North Edinburgh Film Festival returns for 4th edition with the biggest programme yet
Free, community-led festival brings international short films and local stories to the North Edinburgh Arts building
The North Edinburgh Film Festival (NEFF) returns for its fourth edition on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 March 2026, with its most ambitious programme to date. Presented by North Edinburgh Arts and Screen Education Edinburgh, this year’s festival moves into its exciting new home at the North Edinburgh Arts building on MacMillan Square.
Free to attend and with no advance booking required, NEFF 2026 promises two packed days of film, art, workshops and community celebration for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Films from Around the World and Around the Block
This year’s programme features over 60 short films from all over the world and just around the block, all united by the themes of community and place. From internationally-made short films exploring working-class lives, social activism, creativity and the natural world, to locally-made documentary films shot right here in North Edinburgh, there is something for every taste and curiosity.
Highlights include curated screening programmes such as Creativity for Life, Fault Lines & Flashpoints, Folklore, Land & Language, and Community and Place, as well as a special evening showcase from Screen Education Edinburgh’s Through the Lens programme on Friday night celebrating drama filmmaking by adults in Edinburgh’s working-class communities.
Celebrating Local Stories
A centrepiece of the festival is Made for NEFF: The Mini Docs — a collection of short documentary films made by staff and volunteers from eight local organisations, shot on phones and edited at North Edinburgh Arts with support from local filmmaker Bob Winton. Organisations featured include Fresh Start, Link-Up, MYDG, Blast Boxing, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Stepping Stones, Project Esperanza, and Community Renewal.
Audiences are invited to vote for their favourite locally-made film, with winners celebrated at the Audience Awards Ceremony on Saturday 28 March at 3:20pm.
Video art and live performance installations will run throughout both days, including Who Gets a Seat at the Table? — an interactive installation created by Curious Seed’s Christine Devaney in collaboration with the Art for Grown Ups group — and a collection of moving image works by group members screening in Screen 5.
Workshops, Family Activities and a Community Lunch
NEFF 2026 offers a rich programme of participatory activities alongside the screenings. Screen Education Edinburgh will run filmmaking workshops for young people (ages 8–12 and 13–18) and adults across both days, while a claymation animation workshop for ages 9–13 will be led by animator Alistair Kerr and animation teacher Jim Stirk on Friday afternoon.
Family-friendly animations will screen on both mornings, and Saturday’s programme opens with a performance from North Edinburgh Arts’ Saturday Arts & Dance participants before a screening of this year’s family feature film, Flow, brought to the festival by Manipulate Festival.
A community lunch will take place in the café on Saturday afternoon, and the solar-powered Moving Images Caravan — an eight-seat pop-up cinema in a converted caravan — will be on site throughout Saturday for drop-in screenings.
Programmed by the Community, for the Community
What makes NEFF unique is that its programme is shaped by local residents. The NEA Film Group, a weekly gathering of film enthusiasts from North Edinburgh, reviewed over 120 film submissions and collaboratively curated the 12 screening programmes on offer this year. New members are always welcome; the group meets on Wednesdays from 5–6:30pm.
Alice Betts, at North Edinburgh Arts: “The Film Festival evolves with and because of the people who show up. We’re so proud of what this community has built together, and this year, in our new building, feels like a real milestone.”
North Edinburgh Film Festival 2026 takes place on Friday 27 March and Saturday 28 March at North Edinburgh Arts, MacMillan Hub, 12C MacMillan Square, Edinburgh EH4 4AB. Entry is free, with no booking required.
View the Festival’s Brochure with more information about activities and all screenings.
To get involved in NEFF 2027, contact alice.betts@northedinburgharts.co.uk or call/text 07849 410 813.
Organised in partnership with Screen Education Edinburgh and North Edinburgh Arts, NEFF 2026 is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council.
