In his first move as artistic director of August's Edinburgh International Film Festival, Shane Danielsen has trimmed the marathon 15-day event to 12 days.

The Scottish festival aims to channel cash saved by the move into creating other events throughout the year. Next year's edition runs Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25.

"A shorter festival can and will be a sweeter festival," said Danielsen, a former journalist who takes over from Lizzie Francke. "All of our current sections will be retained, and our programming will continue to reflect the eclectic variety of work that is out there."

The event, which has been considering shortening its schedule for a while, will now run over two weekends, finishing on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend.

"This will ensure we remain accessible to our visitors, as well as to the citizens of Edinburgh," said Ginnie Atkinson, the festival's managing director.