Scotland

Edinburgh International Film Festival is set to return later this year after announcing its immediate closure last October when the charity that ran it entered administration.

The festival has joined with Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) to present a scaled-down programme of events this summer as part of EIF’s larger calendar of theatre, comedy and music.

Meanwhile, Screen Scotland, which is part of Creative Scotland, is looking to solidify the film festival’s long-term future.

Work with a group of industry experts is underway to reinstate a standalone annual film festival from next year, which is expected to target young, diverse audiences.

The festival is receiving a £400,000 grant from Screen Scotland and has appointed a new programme director, former Senior Programme at London Film Festival Kate Taylor, while the search for a new chair is ongoing.

Glasgow City Council’s culture leader has said a reduction in the number of staff at Glasgow Life will not affect the quality of the city’s cultural offer.

Earlier this year, the council announced the number of conservation staff at Glasgow Life, which operates council-owned cultural venues, will be reduced by 40% as part of a £1.5m cost saving effort in the museums and collections department.

The decision will mean displays and temporary exhibitions will not be changed as frequently in museums under Glasgow Life’s remit.

Staff cuts at the charity date back to 2021, following a loss of income due to pandemic-related closures.

Responding to concerns raised by fellow councillors at a council meeting on Thursday (11 May), City Convener for Culture, Sport and International Relations, Anette Christie, said the impact of the proposals had been carefully considered.

“It is recognised that this level of reduction will of course have an impact on the frequency of temporary exhibitions and display changes but these decisions have been made in response to the scale of the financial challenge that the city faces.”

Christie insisted the affected museums will retain their Glasgow Museums accreditation, which allows venues to secure revenue or capital funding.

She added the city will maintain its reputation for world-renowned collections, with the council planning development projects at the People’s Palace and the Mitchell Library.

“This city is a city of innovation and we will build on that. Our ambitions still remain great,” Christie said.

“Change is difficult but I have assured them of how important they are to the city, the role that they play and I can say with confidence they are still dedicated.”

The controversial comedian and magician Jerry Sadowitz is to return to the Edinburgh Fringe, despite having the second of two 2022 shows cancelled following complaints.

Sadowitz has been booked for a three-night run at The Queen's Hall for this year's Fringe.

The show in August is being billed as 'Jerry Sadowitz …proudly presents Last Year's Show' and is being promoted by Regular Music.

The flyer advertising the show warns that it is "offensive to everyone".

Last year's show at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre was cancelled by promoters the Pleasance after what it claimed was an "unprecedented number of complaints".

The Pleasance said the show was "extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny".

Sadowitz, however, said his act contained "a lot of silly, exaggerated irony and nonsense, real fake and exaggerated anger and bile... for the purpose of the funny line which follows it".

He added: "The show is what it is, for those who enjoy it. The rest of you... please stick to Carry On films."

Major arts festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow are to receive a share of the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund worth £1.8m.

Established in 2007, the fund aims to build innovation across the festivals and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists contributing to them.

The year, 14 festivals including Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Festival and Glasgow International Festival are receiving funding.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has received the most, totalling £550,000.

Glasgow Film Festival and the biennial Sonica visual art and sonic festival will receive funding for the first time. Creative Scotland Chief Executive Iain Munro welcomed the government’s decision to “recognise the distinct international profile and work” of the two events.

“The fund is vital in raising the international profile of these festivals and enabling them to enhance their programmes through exciting and innovative co-productions and collaborations,” Munro added.

More than 60 youth music projects in Scotland have received funding in a bid to 'drive inclusivity and tackle social issues'.

Nearly £1.7m has been provided to 63 community music projects through the Scottish Government-backed Youth Music Initiative (YMI).

The funding is administered by Creative Scotland.

Most of the funded projects – 58 in total – received awards through the Access to Music Making stream, aimed at young people who face 'opportunity barriers'.

The remainder were funded via Strengthening Youth Music. This supports individuals, organisations and networks which undertake 'strategic action' to promote the country's youth music sector.

Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager at Creative Scotland, said the funding was "supporting an incredibly diverse array of projects that will create meaningful opportunities for children and young people to take part in music activities right across the country".

Now in its 20th year, projects funded by YMI in this latest round include Paisley-based Kibble Education and Care Centre, Music Space in Glasgow – a new initiative produced by AC Projects, the organisation behind the city's Counterflows festival – and Angie's Project in Edinburgh, which focuses on electronic music production education.

YMI's flagship funded projects include the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, Highlands-based Fèis Rois and Lothian’s A.R.T.S Afternoon. 

The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow has been bought by the global live entertainment company Trafalgar Entertainment. 

The 1,449-capacity city centre theatre, which first opened to the public in 1904, is the company's first Scottish venue.

It will become part of its Trafalgar Theatres division in a portfolio that includes Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End, the Theatre Royal Sydney in Australia, and 12 UK regional theatres including Southend Cliffs Pavilion and the New Theatre, Cardiff.

Helen Enright, CEO of Trafalgar Theatres, said: “Glasgow is a vibrant, energetic city and the Pavilion Theatre has earned its place in the city’s entertainment landscape. We are committed to building on that success."

She added that Trafalgar would increase the number of shows presented at the venue, as well as "investing in the building, growing audiences and ensuring a successful future for this beautiful, iconic theatre”.

A digital theatre group is working with young people in Edinburgh to tackle the online radicalisation of masculinity and 'Incel' (involuntary celibate) culture.

Civic Digits will co-produce a new theatre production, 'Many Good Men', with the Edinburgh-based Stellar Quines theatre company, YouthLink Scotland, Zero Tolerance Scotland and Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Award-winning playwright Clare Duffy, Civic Digits’ Founder and Artistic Director, said: “We're planning to support two groups of young people to write and direct two new forum theatre plays about the radicalisation of masculinity online. It will be performed by professional actors at Hearts F.C. stadium.”

The project will involve working with groups of 15–to 18-year-olds in their communities and will be developed over the next nine months.

The performances at Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh will take place in December.

'Many Good Men' is one of 46 projects to receive a total of £1.6m in National Lottery funding in the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards. 

Other funded projects include the 2023 editions of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival and Edinburgh Festival Carnival, and this year's Open Studios Hebrides.

Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland, said "a range of new and important stories will be told as part of the latest round of Open Fund awards".