THE YOUNG & THE WILD Youth Programme Announced For the 72nd Edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival

Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has today launched the full programme for its expanded youth strand The Young & the Wild which is dedicated to highlighting films, works and stories by, about and for young people.

Taking place from 21 - 30 June 2018, The Young & the Wild will host an array of cutting-edge film screenings, special events, talks and masterclasses for youth audiences at this year’s Festival.

The Young & the Wild is supported by the Year of Young People 2018, managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Event Directorate and Edinburgh-based independent investment manager, Baillie Gifford. In the spirit of Scotland’s Year of Young People, EIFF have teamed up with international and local organisations, filmmakers and production companies to deliver an outstanding programme of screenings and events for 2018.

Tickets go on sale at 12noon on Tuesday 8th May.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs said “It’s an outstanding line-up created by young people for this year’s The Young & the Wild programme. The Scottish Government’s Year of Young People is all about creating new opportunities for young people’s skills and talents to flourish. This project is a unique chance for them to learn directly from world-renowned industry experts and gain hands-on experience to develop their passions and make their CVs stand out.”

Taking over the Cornerstone Centre at St John’s Church on Princes St, The Young & the Wild HQ will offer a free programme of filmmaker masterclasses, hands-on workshops and careers advice sessions for 15-25 year-olds. The youth programme of events is co-designed by the EIFF Young Programmers, a group of 15-19 year-olds who have curated their own shorts strand, The Young & the Wild, and badged events and screenings in the brochure that are relevant for youth audiences.

Young Programmer Madeleine Reay says “I know this Festival is going to be a great one! There are some amazing films in the programme that I cannot wait for everyone to see.”

Programme highlights this year include an illustrated Animation Masterclass from Disney•Pixar’s Character Tailoring Lead, Fran Kalal (Incredibles 2, Inside Out, Up, WALL·E), a BAFTA Scotland Careers Close-up Masterclass with cinematographer Urszula Pontikos (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Lilting, Second Coming) and a screenwriting Masterclass with EIFF Screenwriter in Residence, Nicole Taylor (Three Girls, The C Word).

The programme will offer hands-on practical filmmaking workshops that enable young people to express their stories visually: for aspiring directors, EIFF will host a Directing Workshop with Garry Fraser (Second Unit Director on Trainspotting 2, Writer/Director on upcoming serial drama The Grey Area), budding writers will get a chance to train their skills in the film journalism and screenwriting workshops and for those looking to create a film in a week, join the doc workshop for a chance to get your film screened during the official The Young & the Wild closing event.

With a strong emphasis on promoting career and training opportunities, Saturday 23 June will also see the ever-popular Careers Surgery with filmmakers and industry experts including BBC Studios, STV, Into Film and NFTS Scotland. Throughout the week, visitors can find out about how to get into radio production, film journalism and film festivals.

Continuing their commitment to breathing life into archival content, EIFF has partnered with Edinburgh’s notoriously exciting Tinderbox Orchestra to deliver Moving Music, a cutting-edge cinematic journey seeing young musicians respond musically to the silent archive short films The Ring, from the National Library of Scotland’s Moving Image Archive, and Looking for Lucey, a University of Edinburgh archive project run by MSc Film, Exhibition & Curation students. The performance takes place on Friday 29 June at 7pm. Tickets go on sale from 12noon and are priced at £5 standard and free with a £5 The Young & the Wild Pass.

As part of EIFF’s free lecture series Reel Talks, there will be two The Young & the Wild lectures featuring youth-driven content and encouraging intergenerational exchange. Looking for Lucey will see Edinburgh University students discuss the creative process of transforming the archive of pioneering film maker Eric Lucey into a cultural public event and Introduction to Film Studies: The Young & the Wild will look back on films that made a lasting impression on three mature students from Edinburgh University. Lecture tickets can be booked online from 23 May 2018 when the general EIFF programme is launched. A number of tickets will be reserved for The Young & the Wild pass holders at this and other special EIFF events including EIFF Play: Blade.

If you’re a UK-based student with a keen interest in film journalism, then you may also be interested in the Student Critics Competition, supported by James and Morag Anderson. Now in its sixth year, the Student Critics Programme aims to support the next generation of film journalists, offering experience, skills and networking opportunities to students with a passion for cinema. Ten lucky students will win an all-expenses paid trip to EIFF, receive mentorship from professional film critics, attend screenings and special events and of course review lots of films! This amazing opportunity is open to UK-based students aged 18-26. To enter, send a review of a recent or classic film by 25 May 2018. Full information about the competition and how to enter can be found here.

This year will also see an expanded offer of free workshops for primary and secondary schools, together with Into Film and Scottish Youth Film Festival, giving pupils the opportunity to make their first steps in filmmaking, discover Scottish film archives, and participate in SYFF’s What Scotland Means to Me filmmaking competition.

Other new 2018 initiatives include the first-edition of the newly designed express training scheme Production Essentials Now! which gives six young filmmakers the opportunity to develop their upcoming projects with the help of the pros and the launch of New Visions, an inaugural short film competition for 14-25 year-old filmmakers where 12 shortlisted films will screen at EIFF on Saturday 30 June and compete for two New Visions awards, each offering a £300 cash prize plus work experience with BBC Studios and a paid trip to Glasgow Youth Film Festival.

Inverness-born actor, director and screenwriter, and Scottish Youth Theatre alumni, Karen Gillan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy) acts as Patron of The Young & the Wild strand.

EIFF Education events are supported by EventScotland, as part of Scotland's Year of Young People 2018 celebrations, Baillie Gifford, Cairn Energy, Aberbrothock Skea Trust, Alexander Moncur Trust, Dr Guthrie’s Association, Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Mickel Fund, and Turtleton Charitable Trust.

The Young & the Wild activity partners include Disney•Pixar, Tinderbox Orchestra, Screen Education Edinburgh, Into Film, BAFTA Scotland, BBC Studios, STV, NFTS Scotland, Artem, Scottish Documentary Institute, BBC Scotland, Scottish Youth Film Festival, Polifilm Media, Wideo Media, Gibbet FX, University of Edinburgh and National Library of Scotland.

EIFF Student Critics Competition and Reel Talk events are supported by James and Morag Anderson.

To attend The Young & the Wild events participants will need to register for a £5 Pass. This pass provides free access to all HQ events in addition to giving access to £5 discounted tickets for the majority of EIFF films. EIFF is committed to encouraging young people to engage with diverse types of cinema, as well as encouraging young filmmaking talent.

The Young & the Wild also offers opportunities for young people from across Scotland to attend our events and develop their interest in cinema and a career within the industry. Bursaries are available to encourage young people from across Scotland to travel to Edinburgh in June. Interested young people or youth groups should contact the Education Team for advice via: [email protected]

Follow EIFF The Young & the Wild on Facebook: @EIFFYoungWild, Twitter: @EIFFYoungWild and Instagram: @eiffyoungwild. For more information and to register for The Young & the Wild passes visit the website.

The 72nd edition of EIFF runs from 20 June - 1 July, 2018. For more information visit EIFF Website.