Its going to be its own special thing, Taylor tells Deadline of her plans for this year.
But its going to be quite different in form to how its been in recent years.
Watch on Deadline
Christian PetzoldsAfireand Celine SongsPast Livesare among the titles set to screen at the fest.
Kate Taylor and Tamara Van Strijthem.Edinburgh Film Festival
The full lineup includes 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and a five pic short film program.
Five feature films will be presented as World Premieres, including the opening filmSilent Roar.
The festival closes with British Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalalis well-received Sundance picFremont.
DEADLINE: Lets begin by taking it back to late last year.
Edinburgh had shuttered alongside both Filmhouse locations.
What happened during this time?
KATE TAYLOR:Last years festival had a lot of changes to it.
It shifted back into the August position from being in June for a while.
Kristy Matheson had come over to be Artistic Director.
There were a few changes to the program.
There was a recommitment to internationalism.
It was a program that was full of new talent.
There were lots of first and second-time features.
It was a bold program, very sex-positive, with lots of LGBTQ work.
So we were ready to take that forward and get cracking on this years edition.
We felt a responsibility to do everything we could to try and get back on our feet.
We spent a lot of time working out a lot of the nitty gritty.
We needed partnerships, and the Edinburgh International Festival stepped in quite quickly.
Theyre the same age as the film festival, which started in 1947.
So it meant we had a very short time to think about how to rebuild from scratch.
DEADLINE: Who are you working with now?
Who is on your team, and what is Edinburghs organizational structure?
TAYLOR:The host organization is the Edinburgh International Festival.
Theyre supporting us with all of the ticketing infrastructure, finance, HR, and logistics.
And then were a small team of 15.
We also have three freelance short film programmers.
And then, I worked on the feature film program with Anna Bogutskaya and Rafa Sales Ross.
DEADLINE: Is theEdinburgh International Film Festivalnow your main funder?
TAMARA VAN STRIJTHEM:Theyre hosting us.
Screen Scotland is still the main funder.
The role theyve played in enablingEdinburgh Film Festivalto happen cannot be overstated.
Theyve really gone out of their way to double-check that EIFF would continue.
DEADLINE: How would you describe this years lineup?
TAYLOR:Its eclectic, lively, and a cracking mix of UK talent with international features.
Its almost half debuts.
Were excited by the new talent that were presenting.
I hope its a program that encourages more questions than answers.
DEADLINE: The lineup features a lot of arthouse work.
Is that your goal?
To make EIFF an arthouse festival?
Its tough for film lovers in Edinburgh to get a variety of films right now.
Theres also an element of whos going to stop us.
So, for example,Ungentle, the Huw Lemmey and Onyeka Igwe film is 37 minutes.
We saw that film in Berwick.
It played in London in a gallery context.
To some festivals, 37 minutes is quite difficult to place.
ButUngentleis one of the best UK films weve seen of any length.
DEADLINE: Is there a wide appetite for that throw in of work in Edinburgh?
VAN STRIJTHEM:There is a question there about who feeds the appetite.
That place has been shut down, and nothing has come to replace it currently.
So theres a bigger question about cinemas in the UK.
DEADLINE: Whats the long-term goal for the festival?
That is an absolute priority.
But its life beyond that will be decided by people who arent part of our team.
So the wheels are in motion for that longer-term vision to be established.
We very much look forward to working with the people who are going to be leading on that.
TAYLOR:Every festival is in a constant state of metamorphosis.
DEADLINE: Will you keep the festival in August?
TAYLOR:Yeah, for sure.
Edinburgh in August is such a unique experience.
Its so prevalent in the air and on the street.
