DATES: Friday 21 June to Sunday 23 June

PLACE: Edinburgh International Film Festival

On Friday 21 June 2019 7 of  Belmont Filmhouse’s Young Programmers (all aged between 16 – 20) and Belmont Filmhouse Community and Learning Engagement Coordinator, Nicola Whyte  travelled to Edinburgh by train to attend the Edinburgh International Film Festival and EIFF Yith HQ.

On arrival, we went straight to our home for the next two nights to drop off our bags and get ready for dinner at Pizza Express then on to the EIFF Youth Opening Party at Youth HQ.  The party was fun, and we met some of the EIFF Young Programmers and FANS Youth team before we headed to Vue Omni for our first film of the weekend – The Dead Don’t Die.  We went home after this to get some much needed rest before a busy day of workshops on Saturday!

The group all attended the Careers Brunch on Saturday morning at the EIFF Youth HQ, and all got some great careers advice from the special guests.  In the afternoon the group split up attending either BBC The Social or BBC Lab workshops.  Saturday evening we went for dinner together, then headed to Odeon for the World Premier of Strange But True, which was followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, Rowan Athale.

Sunday morning was the premiere of the EIFF Youth Shorts: Exploring Boundaries – a collection of short films chosen and curated by Belmont’s Young Programmers alongside the EIFF Young Programmers.  Two of Belmont’s Young Programmers introduced the shorts selection and the special guests attending the screening – Bella Ramsay (actor in Zero), Christos Kardana (director of Blood) Eduardo Lucatero (director of Anna at the Cemetery) On Sunday afternoon the group attended workshops from Axis Animation and Othvrs VR before heading back to Aberdeen.

The group all had a fantastic time, and are really thankful for the opportunity to attend such inspiring and informative workshops and see some great films at the EIFF.