Brian Cox: Edinburgh festival not big enough for my new film

The Herald Scotland

5 days ago

But when the Scottish Government-funded film gets its world premiere next month, the red carpet will be rolled out 3300 miles away from Scotland - at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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Cox - who has been in the city this month performing in an Edinburgh International Festival play - has suggested Scotland's longest-running celebration of cinema, which is the oldest continually-running event of its kind in the world, is no longer in the top tier of film festivals.
The actor said the EIFF still had to get 'get its s**t together' following the financial collapse of the event nearly three years ago.
Actor Brian Cox has been in Edinburgh this month to perform with the National Theatre of Scotland. (Image: Oxford Union)
He said he would have been keen to have a private screening of the event at the festival, but suggested he would not have been allowed by the film's UK distributor, Lionsgate.
Glenrothan is one of four new Scottish Government-supported films which are being screened in Toronto but not in Edinburgh.
Sandy Grierson and Brian Cox have been playing Fred Goodwin and Adam Smith on stage in the new National Theatre of Scotland production Make It Happen.
Others include James McAvoy's directorial debut California Schemin', a new heist thriller made by award-winning Scottish director David Mackenzie and Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's new version of Frankenstein, which was filmed across Scotland last year.
Scottish Government agency Screen Scotland confirmed the four films had received more than £1.7m in total for their development and production.
The EIFF dates back to 1947, when it was launched in the same year as the Edinburgh International Festival and the spin-off event that became the Fringe.
The future of the EIFF looked bleak weeks after the 2022 festival drew to a close when it emerged that it had been forced to suddenly shut down trading after the company behind the event, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), went into administration.
The revamped EIFF has missed out on the world premieres despite launching a prestigious new feature film prize backed by the family of Sir Sean Connery, a former patron of the film festival, being launched last year.
The Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence – which is open to 10 world premieres selected for the event each year – comes with a £50,000 cash prize.
Cox, who has made regular appearances on the EIFF red carpet in previous years, backed a campaign to revive the Filmhouse cinema, a long-time venue for festival screenings, after it was also forced to close suddenly when the CMI folded.
He was at the Filmhouse last week to help launch a new partnership between the UK Government and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which he was named an official patron of last year.
In Glenrothan, Cumming plays Donald, who returns to the Highlands after 35 years living in Chicago to try to make amends with his estranged older brother Sandy, who is played by Cox.
First announced in 2021, Glenrothan was filmed last year in Scotland, at locations including the Stirlingshire villages of Kippen and Gartmore, as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Cox has been performing in Dundee and Edinburgh in recent weeks, playing the ghost of 18th century economist and philosopher Adam Smith in the National Theatre of Scotland production, which depicts the rise and fall of former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin.
However he told The Herald there was a 'practical reason' why his new film would be launching in Toronto rather than Edinburgh.
He said: 'You can't sell anything at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Nobody is bothered about that element of it – how you sell the f***ing product. There is something immensely practical about art – it's all about how you sell it.
'It is the oldest film festival there is, but with the big chaos they had a few years ago it has lost viability. They have got to get their s*** together. At least they have got the Filmhouse back.
'It needs to be a festival where you can sell stuff and you invite people to buy it.
'We knew that the best place to be doing it (launching Glenrothan) would be at one of the really proper film festivals. Getting it into Toronto was a big plus for the film.
'I would have liked to have shown the film in Edinburgh, but once the deal is done that is it.
'I would like to have had a private screening in Edinburgh, but one has to be very careful about that because I have got my people at Lionsgate leading on me.'
EIFF director Paul Ridd said: 'There were a number of terrific films we considered for EIFF 2025 where the stakeholders ultimately made the decision to premiere elsewhere later in the year. This is all part of the process.
'We respect the decisions of filmmakers, producers and key players behind these films and their launch strategies.
'It is a really exciting time for Scottish filmmaking and we are immensely proud of all the wonderful films from all around the world that are premiering with us this week.'
A spokesperson for Screen Scotland said: 'Scottish filmmakers are internationally renowned for their craft and regularly are selected to play at major international festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, which are often the launchpad for international sales.
'Brian Cox's Glenrothan, James McAvoy's California Schemin and David Mackenzie's Fuze will all debut at TIFF, as well as Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein, which shot in Scotland, ahead of its launch on Netflix.
'The EIFF's revitalised offer positions it as a global player celebrating the very best that cinema has to offer in a modern, energised context and very much part of the wider cultural offering taking place in Edinburgh in August.
'The world premiere competition strand in particular is attracting a growing industry presence alongside local and international audiences looking for a sense of discovery, experimentation, and cross-arts collaboration.'