The Edinburgh International Film Festival (or EIFF, if you're into the whole brevity thing) begins on June 18, and the opening film has just been named as Hyena, described as a "provocative thriller" and crime drama from director Gerard Johnson and producer Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen and Joanna Laurie.
The film stars A Field In England's Peter Ferdinando - who also starred in Johnson's debut film Tony back in 2009 - as Michael Logan, a high functioning addict and corrupt cop faced with an influx of incredibly ruthless Albanian gangsters. The combination of the gang's brutality and his own increasingly self-destructive behaviour pushes Logan into a spiral of fear and self-doubt, away from his natural predatory instincts.
The film also stars Stephen Graham, Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Elisa Lasowski and Richard Dormer, and will hit UK screens in October after its Edinburgh bow.
In other exciting EIFF news, Empire will be partnering with the Festival to put on a series of Hero Hangouts, which will see a variety of legendary names from the world of film interviewed live on stage at the Festival. You'll be able to buy tickets to be there live, but if you're too far away, don't despair! We'll also be broadcasting those here on the site. As if that weren't enough, we will also be screening the winner of our 301 Greatest Movies Ever poll, and with only a day or two until the voting closes on that, make sure you get your choices in.
Also screening at the Festival this year will be Small Faces director Gillies Mackinnon's latest, Castles In The Sky starring Eddie Izzard; Greyhawk from Guy Pitt; Hide And Seek from Joanna Coates; Brighton-set rom-com My Accomplice; Dylan Thomas biopic Set Fire To The Stars; 'poignant comedy' A Practical Guide To Spectacular Suicide; Uberto Pasolini's Still Life and tragic real-life story We Are Monster.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from June 18 to 29, and we'll have much more news as it gets closer.