Edinburgh International Film Festival faces funds deficit

Published on Tuesday 1 June 2010 23:11

THE Edinburgh International Film Festival faces "very challenging" times ahead as a vital £1.9 million grant from the UK Film Council runs out, director Hannah McGill said yesterday.

Observers have warned of a "black hole" looming in the event's finances amid tough times in the UK film industry.

The UK Film Council, the British film funding body, gave EIFF 1.9m over three years in 2008, in part to fund its move from August to June, and to cement its identity as a festival for discovering new work.

The festival has a budget of 1.38m this year, with new sponsors such as CityJet and Moet & Chandon champagne. But just 245,000 of that grant remained undrawn as of yesterday, the UK Film Council said. With the council forced to find 25m in savings because of the transfer of lottery funds to the 2012 Olympics, its "Festival Fund" has been wrapped up and money has been concentrated on film production.

Ms McGill agreed the grant represented an important part of the festival's finances, drawn from public funds, private sponsorship, and ticket sales.

"Our work as soon as this festival is over is on strategising for the future. It's challenging, very challenging times," she said.

Another festival backer, Skillset, the skills and training council for the screen industries, is facing cuts, she said.

"A lot of our funders are going to have to shrink back their operations, there's no way we were going to escape the same kind of impact."

Asked if the festival might have to cut back in size, she said: "I can't rule it out. Everything in the world is having to adjust, to tighten its belt … we will be deeply committed to maintaining the standards of an effective festival."

The festival had survived and shifted with changing economic times while keeping audiences happy, she said.

Other festival backers, such as Scottish Screen and the Scottish Government, are likely to face pressure from government cutbacks.