Edinburgh International Film Festival Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Special Guests including Meg Ryan and Joanne Froggatt

Guests from around the world will descend upon the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) this month to celebrate its landmark 70th Edition, taking place between the 15th and 26th June. An incredible mix of award-winning filmmakers, acclaimed producers, and on-screen stars have been confirmed to attend the Festival with a host of leading names set to attend special events and premieres and participate on the star-studded competition juries.

Hollywood star Meg Ryan will visit the Festival with her directorial debut ITHACA; Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt and Tom Riley will attend the World Premiere of STARFISH, which is also produced by Froggatt, and Robert Sheehan will return to the city with the cast of Goa-set thriller JET TRASH.

Diane Henderson, EIFF Deputy Artistic Director said “In this special year we're proud to welcome so many exciting and talented guests from all over the world. Some we're lucky enough to welcome back and others are here for the very first time. If you'd like the chance to rub shoulders with your favourite actor, director, animator or producer, or the opportunity to meet the stars of tomorrow, then EIFF has it all. Join us at a screening, a Youth Hub event, or pop into EIFF HQ at Filmhouse, where guests and audiences will mingle until late every night of the Festival.”

Jurors
Confirmed for the Michael Powell Jury are In Person-participant and star of screen and stage Kim Cattrall; talented Spanish filmmaker and actress Icíar Bollaín; and actor Clancy Brown, who will also be in attendance for the special 30th anniversary screening of the new 4K version of Scottish favourite HIGHLANDER where he will also be present to complete a Q&A following the screening. Also on juror duties this year are Braveheart-star Angus Macfadyen who will sit on the International Jury, and also present screenings of his directional debut MACBETH UNHINGED, as well as actor Sadie Frost and Matt Mueller, editor of Screen International. Veteran producer Steve Abbott, Fife-native Dougray Scott, who stars in horror-thriller THE REZORT which premieres at EIFF, and Doctor Who favourite Freema Agyeman will sit on the Documentary Jury, and acclaimed short film producer Rebecca Mark-Lawson, film development executive Hilary Davis and filmmaker Ashley Horner will be judging the Short titles in competition.

In Person Events
Participating in the much-anticipated In-Person Events will be cult indie auteur Kevin Smith, talking through a career that includes the likes of Clerks, Dogma and Red State. The filmmaker, a previous winner of the Audience Award at Edinburgh, will be joined on-stage by his daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, rising star of his latest comedy YOGA HOSERS. Smith will also attend both screenings of YOGA HOSERS with his daughter, chilling horror anthology HOLIDAYS, and BATMAN: THE MOVIE. In addition to the aforementioned Golden Globe-winning Kim Cattrall, audiences will also have the opportunity to hear from the prolific Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas, whose MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE screens at the festival and Outlander star and iconic on-screen figurehead of the Cinéma du look movement Dominique Pinon, who will also be attending the screening of the film that made his name, the seminal kaleidoscopic thriller DIVA, introducing the film alongside its iconic director Jean-Jacques Beineix, whose BETTY BLUE is also set to screen over the course of the festival.

Notable Guests
Hollywood legend Meg Ryan will be in attendance at the Festival with the directorial debut of her elegant and moving period film ITHACA, which features a cameo from her Sleepless in Seattle co-star Tom Hanks; Golden Globe-nominated Dundee native Brian Cox has two films premiering at the Festival, and will be in Edinburgh for both THE CARER and THE FORSAKEN while indie darling Robert Sheehan will return with the cast of hedonistic thriller JET TRASH.

Other notable guests gracing the Festival this month include Will Poulter, Sebastian de Souza, Preston Thompson, Alma Jodorowsky and director Chris Foggin all in attendance for the screening of coming-of-age drama KIDS IN LOVE, which stars Cara Delevigne; director Rebecca Miller, in town to present love triangle comedy MAGGIE’S PLAN, starring Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke; Brady Corbet, director of feature debut psychodrama THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER; filmmaker Jean-Paul Rappeneau for the UK Premiere of French drama FAMILIES; Hans Petter Moland, director of A CONSPIRACY OF FAITH and much-loved Golden Globe-nominated star of dystopian thriller THE WHITE KING, Jonathan Pryce. EIFF patron James Cosmo will also join Clancy Brown at the HIGHLANDER screening; director Nick Love will be in attendance of the screening of AMERICAN HERO; and the legendary filmmaker Lizzie Borden attend a screening of her film REGROUPING, which has only been screened to the public four times, once in 1976 when it premiered at the EIFF. Michael Smiley will be in attendance supporting the screening of MY NAME IS EMILY and Joanne Froggatt and Tom Riley will attend the World Premiere of STARFISH. Further guests will be confirmed in due course and will be announced on the Festival’s official website.