HippFest is Scotland’s first and only festival of silent film with live music, centred in and inspired by Scotland’s first and oldest cinema. Featuring exceptional screenings, commissions, workshops, community events and touring. Renowned for its warm welcome and inclusive atmosphere, HippFest attracts a broad audience of cinema-goers, music lovers, and industry professionals, cultivating an international community with an adventurous appetite for extraordinary cinema.

Join us for our first film networking night of 2026! 🙌 Meet and connect with fellow film industry folks over informal drinks and chats, whether you're a seasoned pro, or just starting out in the film industry and keen to learn more. We're trying a new venue this time at the lovely Little Picardy bar! Coming on your own? Don't worry! One of our team will be here to welcome you and make sure you meet people. We promise a chill, friendly, fun atmosphere. Little Picardy are offering 10% off food and drink for Cinetopia networkers. This event is free to attend, please RSVP - it helps us track numbers! ------ Cinetopia is dedicated to producing events and spaces where people can be inspired and engaged in film and filmmaking through our various public-facing offerings such as film screenings, workshops, masterclasses and networking events. From Cinescapes, our outdoor film festival and event strand, to our monthly radio show and podcast on EHFM, all of our programmes are designed to foster a conversation around film Location Little Picardy Bar, EH1 3AA

Synopsis: On a summer vacation at her grandparents’ house in Mallorca, teenage Cata spends her days playing tricks on her little sister Eva, annoying her grandmother, conspiring with her grandfather, and flirting with boys. This lazy holiday routine comes to a halt one night when she discovers her grandma’s dead body. The girls’ mother arrives to help, but the role of caretaker she assumes is unwelcome. Time stops in this house that, strangely, already felt stuck in time. Unable to process her grief, Cata turns to her grandmother’s belongings. Suddenly, objects and clothes she’d never seen now mean something to her, giving her purpose. She begins playing dress-up with her grandfather, who is unable and unwilling to move on from this shocking loss. Cata takes on a new role at home, or rather, this new role takes over Cata.

At a Montréal public grade school, Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, is hired to replace an elementary school teacher who died tragically. While helping his students deal with their trauma, his own recent loss is revealed. Awards (Canadian Oscars) include: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor. Screening as part of the Mois de la Francophonie 2026

A formally rigorous and intimate documentary that offers a hypnotic look at the art and tragedy of bullfighting, following the young Peruvian matador Andrés Roca Rey as he engages in a solitary, life-and-death dance with the bull in the arena. With calculated precision, director Albert Serra crafts an unflinching meditation that cuts through ritual and ornament to raise questions about existence, tradition, and the nature of performance. Content warning: Contains graphic violence against animals and death of animals in a real-life bullfighting context

Join us at Leith Kino as we screen the unhinged time-loop comedy River (2023), directed by Junta Yamaguchi, one of the most exciting new directors within Japanese comedy filmmaking. Set within a traditional inn over in Kyoto, River follows its guests and workers as they try to figure out ways of escaping a sudden, unexplained time-loop which resets everything every two minutes. Simultaneously devious and heartfelt, as well as endlessly inventive, don't miss out on this true gem of modern Japanese comedy! Tickets cost £6 and we have allocated handful of free tickets for those not in a position to pay. Please support your local Leith Kino! Leith Kino Access Information - English subtitles will be onscreen for every screening, including descriptive captions where possible. - The screening room is on ground level and is wheelchair accessible from the Leith Depot bar with flexible seating to accomodate specific requirements. - There are accessible toilets in both the screening room and the bar. Leith Depot is well-served by public transport. It's a short walk from the Foot of the Walk tram stop and there is a bus stop outside the venue for services: 7, 14, 16, 25, and 49

Cinetopia in collaboration with the Edinburgh Film Guild are proud to present this newly composed original score by Edinburgh-based multi-instrumentalist Dan Abrahams and French drummer Phillipe Boudot. On the treeless, windswept islet of Bannec off the Breton coast, four seaweed harvesters set up camp for the season, smoke billowing from their pyres of burning algae. Trouble arises when a fight between Ambroise and Jean-Marie over a broken wine bottle results in injury to the young Ambroise, leading to simmering tensions and distrust… When Ambroise’s condition worsens, Jean-Marie discovers him, delirious and feverish, and decides to take him to nearby Ouessant island, across the fog-laden sea, to reach a doctor. Shot in a documentary-style, using local non-actors, Jean Epstein’s camera reveals an unforgiving, isolated environment where men live a hard, rudimentary existence of toil against the sea and the elements. Through experimental techniques, Epstein frames the landscape, the sky, and the waters in a highly poetic visual style, rich in atmosphere, and a dual sense of menace and beauty. 6pm – Apéro hour in the Salon 7pm – Brief introduction from Edinburgh Film Guild 7:05pm - Film screening with live accompaniment 8:15pm – Conversations continue back in the Salon until 10pm Please note: drinks can be purchased at our pop-up bar (cash or card), but are not included in the ticket price and are only allowed in the Salon space before and after the film. Complementary nibbles available on a first-come basis from 6pm.

In the 1950s, a young woman leaves the Swiss mountains for the shores of Beirut, where she falls in love with a quirky astrophysicist. The pair live in bliss until the civil war threatens their peaceful existence.

Leith Kino is delighted to present Kim Hopkins' latest documentary Still Pushing Pineapples in the legendary Leith Dockers Club. Expect tropical vibes, cheap drinks and a good time! Hang out with us for some party tunes after the screening. Entertainment, working-class culture, human connection, and the power of pop align in Kim Hopkins’ moving and funny road movie following ageing pop star Dene Michael as he chases one more chart success. “Kim Hopkins’ follow-up to her Bradford film club portrait A Bunch of Amateurs...another sweet portrait of northern culture.” Sight and Sound “A measured, thoughtful, pathos-rich elegy for a lost time.” The Telegraph “An entertaining, and ultimately touching, life drama.”The Hollywood Reporter Tickets cost £6 and we have allocated handful of free tickets for those not in a position to pay. Please support your local Leith Kino! Leith Kino Access Information English subtitles will be onscreen for every screening, including descriptive subtitles where possible If you have any questions about access or if you need to reserve a specific seat, please email us at leithkino@gmail.com

HippFest is Scotland's first and only festival of silent film with live music. In 2021 the festival ran entirely online, reaching a new international community, and since then we have continued to develop the festival’s output across a variety of digital platforms. If you can't make it to an in-person screening don’t worry, you can join us at selected events online! We are excited to extend our celebration of silent film with live music to digital audiences across the world.​