The Edinburgh Film Festival has confirmed the full lineup for the industry programme, which will run throughout the event’s 2026 edition, taking place from August 13 to 19. 

The programme will begin on August 14 with the EIFF Industry Networking Brunch in partnership with Women in Film and Television. This will be followed by an EIFF Industry Talk with veteran indie producer Christine Vachon hosted by journalist, moderator and film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell. The Vachon session will be followed by an on-stage EIFF In Conversation session with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns hosted by journalist Dave Calhoun.

The programme will continue with an  EIFF In Conversation event, hosted in partnership with BAFTA Scotland, with Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. The first day will end with an EIFF Industry Talk titled ‘The Business of Film Roadshow,’ which will see leading industry experts sharing insights about the business side of the sector, hosted by Mia Bays, Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund.

The festival’s inaugural UK Film Conference begins on August 15. The event will start with an in-conversation session with British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Clare Binns, who will discuss the future of independent film in the UK. The UK Film Conference continues with ‘Low Budget, High Ambition’, a session focusing on low-budget filmmaking and how UK producers are adapting to an ever-changing landscape.

That will be followed by the EIFF Industry session ‘Would This Get Made?’, an innovative concept where industry professionals will be quizzed on how they would approach the production of a range of projects from the past if they came across their desks in 2026. Speakers include producer Christine Vachon, Stefanie Fahrion (Film4), Alice Ojha (BBC Film), Laura Wilson (Altitude) and Simon Renshaw (Casarotto Ramsay & Associates). The session will be hosted by Wendy Mitchell.

The EIFF Industry Talk session ‘New Nightmares’ will conclude the UK Film Conference with speakers discussing the current state of genre work embracing its moment. Speakers include actor and filmmaker Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale, Clayface) and filmmakers Prano Bailey- Bond (Censor), Chee Keong Cheung (Bad Day at the Office) and Joby Stephens (Abandoned). Hosted by horror content creator Chris Mayo (Big Fat Cult).

Elsewhere, Bruce Dern will take part in a career Q&A with film critic Guy Lodge and documentary filmmaker Paul Sng will host a session titled ‘Unmaking the Colonial Gaze in Cinema.’

Discussing this year’s industry lineup, EIFF CEO and Festival Director, Paul Ridd said: “We could not be prouder of this year’s Industry Programme at EIFF which offers up a diverse and starry range of guests, talks, lively discussions and networking opportunities for Scottish, UK and international folk looking to make connections and hear from some leading experts in their fields, all more accessible than ever before. Our inaugural UK Film Conference is something of the jewel in our crown, but there are so many more must-attend events elsewhere in the programme, all encompassing our fundamental mission to be the home of independent cinema in the UK.”

Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) has announced that veteran sales agent and producer Fred Tsui will succeed Albert Lee as executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.

In his new role, commencing on September 23, Tsui will oversee the Hong Kong International Film Festival and its year-round activities, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), HAF Film Lab, Summer International Film Festival, and the HKIFF Cine Fan programme.

He will report to HKIFFS chairman Wilfred Wong and the Board of Directors. 

Tsui has worked across nearly every sector of the film industry, from film sales, co-production and financing to distribution, exhibition, broadcasting and media management – building extensive international networks among filmmakers and industry execs. 

In his most recent role, Tsui has established sales agency and festival consultancy company Moebius Entertainment, which recently picked up Venice Horizons title Big Little Things and Toronto Special Presentations title Happily Ever After. 

Prior to Moebius, Tsui spent more than twenty years at Media Asia Film, where he served as General Manager and Head of International Sales & Co-Production, helping the studio expand internationally and position Hong Kong cinema on the world stage. 

Earlier in his career, Tsui held senior management positions at PCCW and Asia Television, where he developed expertise in organisational leadership, media operations, strategic planning and content management. 

Tsui also serves as a member of the Hong Kong Film Development Council and has been invited to serve on juries at leading international film festivals, including Hong Kong, Edinburgh, Jecheon, Tallinn, Seattle, Udine, Sitges, Sonoma and Skip City in Japan. 

He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Hong Kong Film Critics Society, and has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) in the U.S., as well as the board of the MIA International Audiovisual Market in Rome. 

“We are delighted to welcome Fred to HKIFFS,” said HKIFFS chairman Wilfred Wong. “Fred combines strategic leadership with an exceptional understanding of the international film landscape. Throughout his career, he has built bridges between Hong Kong cinema and the global marketplace while earning the trust and respect of filmmakers, festival directors and industry leaders worldwide. 

“Just as importantly, he approaches cinema from the perspectives of an executive, a critic, a festival juror and a lifelong cinephile. We believe he is uniquely qualified to lead HKIFFS into its next chapter, further strengthening its role as one of Asia’s most important cultural institutions and international film platforms.”

Tsui said: “It is a tremendous honour to join HKIFFS, an institution that has played such a pivotal role in the cultural life of Hong Kong and in promoting Asian cinema internationally. 

“Having worked with film festivals throughout my career—as a sales executive, producer, juror, critic and audience member – I have seen first-hand the unique role HKIFF plays in connecting filmmakers, the industry and audiences. I look forward to working with the Board, our partners and the HKIFFS team to build on the Society’s remarkable legacy while broadening its international reach, nurturing new talent, deepening audience engagement and ensuring Hong Kong remains at the forefront of global film culture.”

Chris Anne Affleck, the mother of Oscar winners Ben and Casey Affleck, has died. She was 82.

Chris died on June 2 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, her family announced.

Christine Anne “Chris” Boldt was born in New York City in December 1942, she was a graduate of Harvard University and spent 35 years as a public school teacher. She retired in 2008, and was a fierce civil rights advocate throughout her life, having been one of the original freedom riders who went into the Deep South during the 1960s.

Chris and her ex-husband Timothy Affleck welcomed their first child Ben, the two-time Oscar winner, in 1972. Ben’s brother, Casey Affleck, also an Oscar-winner, was born in 1975, around the time their family relocated to Massachusetts, where she continued her teaching career.

“My mother taught public school, went to Harvard and then got her master’s there and taught fifth and sixth grade in a public school,” Ben told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. “My dad had a more working-class lifestyle. He didn’t go to college. He was an auto mechanic and a bartender and a janitor at Harvard.”

By the time Ben was 12, his parents divorced. As his passion for entertainment grew during his adolescence, Chris played a hand in his early industry beginnings, connecting her son with her former Harvard roommate, casting director Patty Collins, who helped him audition for commercials and TV movies.

She was an avid supporter of his career, and even attended the 1998 Oscars alongside him and Matt Damon, who also brought his mother as his date. That was the year they won their first Academy Awards.

“We were sitting next to our moms and we won, and we kind of hugged our moms. I remember how everyone had made such a big thing out of it as if this was such a novelty,” Ben told Vanity Fair of the moment. “I remember thinking, being insecure, like, ‘Why? Why is it weird that we’re bringing our moms?’ Who else do you think we would bring?”

Chris was given six months to live in December 2025, with her greatest wish after her diagnosis being to see her grandson graduate high school. She attended the event with her family on May 31, and died peacefully in her sleep two days later.

Chris is survived by her sons, Ben and Casey; and her five grandchildren, Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam.