Hannah McGill Leaves Edinburgh Film Festival
Iain Smith, Chair of the EIFF announced today that Hannah McGill has decided to move on from her role as Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
McGill began her Artistic Directorship in 2006 and curated her first Festival in 2007, prior to that she was a programme consultant for the Festival for five years.
She has been instrumental in the growing success of the Festival over the last four years, overseeing the Festival’s move out of the August Edinburgh Festival season into its own stand alone slot in June. She has provided bold and innovative programming developing the EIFF’s strong brand as the leading festival of discovery.
Hannah McGill said; "I love EIFF and have been privileged to be a part of it. I'm very proud of what the team achieved during my time as Artistic Director, and I take away a great many happy memories. I wish the Festival the very best for its next phase - and I look forward to being in the audience."
Award winning films such as Control, Moon, Man On Wire and The Hurt Locker were all selected for the EIFF under Hannah’s leadership and were screened alongside Hollywood hits such as Toy Story 3, Knocked Up, Stardust, Death Proof and Wall-E highlighting the Festival’s ability and commitment to showcase the finest international cinema.
During Hannah’s time as Artistic Director, EIFF audiences have had opportunity to enjoy the very best classic cinema. Original retrospectives have included Jeanne Moreau, Shirley Clarke and Anita Loos and this year’s truly unique offering After the Wave: Lost and Forgotten British cinema 1967 - 1979.
The PPG Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film and Projector.tv Best International Feature Award were both introduced to the Festival’s award offerings by Hannah and produced performance winners such as Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank), Sam Riley (Control) and feature winners Ryan Piers Williams’ The Dry Land and Easier With Practice directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez.
High profile Patrons, Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle and Seamus McGarvey have all joined the Festival since 2007.
Iain Smith commented; "We are immensely sad to see Hannah go, but wish her the very best for her future career. She has been a huge asset to the Festival and we thank her for all her hard work over what has been a significant four years for the Festival."
McGill’s final Festival, 2010, saw a long time ambition come together in the form of the Festival Theatre; providing an impressive new red carpet venue seating over 1500 people and offering the Festival a great premiere space for years to come.
In 2008 Hannah was named in the Variety Women’s Impact Report as one of 50 notable female achievers in the international entertainment industry and was awarded the Women in Film and Television UK Talkback Thames New Talent Award in 2009.
Faith Liddell Festivals Edinburgh said: "We are very sorry to see Hannah go. She has been a wonderful festival colleague with a strong individual vision and a great collaborative spirit. We wish her all the best with her next endeavours."
Andrew Dixon CEO Creative Scotland added; "Hannah brought a huge energy and passion to her role as artistic director and has done much to raise the profile of the festival."
Hannah will be on hand to provide support for the Festival until later in the year; recruitment for her successor will begin soon.
The next Edinburgh International Film Festival will be held on 15 - 26 June, 2011.
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