Screen Scotland and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society are working together on plans for a content-focused event to be held in Edinburgh in August 2027, with Berlin and Toronto festival consultant and former creative director of the Edinburgh TV Festival Rowan Woods leading on the development work.
Woods will consult widely across the August festivals, which include the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival, and with producing venues, broadcasters, platforms, content creators, publishers and other potential participants and audiences to establish the shape of the new initiative and how it can best support the connection of new talent and IP to content commissioners worldwide.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Manchester would become the home of what was known as the Edinburgh TV Festival from 2027, after 50 years of running in August in the Scottish city. Woods stepped down as creative director in 2025.
“As a global hotbed of emerging talent, where new voices are heard and fresh stories are told, Edinburgh will continue its world-leading offer for the television industry with the support of the Scottish government – and will do so alongside our other Edinburgh festivals, showcasing brilliance across artforms,” said Scottish culture secretary Màiri McAllan.
Screen Scotland said the new initiative will build on the “strong relationships that already exist between the screen industry and Edinburgh’s August festivals” including the work of Screen Fringe, an ongoing collaboration between Screen Scotland and the Fringe Society, connecting TV and film executives with the wider festivals offering in Edinburgh in August.
The consultation will inform the shape and intent of the new initiative, including audience, dates, venues, programme and participants. This consultation phase is expected to conclude next spring, with an initial pilot planned for August 2027.
Funding support for the event’s development comes from the Scottish government via Screen Scotland.
The initiative was launched at an event held in Edinburgh this evening (August 27), at which actor and writer Richard Gadd spoke about the significance Edinburgh plays as a place to kickstart careers (his Netflix series Baby Reindeer started life as a Fringe show).
Separately, Screen Scotland has confirmed that it will establish the Lynda Myles Debate as a keynote element of the August festivals from 2027. The debate will honour the contribution of Lynda Myles, formerly director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and co-creator of the Edinburgh TV Festival.
“Every August, the city becomes a remarkable meeting place for talent from around the world, alongside audiences, producers, commissioners, artists and creative thinkers,” said David Smith, director of Screen Scotland. “We have an opportunity to build on that extraordinary concentration of talent and energy and create something new, ambitious and genuinely distinctive for the global industry.”
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