We've made it! 75 years worth of incredible films have led us here, and we can't wait for whatever the next 75 serves up! But for now, enjoy our EIFF highlights of the past decade (and a bit), as our journey through festival history wraps up with releases from 2010 to 2021...

 

2010 // Winter's Bone

A teenage girl walks through a field with two children.

Director: Debra Granik

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2010

Following success at Sundance earlier in the year, Winter's Bone, the coming-of-age mystery drama, from director Debra Granik, arrived at Edinburgh with high expectations. The bleak and haunting film, set in the Ozark Mountains, catapulted a young Jennifer Lawrence to superstardom, and we were lucky enough to host her at Filmhouse for a post-screening Q&A alongside Granik!

Stream: Netflix

 

2011 // The Turin Horse

A woman walks through a field carrying a bucket.

Director: Béla Tarr

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2011

We just said Winter's Bone was bleak, but it's basically a laugh-a-minute if you're a fan of Béla Tarr's work! This 2-and-a-half hour meditation on death is filmed in striking black and white and moves at a glacial pace, but the result is hauntingly beautiful. Following the life of an abused horse, as it finally refuses to work or eat, Tarr himself came to Edinburgh to meet audiences and share the film. We're glad he did, because shortly after release he announced his retirement from filmmaking!

Stream: Mubi

 

2012 // Frances Ha 

A woman dances on the street.

Director: Noah Baumbach

Screened at EIFF: UK Premiere at 2013

We welcomed more illustrious guests to Edinburgh in 2013, when now husband-and-wife indie filmmaking dream team, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, brought their comedy-drama which debuted at Telluride the previous year. The black and white trend continues, with Baumbach's directing harking back to the French New Wave films of the 1960s, as he follows the day-to-day life of Gerwig's freewheeling titular character. 

Rent: Apple TV

 

2013 // The Bling Ring

A group of trendy teenagers walk towards the camera.

Director: Sofia Coppola

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2013

Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring made waves at EIFF13, telling the story of a real life group of celebrity-obsessed teenagers, who achieved notoriety for breaking into the homes of stars such as Paris Hilton, Megan Fox and Lindsay Lohan, and making away with some of their prized (and most expensive) possessions! An arthouse take on teenage drama.

Rent: Amazon Prime

 

2014 // Snowpiercer

A train speeds through a frozen landscape.

Director: Bong Joon-Ho

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2014

Spectacular action from Oscar winner Bong Joon-Ho, as he directs an all-star cast headed by Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton. Taking place on the Snowpiercer, a train that travels the globe, carrying the last remnants the human race, following failure to reverse engineer climate change. Packed with thrills and even some laughs, the film still serves up a scathing allegory of the class system.

Rent: Amazon Prime

 

2015 // Amy

A close-up of Amy Winehouse.

Director: Asif Kapadia

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2015

Director Asif Kapadia joined us for the UK premiere of his critically-acclaimed Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, at EIFF15. Archival footage and personal testimonials make up a striking intimate portrait of a troubled star. Kapadia has made a name for himself as the go-to man for docs on iconic outsiders, with directing credits for similar films about Formula 1 and football legends Ayrton Senna and Diego Maradona, as well as a producing one for a film on Britpop icons, Oasis.

Rent: Amazon Prime

 

2016 // The Lure

A woman with a mermaid tail lies in the bath.

Director: Agnieszka Smoczyńska

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2016

Polish film, The Lure, shocked and delighted audiences in equal measure at EIFF 2016, with everything from cannibalism to synchronised dancing. It even manages to fit some genuinely tender romance into the mix, telling the story of a pair of mermaid sisters, tangled in a love triangle when they both fall for the same man. Probably about the strangest take on The Little Mermaid you're ever likely to see!

Stream: Netflix

 

2017 // Okja

A young person stands with a large hippo-like creature.

Director: Bong Joon-Ho

Screened at EIFF: EIFF 2017

Bong Joon-Ho is back again, and his 2017 film, Okja, is a genre-bending story of a young girl on a mission to rescue her genetically modified "super-pig" from the American meat industry. Heart-warming, over-the-top, dark, and thought-provoking, all at the same time, the film poses some challenging questions about the food we eat.

Stream: Netflix

 

2018  // Paddington 2

Paddington Bear holds on to the side of a train.

Director: Paul King

Screened at EIFF: Film Fest in the City 2018

Having settled into his new home in London with the Brown family, the beloved bear embarks on a quest to retrieve a stolen book which would be a perfect gift for his aunt's 100th birthday! While the critics were undoubtably expecting this to be a pleasant sequel, no one could have predicted the acclaim the film would receive, with it's style being favourably compared to that of the likes of Wes Anderson and Jean-Pierre Jeunot, and its messages of acceptance warming hearts amongst audiences everywhere. You can catch the first instalment of Paddington this weekend at Film Fest in the City!

Stream: Disney+

 

2019  // Bait

A man's reflection appears in a smashed mirror.

Director: Mark Jenkin

Screens at EIFF: EIFF 2019

Director Mark Jenkin won a BAFTA for his outstanding debut feature, Bait, a low-key but hard-hitting film about rising tension between locals and tourists in a Cornish fishing village. This monochrome masterpiece tackles topical issues such as gentrification and second homes, working its way into the cracks in modern British society.

Stream: BFI Player

 

2020  // Volcano

A man sits with a spoon stuck to his forehead.

Director: Roman Bondarchuk

Screens at EIFF: EIFF 2020

Our festival HQ, Filmhouse, has been screening this one recently, with box office proceeds going directly towards UNICEF's aid efforts in the Ukraine. Roman Bondarchuk's 2018 release first screened at Edinburgh in 2020, and got audiences talking with its awkward humour and its gorgeous visuals. The out-there film has drawn comparisons to the literary works of Franz Kafka, if that gives you some sort of idea of its strangeness!

Rent: Filmhouse at Home

 

2021  // Annette

A couple dance in the sea.

Director: Leos Carax

Screens at EIFF: EIFF 2021

We've reached the 75th and final film in this series, and it's Leos Carax's experimental musical epic, Annette, starring Marion Cottilard and Adam Driver. Carax collaborated with fellow eccentric, Ron Mael, chief songwriter in the art-pop band Sparks, to create the film, which, as you'd expect, is daring, originally, and very wacky! (The titular character is a baby, portrayed by a wooden marionette...) The film serves as a cautionary tale on the pitfalls of celebrity life and the damaging effects it can have on relationships. 

Stream: Mubi

 

Missed our previous posts in this series? Here you go...

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1940s/1950s