Less than two years ago, it looked as if the Edinburgh International Film Festival—the world’s oldest continuously running film festival—was no more. In October 2022, just two months into its 75th edition, its organiser, the Centre for the Moving Image, went into administration (the British equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US), while its main venue, the Filmhouse cinema, closed amid rising costs and declining trading in the wake of the pandemic. Just a few months later, creative director Kristy Matheson fled south to helm the BFI London Film Festival. All was—seemingly—lost.

But life was soon breathed back into the festival’s old bones. First came a one-off iteration in August 2023, backed by local charity Screen Scotland, which then hired “Trainspotting” producer and frequent Alex Garland collaborator Andrew Macdonald to head up a new company to pick up the pieces and start again. Later in 2023, Picturehouse Entertainment’s head of acquisitions Paul Ridd was brought on board as managing director, moving from London to north of the border to take on the role.

For his first revamped Edinburgh Film Festival, which kicks off on August 15, Ridd and his team have assembled an impressive roster of big names and talent. The event opens with the UK premiere of the Saoirse Ronan-led drama “The Outrun,” which has received rave reviews at Sundance and Berlin, and early Oscar buzz for Ronan. Edinburgh will also see the first UK screening of Fede Alvarez’s new sci-fi franchise entry “Alien: Romulus,” while there will be a host of world premieres of both feature and short films. On the industry side, there will be a keynote address from Garland (who will speak with Macdonald) and in-conversation events with legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker and French auteur Gaspar Noé.

Ridd tells Variety from Scotland that it’s all about trying to transform Edinburgh into a destination festival that draws people from all over, but also a discovery festival where new talent can be found. Hopefully, he’ll change the SEO when it comes to his name too.