Hotels near the Edinburgh International Film Festival

The Edinburgh International Film Festival remains firmly at the centre of the UK film industry. Despite its advanced years, the festival - now starting in June - consistently showcases cutting-edge work and attracts the biggest names in the business.

The EIFF's influential role in presenting the best in contemporary film-making is demonstrated by the work it showcases, often the most talked about films of the year.

New features added in recent years include a world premières section, Rosebud, and a major new film study section, Scene by Scene, the guests of which have included Steve Martin and the Coen Brothers. The festival's organisers can now rightly claim that the event is as important a diary date for cinema-lovers and makers as its Cannes and Berlin counterparts. This view is confirmed by none other than Maltese Falcon director John Huston, who called Edinburgh "the only film festival... worth a damn".

True to this status, the festival acts as a deal-making forum for the British film industry, organising a series of events under the Film UK umbrella. Once part of the festival fray that typifies Edinburgh in August, the Film Festival opted out and moved earlier to it's June date in 2008.