Five films that contributed to the Film Skills Fund have been selected to take part in this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The festival, celebrating its 75th year, runs from 12 to 20 August in the Scottish capital and showcases the best of local and international cinema.
Opening the festival is Aftersun, Charlotte Wells’ father-daughter drama starring Paul Mescal that received plaudits following its world premiere at Cannes earlier this year. Lola, an Irish-UK co-production that fuses real archive footage of wartime Britain with a time-hopping central premise receives its UK premiere, as does Off the Rails, a documentary about two adolescent friends coming to terms with loss while trying to escape their suburban hometown.
There’s a world premiere for Winner, billed as loving ode to the history of Iranian cinema as well as documentary, Dùthchas, focussed on life on the Scottish island of Berneray.
On why they contribute to the Film Skills Fund, John Archer, managing director at Hopscotch Films who produced Dùthchas, said: “Early in Hopscotch Films’ life we received a skills training grant that was invaluable to everyone in the company. So now that we are reaping the rewards of that training in finished feature docs, we’re pleased to support ScreenSkills and to play our part in funding the screen future”.
To read more about the skills fund, how the money is used and find details on how to contribute, visit our dedicated webpage.