EXCLUSIVE: The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) will host a UK Film Conference as part of this year’s EIFF Industry programme, and BFI CEO Ben Roberts has been tapped as the event’s inaugural keynote speaker. 

Clare Binns, Creative Director of Picturehouse Cinemas, will host the event, which will run for one day on Saturday, August 15, and will serve as what the organizers described as a “state of the nation for independent film in the UK.” Roberts and Binns will sit for an onstage in conversation session during the event.

Event organizers have said participants on the day will include filmmakers, producers, exhibitors, distributors and film professionals from across the industry, who have been invited to “engage with the future of independent film in the UK” through talks, discussions, Q&A sessions. 

“We are thrilled to be launching our first ever UK Film conference at EIFF in August, and to kick off with two titans of the UK film industry in conversation about the future of the medium we all love and care about is a dream come true,” EIFF CEO and Festival Director, Paul Ridd said in a statement. 

“Our aim for the new-look EIFF has always been to be a destination for audiences and for the film industry to discover and engage with the exciting work and filmmakers in our main competitions and beyond. The conference will be the perfect opportunity to expand on that aim and really get into the weeds with some big hitters about the future and what comes next. This headline conversation will be the ideal start to a day that promises to be stimulating, provocative and exciting. Bring it on.”  

This year’s EIFF runs from 13 – 19 August and opens with the International Premiere of Edinburgh-born filmmaker Louis Paxton’s debut feature The Incomer and closes with Louise Lockwood’s powerful debut documentary feature Bel. 

Roberts described the EIFF in a statement as an “important celebration of independent cinema.” 

“I’m looking forward to joining its first UK Film Conference in conversation with the eminent Clare Binns, who I know will spark a lively conversation,” Roberts said. 

“The conference is a chance to look at why UK independent film remains such a vital and respected part of our global industry. It comes at a time of real change, from ever-changing audience habits to new technologies, but also seeing routes into the industry fundamentally shifting. There is much to be optimistic about, and this feels like a timely opportunity to look at how the industry can make the most of the opportunities ahead.”