Ready, set jet, go!

Visitors to this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) are being encouraged to go on 'set-jetting' trips to explore the real Scottish locations they see on the silver screen.
Eilean Donan Castle, as seen in HighlanderEilean Donan Castle, as seen in Highlander
Eilean Donan Castle, as seen in Highlander

Some of the country’s most iconic attractions and stunning scenery will be showcased at this year’s festival and VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation, says the sight of places such as Eilean Donan Castle in Highlander and St Andrews Cathedral in Tommy’s Honour will inspire cinephiles to follow in the footsteps of their celluloid heroes.

The EIFF, which is supported through EventScotland’s International Funding Programme, will be screening a total of 161 features from June 15-26 with a number of them shot on location in Scotland.

Scotland-set films include:

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· Tommy’s Honour (June 15, Opening Night Gala, Festival Theatre): The world premiere of Jason Connery’s true story about Scottish golf pioneers Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris was filmed in a variety of locations around Scotland, predominately in East Lothian and Fife. Locations include: Musselburgh Old Course, the world’s oldest golf course, Gilmerton House (Haddington), Gosford House (Longniddry), Falkland and St Andrews (Fife)

· The Correspondence (June 17, Filmhouse 1 and 19 June, Odeon 2): A love story filmed and set in Edinburgh and starring Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons and former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko

· 2001: A Space Odyssey (June 18, Filmhouse 1): Harris gained a well-earned reputation for being ‘out of this world’ when it doubled for the surface of Jupiter in Stanley Kubrick’s legendary science fiction adventure

· Highlander (June 18, Cineworld 7): The 30th anniversary screening of Russell Mulcahy’s fantasy film sees Christopher Lambert’s character of Connor MacLeod back at Eilean Donan Castle, which doubles for the village of Glenfinnan. Eilean Donan also serves as the Scottish headquarters of MI6 in the 1999 James Bond film The World is Not Enough

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· Trainspotting (June 19, Filmhouse 1): The opening scene of Danny Boyle’s cinematic version of Irvine Welsh’s novel, currently filming a sequel in Edinburgh, sees Renton (Ewan McGregor) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) being pursued down Princes Street by security staff

· Whisky Galore! (June 26, Closing Night Gala, Festival Theatre): The remake of the classic Ealing comedy, which was originally shot on the Isle of Barra, was filmed mainly in Aberdeenshire, at Pennan (of Local Hero fame) and Portsoy. Among the numerous other locations are St Monan’s Parish Church in the East Neuk of Fife (also used in The Railway Man), Luss Village Hall in Loch Lomond and Loch Thom in Greenock

Scotland will also be seen in the coming-of-age comedy Moon Dogs, Gaelic language drama Bannan and Shooting the Revel – Re-Discovering Edinburgh College of Art’s Revel Films of the 1930s and 1940s. Documentary Lost in France explores Scotland’s independent music scene, while Bridging the Gap: Women, is a series of short documentaries made in Scotland.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “The Edinburgh International Film Festival is a wonderful celebration of the magic of cinema, giving visitors the chance to enjoy brilliant movies in a beautiful and vibrant capital city.

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“After taking in the films, we would urge visitors to explore some of stunning locations featured on the big screen during the festival, from the iconic Eilean Donan Castle, as seen in Highlander, to the historic splendour of East Lothian and Fife in Tommy’s Honour.

“Set-jetting is a hugely popular pastime which helps Scotland’s visitor economy. This causes a ripple effect that touches every industry, business and community in the country – from laundry services to life sciences.”

Mark Adams, EIFF artistic director, added: “Scotland is the first location choice of so many incredible films and film makers and this year’s Festival showcases some of the best and most beautiful settings the country has to offer.

“Not only do our Opening Night film Tommy’s Honour and our Closing Night film Whisky Galore show off some wonderful locations, but other new films such as Moon Dogs display Scotland at its best. Audiences will be blown away by the breath-taking backgrounds of Scotland and may recognise a few familiar sites along the way.”

For more information about the EIFF, click here ed film fest

For more information on film tourism, click here visit scotland.