EIFF is delighted to be partnering with Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh’s acclaimed comedy club, on the newly relaunched Festival in August.
Monkey Barrel Comedy has established itself as Scotland’s Best Comedy Venue, as recognized by the Chortle Awards in 2023 + 2024. Described as the “beating heart” of the Fringe by The Telegraph, Monkey Barrel is also home to the 2022 and 2023 winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, solidifying its reputation as a premier destination for comedy in August and beyond. From Day 1 we knew this was a team we wanted to work with on our Festival.
This 77th edition of our Festival honours the film festival’s history, showcasing the very best talent in filmmaking in a format rooted in a local Scottish context whilst embracing the international diversity of creative expression. EIFF is delighted to have initiated groundbreaking new collaborations and partnerships with Fringe organisations over non-traditional cinema spaces right in the heart of the Fringe footprint.
The Monkey Barrel team is working alongside EIFF at Inspace, part of the School of Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. Inspace is a collaborative hub in the heart of the city, commissioning and producing creative activity throughout the year, including exhibitions and events exploring the interplay of data, AI, and art. The venue is being kitted out with state of the art cinema equipment, including DCP projector, screen and Dolby sound system, and will play host to a wide range of screenings and events as part of the EIFF programme and coinciding with Monkey Barrel’s highly anticipated 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme.
Highlights at Inspace will include a special presentation of Brian De Palma’s iconic gangland thriller The Untouchables, which will be presented by The Sean Connery Foundation, sponsors of the inaugural Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence. Inspace will also host a screening of And Mrs, a bittersweet, moving and hilarious anti-romantic comedy about a woman grieving the death of her fiancé who decides to marry him posthumously, starring British comedy heavyweight Aisling Bea; Between the temples, a raucously funny and touching film about a burgeoning relationship between a depressed cantor and his former music teacher, featuring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane; and The Radleys, a bloodthirsty black comedy about a family harbouring a dark secret, written by Jo Brand with brilliant performances from Damien Lewis and Kelly Macdonald.
The ten films competing for the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence will also all have a screening at Inspace, including Sunlight Fringe favourite Nina Conti’s directorial debut; Abdolreza Kahani’s sly, subversive character study A Shrine; Will Seefried’s haunting, heartbreaking film Lilies Not For Me; Bryan Carberry’s moving documentary *smiles and kisses you*; Daisy May Hudson’s stirring narrative debut Lollipop; Mary Jimenez and Bénédicte Liénard’s Fugue which takes us on a strange, haunting journey through Peruvian jungle; Arash Raksha’s powerful documentary, All The Mountains Give; Kelsey Taylor’s tautly directed and exquisitely shot thriller To Kill a Wolf; and Manuela Irene’s delicate, beautifully constructed reflection on grief and death, Xibalba Monster.
The Festival’s vivid programme of Experimental Shorts, its programme of Animation Shorts, and programme of Out of Competition Shorts will also all screen at Inspace.
Also screening at Inspace is Steppenwolf a bloody take on classic Western and Samurai films set in Kazakhstan; My Favourite Cake, a delicate, beautifully formed portrait of an Iranian widow living in Tehran; Sing Sing, an affecting tale of resilience, vulnerability and the restorative power of art; Blue Sun Palace a truly rich and poetic film about the Chinese diasporic community in New York; Bogancloch, a totally hypnotic and thought provoking film about a hermit; and Joy Dancer, a joyful film about South African choreographer and activist Gregory Maqoma and composer Thuthuka Sibisi.
Cannes Best Screenplay winner The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s scathing satire of sexist, ageist Hollywood culture also screens; and the Camera d’Or winner Armand, a bold, provocative and formally adventurous drama about a school scandal, starring a completely riveting Renate Reinsve.
This coincides with the launch of Table Reads, an exciting new addition to Monkey Barrel’s 2024 EdFringe programme, which will see the club work alongside Donald Taffner Jr’s DLT Productions to stage original comedy script-writing with a cast of established Fringe comedians. In an effort to encourage fresh talent, Table Reads ran an open submission process earlier in the year, making a particular effort to involve writers and performers based in Scotland. The show will be directed by Ed Bye, known for his work on beloved projects like Red Dwarf and The Vicar of Dibley. It runs every day at 11:20 in Monkey Barrel 4.
A selection of events across EIFF’s Industry Programme will also take place at Inspace, with industry panels followed directly by networking drinks. Monkey Barrel are also collaborating with EIFF over a Networking Brunch aimed at connecting industry experts with new talent.
We are over the moon to launch this new partnership.
