screening over 60 short films across 8 short film programmes at Filmhouse, Edinburgh Cinema, Video Society and The Barnton Bunker. In fact, it is the largest genre of short film programme for a festival in the UK. Celebrating Scottish and Scottish-based talent, the very best international films and animations via our carefully curated shorts programmes: Scottish Shorts Select, The Lynchian Effect, Asian Panorama, Rising Voices, Don't Go There, SI-FANIMATION and Laughing With Monsters. Throughout the festival, there will be industry talks, networking events and parties for film fans, filmmakers and animators for opportunities to connect. To discover more about the SI-FAN 2026 programme and event listings, visit https://www.si-fan.org/ Friday 1st May Scottish Shorts Select - Filmhouse The Lynchian Effect - Filmhouse Saturday 2nd May Asian Panorama - Filmhouse A Useful Ghost - Filmhouse Sunday 3rd May Rising Voices - ECVS - 12:00 Don't Go There - ECVS 13:30 Futures - ECVS - 15:00 SI-FANIMATION - Filmhouse Dog of God - Filmhouse Monday 4th May Laughing With Monsters - Barnton Bunker - 14:00 - 17:00 Highlander - Filmhouse ESCAPE TO SI-FAN

Come meet filmmakers and creatives to celebrate the next wave of exciting Asian filmmaking talent at Filmhouse before the back to back screenings of Asian Panorama and A Useful Ghost/ We welcome every moviegoer and filmmaker who is a fan of scary Asian spirits, food banters, sharp humour or unconventional short films, to come raise a glass and celebrate a range of UK- and globally-based artists at the Filmhouse’s Gallery Bar before the start of our celebration of Asian cinema with Asian Panorama and the Scottish premiere of A Useful Ghost.

GLASGOW | MilkTea Community Preview of KOKUHO with ESEA Creatives. Nagasaki, 1964 – After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men grow and evolve together — from acting school to the grandest stages — amid scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals... One of them will become the greatest Japanese master of the art of Kabuki. Join us for the MilkTea community preview of KOKUHO on Tuesday 5 May at Vue Saint Enoch: Doors open at 6:00PM Film starts at 6:30PM

Music fans and cinephiles are invited to step behind the Music fans and cinephiles are invited to step behind the silver screen this May as celebrated composer and multi-instrumentalist Dick Lee launches a new six-week series of illustrated talks, Music in Film. Over six weeks, Lee—whose career spans five decades in jazz, folk, and classical music—will dissect how composers use sound to manipulate our emotions, from the chilling strings of Hitchcock’s Psycho to the epic western soundscapes of Ennio Morricone. The series is designed for everyone from casual moviegoers to dedicated musicians. Attendees will explore the evolution of the craft, including the transition from silent film accompaniment to the lush orchestral scores of the Golden Age and the experimental textures of modern cinema, with the help of plenty of video and audio examples on the Laser Display Screen and some played live by Dick on clarinet/sax/recorder. Each session is £20, or £96 for all 6. About Dick Lee: Dick is a prominent figure in the Scottish music scene, known for his work with Dick Lee's Chamber Jazz and Dr. Lee's Prescription, among many others, and his extensive contributions to musical lecturing (U3A, Edinburgh University etc.). There are plenty of examples of Dick's music from the last 5 decades on the YouTube channel Dick Lee's Sonic Meltdown.

Actress-director Zabou Breitman (Les Hirondelles de Kaboul, Se souvenir des belles choses) embarks on an unusual adventure: imagining the life of a boy discovered in an old photo from an album bought at a flea market. These are the images and memories of an unknown family, which somehow feel familiar. At the center is the boy, with his gaze that is both gentle and melancholic yet joyful. Who is he? What is his true story, the one that unfolds between the lines? What if every individual were also the unwitting hero of a tale? This dizzying family investigation blurs the lines between reality and fiction, sometimes merging them completely. It is conducted alongside editor Florent Vassault.

Celebrate horror, cult and weird cinema at the 14th edition of Dundead film festival. We're bringing you four days of terrifying premieres, blood filled vintage titles and bone-chilling contemporary classics, and this year we're not doing it alone. We're very excited to be collaborating with archive activist feminist collective Invisible Women for this year's retrospective strand: She’s a Maneater! Cannibalism, Consumption and Carnal Appetites. Invisible Women have curated this programme of six repertory horror films which feature women willing to go to terrifying extremes to satisfy their insatiable appetites. Alongside this special part of the programme, we've also got two UK premieres and four Scottish premieres, all selected by Dundead Programmer Michael Coull. Get ready for supernatural scares, creepy coming-of-age tales, kitsch horror comedy and exciting new voices in genre. Book for individual screenings, see six films with a Half Pass or come for the whole thing with a Full Pass.

This year, the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) will take part in the Festival of Europe Scotland, with the support of Creative Scotland and the Consulate General of Spain in Edinburgh. As part of the programme, ESFF will present a curated selection of films, as well as a Spanish short film within the Europe Day comedy shorts special, a showcase event bringing together contributions from different European countries. 📍 Filmhouse Screenings, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ. 📅 Thursday 7 May, 8:15 pm. Romería, by Carla Simón Romería is the third feature film from Spanish director Carla Simón. The story follows Marina, an 18-year-old girl who travels to Vigo, Galicia, to meet her biological father’s family for the first time. Marian was orphaned at a very young age after both of her parents died from AIDS-related complications. Will feature a short recorded intro by Carla Simón. 📅 Saturday 9 May, 8:30 pm. The Captive, by Alejandro Amenábar Directed by Alejandro Amenábar, this historical drama explores the life of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. The film focuses on Cervantes’ five-year captivity in Algiers, starting in 1575, after being wounded in battle. It depicts his various attempts to escape, and his relationship with the Governor of Algiers. 📅 Sunday 10 May, 6:00 pm. Always Winter, by David Trueba Miguel, a landscape architect, travels to Belgium with his girlfriend Marta to attend a conference. There, their relationship comes to an abrupt end and, after the breakup, he decides to stay on his own for a few more days to figure out his future. Lost and heartbroken, he meets Olga, a conference volunteer with whom he begins to rebuild himself and understand what his new life project might be. 📍Institut Français d’Écosse, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh EH1 1RN. Europe Day – Comedy Short Films from France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain 📅 Friday 8 May, 7:00 pm ESFF will present Democracia, by Borja Cobeaga, a fictional exploration of how democratic principles collide with the pressures of a highly competitive workplace.

Join us to celebrate Europe Day exploring humor from different European countries! The event will feature a selection of comedy short films from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and France. Full programme coming soon, Stay Tuned! Event in partnership with German Consulate General in Edinburgh and the Goethe Institut, Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh, Consulate General of Italy in Edinburgh and Italian Institute of Culture, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh, Consulate General of Romania in Edinburgh and Romanian Cultural Institute, Consulate of Spain in Edinburgh and Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival.

An unexpected road trip brings a dysfunctional family together for one last journey with their elder, sparking moments of connection, joy, and reconciliation.