Edinburgh’s movies staying put

Pressure for a move back to August has been mounting since the controversial re-think of the event this summer, which saw a sharp fall in the number of premieres and attendance figures.

A new artistic director is being hired for the festival after a turbulent spell, during which it lost a string of senior staff and a major funding deal with the UK Film Council, and has suffered adverse publicity over poor organisation.

However, whoever is appointed is expected to have just a few months to put a programme together after a move back into the body of the Edinburgh festival season was all but ruled out after months of behind-the-scenes talks. A final decision is expected once a formal consultation finishes at the end of the month.

Critics believe the EIFF – which dates back to 1947 – has struggled to maintain its public profile, secure media coverage and attract enough high-profile industry talent since moving to June in 2008.

However, the switch was agreed after years of research, which found the event was struggling to compete with major international rivals in the autumn, and would be able to “breathe” in June, when there are no major events in Edinburgh.

Senior figures involved in the festival are wary of a “knee-jerk” reaction to this year’s event, which was marred by rows over the decision not to have an artistic director, long-running prizes were shelved, and “guest curators” were put in charge of key elements of the programme.

The board of the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), which now runs the festival, is believed to be against moving it back into August due to concerns about a shortage of suitable venues, a lack of industry support for a move, and cuts in funding needed to meet the costs of staging the event in August when accommodation is at a premium.

James Mullighan, the Australian brought in to produce this year’s event, had argued in favour of moving it back to August, which is also understood to have the backing of Gavin Miller, chief executive of the CMI.

However, it is understood that soundings taken by the CMI board have been strongly in favour of retaining the June slot.

One source close to the event said: “None of the many reasons for moving the event to June have gone away. If anything, the situation is more acute.

“The festival doesn’t have a suitable venue for an opening night gala in August, as the Festival Theatre is unavailable. There has been a huge growth in the Fringe since the EIFF moved its dates and accommodation is as difficult to come by as ever.

“The blunt truth is the festival has a lot less funding to work from now than it did in 2007, when this decision [to move to June] was taken. If it was to move back to August, it would still struggle to compete with events like London and Venice, which have much bigger budgets.”

Another insider told The Scotsman: “Many of the problems with this year’s event were nothing to do with the dates.

“Moving it back to August may buy a new artistic director an extra couple of months to put a programme together, but the fact is the industry now expects the event to be held in June.

“It has had this slot in the calendar for four years and you can’t just chop and change a major event like this.”