Opening on 18 June 2014 with the world premiere of Gerard Johnson’s Hyena, the 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival runs until 29 June, boasting a selection of 156 feature films from around the world. This year, there will be a special focus on German cinema and we are looking forward to the retrospective ‘Border Warfare: John McGrath’s Work in Television, Theatre and Film’, celebrating the work of the radical writer-director-producer, which includes three films he scripted: Ken Russell’s sprawling spy thriller Billion Dollar Brain, plus two films directed by Jack Gold, The Bofors Gun and The Reckoning.

But we are, of course, most excited about the long-awaited UK premiere of Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer, starring a terrific Tilda Swinton, on 22 June 2014. Taking place on the same day is a special event called EDIT, which sounds intriguing: a unique collaboration between musician Joe McAlinden, visual artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and writer Martin McCardie, EDIT showcases a musical work performed live by McAlinden and set against a film by Forsyth and Pollard, scripted by McCardie. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the four artists.

Snowpiercer screens as part of the Directors’ Showcase strand, which also includes Cathedrals of Culture, an expansive 3D project exploring the soul of buildings from six acclaimed filmmakers such as Wim Wenders and Robert Redford. In addition, the Directors’ Showcase will present Taiwanese master Tsai Ming-liang’s Stray Dogs, which premiered in Venice last year and is said to be his farewell to cinema.

Other highlights of this year’s EIFF programme include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances, and Abel Ferrara’s controversial Welcome to New York, inspired by the case of former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (Gérard Depardieu), which premiered in Cannes last month.

One of the promising contenders among the British films in competition for the Michael Powell Award is Guy Pitt’s compelling debut feature Greyhawk, along with opening film Hyena and We are Monster by Antony Petrou, which explores the real-life case of an Asian teenager murdered by a racist fellow inmate in a UK young offenders institution.

Previously called ‘Night Moves’, this year’s re-launched ‘Wicked & Weird’ strand includes the world premiere of Noel Clarke’s futuristic thriller The Anomaly, James Ward Byrkit’s low-key sci-fi chiller Coherence, Eli Roth’s take on cannibalism The Green Inferno, and Leigh Janiak’s intimate horror Honeymoon, starring Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway as newlyweds.

The very popular EIFF’s Audience Award is also back this year with nominations including Jim Mickle’s highly entertaining revenge thriller Cold in July, John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s gripping photographer documentary Finding Vivian Maier, and Jeff Baena’s zombie romantic comedy Life after Beth. In addition to the numerous films on show, there will be a series of ‘Hero Hangouts’, which are essentially on-stage interviews with some of the personalities featured in the programme, such as Cold in July star Don Johnson.

Pamela Jahn

Opening on Friday 13 June, the 13th East End Film Festival will run for 13 days until Wednesday 25 June, presenting a selection of new films from around the world as well as industry and music-focused events. One of the most exciting highlights of the festival is the screening of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s fabulous life tale The Dance of Reality, and there is a possibility that the director will be in attendance.

We are also delighted to be taking part again in a special weekend of screenings at the Masonic Temple in Liverpool Street – details to be announced shortly.

The festival opens with the world premiere of Dermaphoria, the second feature by filmmaker and DJ Ross Clarke. There will be a special focus on new Mexican cinema, co-curated by Mexican filmmaker Sebastian Hoffman, which includes excellent miminalist post-apocalyptic zombie drama The Desert.

Among other highlights we are looking forward to Sergio Caballero’s surreal heist movie The Distance, Romanian animator Anca Damian’s first live action feature A Very Unsettled Summer and rockabilly barbershop documentary Stay Greasy.

And as it enters its 13th year, EEFF will also celebrate teen films in their various ventures, including Class Enemy from Slovenia, in which students blame a new teacher for the suicide of a classmate, and White Shadow, which tells the story of a young Albino on the run from witch doctors who want to use his organs for their potions. Also screenig is Metalhead, which follows a heavy metal fanatic who performs before the cows on her family farm while dreaming of escape.

The Terracotta Far East Film Festival returns with a killer line-up. Running from 23 May to 1 June 2014, it starts with a spotlight on the Philippines at the ICA, including Erik Matti’s Cannes-selected crime and corruption thriller On the Job, horrific teen drama How to Disappear Completely and Andrew Leavold’s documentary on tiny Filipino superstar, The Search for Weng Weng.

We are particularly excited about Kim Ki-duk’s highly anticipated Moebius, Snow White Murder Case, the latest film by Yoshihiro Nakamura, as well as the Terror Cotta Horror All-nighter, with Takashi Miike’s Lesson of Evil, psychological thriller Killers by Kimo Stanboel and Timo Tjahjanto (who co-wrote and co-directed the ‘Safe Haven’ segment in V/H/S 2 with The Raid’s Gareth Evans), nightmarish Malaysian horror In the Dark, and Erik Matti’s macabre vampire comedy Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles.

Encompassing a variety of genres and countries, the programme also includes thoughtful Mongolian teen tale Remote Control, spy thriller Commitment and historical saga The Face Reader from South Korea, charming tribute to 1960s Taiwanese cinema Forever Love, as well as the expected Hong Kong actioners and quirky Japanese dramas. In connection to Forever Love, there will be an exhibition of theatrical posters at the festival hub.

The next Terracotta Film Club on 21 May at the Prince Charles Cinema will serve as an appetizer for the festival’s spotlight on the Philippines with a screening of For Y’ur Height Only, which features the Filipino James Bond and shortest martial artist and superstar Weng Weng as Agent 00.