With the Edinburgh TV Festival moving to Greater Manchester next year, a new content focused event has been announced for Scotland.
At the launch event last night, Màiri McAllan Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic was joined by Baby Reindeer creator, Richard Gadd to talk about the importance of Edinburgh as a place to progress ideas, to find new talent and support ambitious work.
“We are so proud of Scotland’s screen sector and this exciting addition to the August festivals line-up will provide a new way to embrace the creativity and cultural innovation which makes our capital unique,” said McAllan.
“As a global hotbed of emerging talent, where new voices are heard and fresh stories are told, Edinburgh will continue its world-leading offer for the television industry with the support of the Scottish Government – and will do so alongside our other Edinburgh festivals, showcasing brilliance across artforms.”
READ MORE – Edinburgh TV Festival to relocate to Greater Manchester from 2027
Initial development work towards the event was funded by Screen Scotland and completed earlier this summer.
It was commissioned to consider, “with fresh eyes”, how Edinburgh’s August festivals could present a new offer to the global content industries, given the “increasingly blurred boundaries” between them.
“Edinburgh has a unique role to play in bringing together the people, ideas and creative work that will shape the future of the screen and wider creative industries,” explained David Smith, Director of Screen Scotland.
“Every August, the city becomes a remarkable meeting place for talent from around the world, alongside audiences, producers, commissioners, artists and creative thinkers. We have an opportunity to build on that extraordinary concentration of talent and energy and create something new, ambitious and genuinely distinctive for the global industry.”
Independent consultant Rowan Woods has now been appointed to lead the next stage of development, which will again be funded by Screen Scotland and delivered through The Fringe Society.
The consultation phase is expected to conclude in early Spring 2027, with an initial pilot planned for August 2027.
Separately, Screen Scotland has confirmed that it will establish the Lynda Myles Debate as a keynote element of the August festivals from 2027. The debate will honour the contribution of Lynda Myles, formerly Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and co-creator of the Edinburgh TV Festival.
“I’m deeply touched and honoured to have the debate named after me,” said Lynda Myles.
“It’s exciting to see the importance of ideas and discussion being recognised in the plans for the new event, especially as this was the initial intention of the creation of the Edinburgh Television Festival in 1976.”
