THE ARTISTIC director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival is to step down after overseeing five festivals.
Mark Adams, a film critic, was in charge of the event for its 70th anniversary in 2017 after taking on the role in 2014 is to leave the role with immediate effect.
The hiring of a new artistic director is being delayed until next year as part of a shake-up, which will see the head of programming at Filmhouse Cinema, Rod White over see nect year’s programme.
The festival which is jointly run by the EIFF alongside Filmhouse Cinema was controversially moved from its slot in August to earlier in the year.
During Adam’s tenure overall admissions increased to 70,000 in 2019 extending the reach of the festival and delivering immersive cinema experiences for new festival audiences while introducing new ideas like the People’s Premiere.
Mark Adams said: “It’s been a real pleasure to work with the team in Edinburgh and help deliver the growth and development of EIFF over the last five festivals and to be instrumental in re-establishing its international profile. I have decided it is time to move on and look to new and exciting opportunities.”
Ken Hay, Chief Executive of EIFF, said: “Mark has played an important role in developing EIFF over the last 5 years, introducing innovative programming and reaching new audiences. We are sorry to see him go, but are excited and ambitious for the future of EIFF.”
Sandy Begbie, Chair of EIFF, added: “Mark has worked tirelessly to ensure that EIFF remained relevant to old and new audiences alike. As we look forward to the future, we are hugely grateful for all that Mark has done for the Festival.”
Ken Hay said: “I’m delighted that Rod has agreed to oversee the curation of the screenings programme of the 2020 EIFF. Rod has led the programming team at Filmhouse for the past 20 years, delivering a hugely rich and diverse programme for an increasingly broad audience, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for our 74th edition.”
