Friday 13th June/...The Edinburgh Interactive Festival today confirmed a partnership with Scottish Screen, the national development agency for the screen industries in Scotland. The agreement means that Scottish Screen will be able to more effectively extend its work in the creative industries, film and television to the thriving video games industry.
Scottish Screen will have a significant brand presence up to and during Edinburgh Interactive as it gets closer to the games business. Scottish Screen was created to support new and established talent, educate young people and promote Scotland as a destination for the creation of film and screen based entertainment.
The announcement is hoped to pave the way for a longer term partnership between Edinburgh Interactive Festival and Scotland’s new creative economy development agency, Creative Scotland.
Ken Hay, Chief Executive of Scottish Screen, said:”Scottish Screen has had long term relationships with both the Edinburgh Television and Film Festivals and we are delighted to now be able to partner the Interactive Festival. Screen entertainment through film, television and more recently computer video games, has a unique and dominant place in both the culture of Scotland and increasingly in its economic health.
“Scotland has led the way in developing world class and hugely successful video games for international markets. It seems absolutely right to have an international festival dedicated to celebrating and promoting that industry right here in Scotland.
“Scottish Screen is really looking forward to both partnering the Festival and in exploring with them and the games industry, the opportunities for talent and business development and cross sectoral collaborations with the wider screen industries in Scotland.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival Chairman. Chris Deering, said:“The move to a partnership with Scottish Screen is an important one for Edinburgh Interactive. It confirms the Festival’s importance within the screen entertainment mix and the regard in which the games industry is now held in Scotland.
“Scottish Screen is aware of the importance of the video games business in entertainment and particularly in Scotland. Commercially and creatively it is now the driving force in creativity and screen-based entertainment. We look forward to taking our partnership forward and working together to amplify the message of games creativity in Scotland through the Edinburgh Interactive Festival.”
EIF 2008 will take place from Sunday 10th to Tuesday 12th August, and will this year move to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre as part of a move to develop the scale and profile of the event. In 2008 it will host the Dare to be Digital ProtoPlay exhibition.
EIF 2008 will feature a major two-day conference programme, an array of networking events, an expansion of the EIF Games Screenings programme covering three cinema rooms, a major public area with gaming features, retail and recruitment sites. The ProtoPlay exhibition will also take place under the same roof as the Edinburgh Interactive Festival and will run from Sunday 10th to Tuesday 12th August alongside the public areas and Games Screenings.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival is the only event that brings together the games industry’s key decision makers from games publishing, hardware and development along side Government, TV, film, press and other entertainment industries as well as students seeking to work within the creative industries.
In 2007 delegates included professionals from Ubisoft, Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft, Codemasters, BBC, Channel 4, 19 Entertainment, Endemol, Rare, Electronic Arts, Gamestation, Ncsoft, Havok, Midway, Eidos, Realtime Worlds, BAFTA, BERR, BSAC and Rising Star Games.
Now celebrating its sixth year, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. And this year, the Interactive Festival is more synchronised with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing– an overall spectacle for all.
New to Interactive Festival 2008 will be Features, Exhibition and Recruitment areas specifically tailored to cater for the public - allowing them access to the latest games and job opportunities in games.
As ever, the three-day Interactive Festival wouldn’t be complete without the cornerstones of conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, debates, games screenings and even more people than ever jostling to get through the doors.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008
Edinburgh International Conference Centre
150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EE
UK
Sunday 10th August
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site
Monday 11th August
EIF Conference
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site
Conference Networking event
Tuesday 12th August
EIF Conference
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site
Edinburgh Interactive Festival will also play host to the Digital Interactive Symposium, the games event aimed at academics and games industry professionals. It takes place on Wednesday 13th August.
Registration is open now at
There is also a Facebook Group in 2008 at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12251081247
Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008 registration details:
Register before Tuesday 1st July 2008 -£120 (ex VAT)
Register on or after Tuesday 1st July 2008 -£149 (ex VAT)
Scottish based developers and companies -£99 (ex VAT)
Students -£75 (ex VAT)
Delegates can also register for the Digital Interactive Symposium.
You can see more of Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YktZnm_eRlQ
Edinburgh Interactive Festival has also forged a number of key relationships with partners and sponsors that will be announced shortly.
If you are interested in getting involved with Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008– through partnerships, sponsorship, the Friends of the Festival programme or simply to find out more about the commercial opportunities at EIF 2008, please contact Sales and Sponsorship manager, Jodie Holdway: Tel +44 (0) 1462 456780 ; jodie.holdway@bhpr.co.uk
Ends.
For further information, please contact:
Laura West
Barrington Harvey
Tel: +44 (0)1462 456780
Fax: +44 (0) 1462 456781
Email: laura.west@bhpr.co.uk
Editors’ Note:
EIF08
The Edinburgh Interactive Festival is managed by a committee drawn from all areas of the games industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies: The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment&Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com.
Scottish Screen
Scottish Screen is the national screen agency for Scotland with responsibility for developing all aspects of screen culture and industry across the country. Scottish Screen invests just under£6m in the development and promotion Scotland’s screen industries each year. This includes distributing£2.7m of National Lottery funds. They invest in a range of initiatives, projects and activities designed to develop talent, audiences and businesses across the country.
