The 78th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival opens under CEO and Festival Director Paul Ridd. After last year’s revival, which saw several UK premieres go on to awards and global recognition, including the global phenomenon, The Substance, this year’s programme continues to spotlight international cinema, with major titles arriving from Cannes, Berlinale and Sundance.

From Cannes, audiences will see Young Mothers, Case 137, and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. Young Mothers, by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, centres on a group of women raising children in a dedicated residential facility while confronting their own relationships with their families. The Dardennes’ long career includes two Palme d’Or wins, and this new work received the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes. Case 137, directed by Dominik Moll, follows an internal police inquiry after a protestor is gravely injured during a demonstration, placing investigator Stéphanie Bertrand, played by Léa Drucker, at the centre of the case. Moll previously directed The Night of the 12th, which won six César Awards including Best Film. Sepideh Farsi’s Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, selected for the ACID strand, is structured around her remote exchanges with Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassona, whose first-hand accounts of the conflict in Gaza form the heart of the film. Fatima was killed the day after the announcement of the film selection by Israel airstrike.

From Berlinale, EIFF presents Little Trouble Girls (Kaj ti je deklica), Growing Down (Minden rendben), Christy and Deaf (Sorda). Little Trouble Girls, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize, follows a teenager spending time at a choral retreat, where she begins to question her sexuality, sexual desire and beliefs. Growing Down examines the impact of a severe accident on a family, as a father must weigh truth against loyalty when deciding what to reveal. Christy, from the Generation 14plus strand, depicts a 17-year-old forced out of foster care and into the household of his estranged older brother. Deaf, which won Berlinale’s Audience Award for Best Feature Film, explores the challenges faced by a deaf woman and her partner as they await the birth of their child and grapple with uncertainty about the future. Short film lovers will also find Extra Life (And Decay), and Koki, Ciao, both featured within EIFF’s Experimental Shorts Programme after premiering at Berlinale.

From Sundance, the opening film Sorry, Baby introduces Agnes, a young woman struggling to move forward while living with an unspoken trauma. The film, starring Eva Victor, was awarded the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Zodiac Killer Project, directed by Charlie Shackleton and winner of the NEXT Innovator Award, uses the filmmaker’s abandoned project on the Zodiac case to reflect on the methods and impact of the true crime genre. Grace Glowicki’s debut Dead Lover follows a gravedigger who attempts to restore life to her partner after his sudden death, blending grief with fun. Cutting Through Rocks, by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, recipient of the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, centres on Sara Shahverdi, the first woman elected to her village council in Iran, as she challenges restrictive traditions and encourages local girls to assert new freedoms. Nadia Fall’s Brides tells the story of two British teenagers who decide to leave home behind and attempt a journey to Syria, setting them on a dangerous and irreversible path.

This year’s festival strengthens EIFF’s renewed reputation as a site for major discoveries, gathering together award-winning works from leading festivals and offering UK audiences their first chance to experience them in cinemas. However, if a screening doesn’t fit your schedule, don’t worry, plenty will get a general release to audiences soon.

All films screened as part of Edinburgh International Film Festival