Two weeks before the Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off its 78th edition, Festival Director and CEO Paul Ridd seemed almost at ease.

“We’re not in the eye of the storm,” he said, “but we’re sort of circling it.”

Since taking the helm in late 2023, alongside festival producer Emma Boa, Ridd has overseen a strategic reinvention of one of the world’s oldest film festivals from building a new board and footprint to rethinking its mission within Scotland’s festival-heavy cultural calendar.

“This year is really year one,” he told Variety . “Last year we laid the groundwork, we showed that the new structure could work. Now, it’s about growing on that ballast.”

That growth is visible across the board. EIFF25 presents 43 new feature films, 18 of them world premieres, including

See Full Page