When is the Edinburgh International Film Festival? These are 14 highlights in the 2023 comeback programme

The 76-year-old event will be bouncing back with a one-off edition staged as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, which also dates back to 1947. Here are just a few of the stand-out screenings and events being staged across the festival, which is running from August 18-23.

What are the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival?

Silent Roar, August 18-19: Skye-based director Johnny Barrington’s debut feature, which was shot entirely on the Isle of Lewis, will herald the return of the film festival after landing its coveted opening night slot. Rising stars Louis McCartney and Ella Lily Hyland star as school pals Dondo and Sas as the teenage surfer struggles to cope with the grief over his father’s disappearance at sea.

Fremont, August 23: Iranian-born director Babak Jalali closes the festival with his refugee comedy focusing on an insomniac Afghan woman working in a Californian fortune cookie factory. Described as “an ode to the curious beauty of trying to build a new life in a strange land”, Fremont sees Anaita Wali Zada play Donya, who decides to send a message of her own out to the world.

Choose Irvine Welsh, August 23: Director Ian Jefferies has assembled a starry cast to pay tribute to the writer, including Iggy Pop, Martin Compston, Bobby Gillespie and Gail Porter. Choose Irvine Welsh traces his career from Leith to London, San Francisco and Miami, examines the impact made by his novels and screen adaptations of his work, and hears from the man himself.

Kill, August 22-23: The sins of a father and the relationship between his three damaged sons are the focus of a new Scottish thriller. Rodger Griffiths’ debut feature sees Line of Duty and The Thick of It star Paul Higgins play a domineering dad who takes brothers Henry, John and Vincent – played by Brian Vernel, Daniel Portman and Calum Ross – on a hunting trip to a remote forest, then discovers he is their prey.

Is There Anybody Out There?, August 19-20: Born with a disability so rare that no reliable statistics for it exist, filmmaker Ella Glendining's documentary explores whether there is anyone who can share the experience of living in a body like hers. Intimate personal diaries, conversations with similarly-bodied people and doctors treating her condition, and her unique perspective, guides the audience through debates on the stigmas surrounding disability.

The Linda Myles Project, August 19: A work-in-progress documentary by Susan Kemp launches a new “project of cinephine activism” inspired by former EIFF director Linda Myles, who became the first female director of a film festival anywhere in the world when she took the helm of the festival in 1973. Myles will join Kemp, filmmaker Mark Cousins and archive activist film collective Invisible Women for a discussion to explore how Edinburgh’s film culture could be rebuilt and reimagined.

Safety Last!, August 20: Edinburgh University’s Old College quad is revived as an outdoor cinema venue for this year’s festival, with the “Cinema Under The Stars” line-up including a 100th anniversary screening of the classic silent comedy. Scottish silent film pianist Mike Nolan will provide a live musical accompaniment as legendary Hollywood actor, comic and death-defying stuntman Harold Lloyd’s character scales a towering department store in an attempt to impress his girlfriend.

Passages, August 19-20: Ira Sachs’ French romantic drama explores the impact on a gay couple’s marriage when one of them embarks on an affair with a young woman. James Bond star Ben Wishaw stars alongside Franz Rogowski and Adèle Exarchopoulos in this made-in-Paris Sundance hit.

The First Slam Dunk, August 22-23: