Leading television industry event, the Edinburgh TV Festival (ETF) announced today that Screen Scotland, which delivers enhanced support for all aspects of Scotland's screen sector - has become joint headline partner alongside long-standing Festival sponsor, YouTube, for 2021. Sitting within Creative Scotland and with funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, the Screen Scotland festival partnership comes into immediate effect.
David Smith, Director of Screen at Screen Scotland commented: “The Edinburgh TV Festival is the key event in the TV industry’s calendar. Screen Scotland’s new two-year partnership with Edinburgh TV Festival will showcase Scotland’s talented screen production sector and its uniquely rich mix of locations and growing infrastructure to the decision makers who come to Edinburgh each year to reflect on what’s happened, and to plan for the future.”
The Festival has also announced world-renowned fashion designer, celebrity stylist and leading TV personality, Tan France, in the newly created role of International Editor for The Edinburgh TV Festival’s Advisory Board. France will work with newly appointed Advisory Chair, Georgia Brown, Festival Creative Director, Stewart Clarke, and the Festival’s Advisory Board to shape and curate this year’s Festival.
With over 15 years of experience working with leading international clothing brands, and long-term follower of the Festival, multi-hyphenate powerhouse France, is most notably known as one-fifth of the globally successful and Emmy award-winning makeover Netflix hit, Queer Eye Fab Five. The NY Times best-selling author and influential tastemaker most recently fronted Netflix’s global fashion design competition series Next in Fashion, in addition to hosting his popular celebrity makeover series Dressing Funny on Netflix’s YouTube channel Netflix Is A Joke.
France will bring a unique perspective and experience to this year’s Festival and the curation of sessions with a distinctly international flavour.
Of his appointment France said: “I am passionate about making content that touches people around the world, and content that is truly representative of the audience watching. Whether it is on a streamer, traditional TV, or a digital platform, it’s such an exciting time to be a creative.”
“The Edinburgh TV Festival is a brilliant platform to shine a light on the amazing people in our business and their work – and to ask meaningful questions, to move the dial on what is offered to the audience. I can’t wait to be involved in shaping the TV Festival this year as International Editor, and to be working with the team there, at a moment when there is incredible opportunity, as well as major challenges.”
Fatima Salaria, Executive Chair of The Edinburgh TV Festival added: “Tan will bring a new dimension to the Festival as we aim to be more disruptive and challenging. He really sums up our theme of accelerating change. When you come off a call with Tan you're energy levels are higher and your belief in what's possible goes up a notch. I can't wait to see his influence on the Festival.”
France was named as part of the wider Advisory Board for the Festival which includes a broad range of industry voices invited by Advisory Chair, Georgia Brown, to help formulate themes and sessions for this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival. The full list is detailed below.
Further information and details about the Edinburgh TV Festival and the TV Foundation can be found on www.thetvfestival.com