Edinburgh Film Festival industry programme adds Vachon and McGregor
Christine Vachon, Ewan McGregor, Ken Burns and Bruce Dern are among guests set for Edinburgh’s 2026 industry events.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Christine Vachon, Ewan McGregor, Ken Burns and Bruce Dern are on the Edinburgh Film Festival industry programme for 2026, with organizers setting a run of talks, networking events and a new UK Film Conference across the August festival.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival said the industry strand will run during its 2026 edition, which takes place from August 13 to 19. The programme opens on August 14 with an Industry Networking Brunch presented with Women in Film and Television.
That first day keeps moving quickly. Vachon, the veteran independent producer, will take part in an EIFF Industry Talk hosted by journalist, moderator and film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will then appear for an on-stage EIFF In Conversation event moderated by journalist Dave Calhoun.
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor is also booked for an EIFF In Conversation session staged with BAFTA Scotland, according to the festival. The opening industry day closes with an Industry Talk called The Business of Film Roadshow, hosted by Mia Bays, director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund, where industry experts will discuss the commercial side of film.
What is on the Edinburgh Film Festival industry programme?
The programme mixes public-facing star conversations with practical sessions for film professionals. Its main addition this year is the inaugural UK Film Conference, which begins on August 15 and focuses on independent film, low-budget production and how projects might be treated by today’s industry decision-makers.
The UK Film Conference opens with British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Clare Binns in conversation about the future of independent film in the UK, organizers said. It continues with Low Budget, High Ambition, a session on low-budget filmmaking and how UK producers are responding to a changing market.
Another conference session, Would This Get Made?, has a neat pitch-room hook: industry figures will be asked how they would approach a selection of past projects if those same projects arrived on their desks in 2026.
The speakers for Would This Get Made? include Christine Vachon, Stefanie Fahrion of Film4, Alice Ojha of BBC Film, Laura Wilson of Altitude and Simon Renshaw of Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Wendy Mitchell will host the session.
The conference wraps with New Nightmares, an Industry Talk about the current place of genre work. Speakers listed by the festival include actor and filmmaker Max Minghella, whose credits include The Handmaid’s Tale and Clayface, along with filmmakers Prano Bailey-Bond of Censor, Chee Keong Cheung of Bad Day at the Office and Joby Stephens of Abandoned. Horror content creator Chris Mayo of Big Fat Cult will host.
Beyond the conference, actor Bruce Dern is set for a career Q&A with film critic Guy Lodge. Documentary filmmaker Paul Sng will host a session titled Unmaking the Colonial Gaze in Cinema.
EIFF CEO and festival director Paul Ridd said the lineup brings together guests, discussions and networking for Scottish, UK and international industry attendees. He called the first UK Film Conference “the jewel in our crown” and said the wider programme supports the festival’s mission to be “the home of independent cinema in the UK.”
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.