HippFest launched a packed programme of films, workshops, live music and more for its 16th year on Monday in a gin-soaked speakeasy (well, the Edinburgh Gin distillery) …
Hosted at the magnificent Bo’Ness Hippodrome, a pre-Art Deco cinema dating back to 1912, the 2026 selection spans Scandinavian drama, British sci-fi, Japanese melodrama, and two of Scotland’s most beloved authors. HippFest opens with Rasmus Breistein’s Fante-Anne, a classic that kickstarted Norwegian romantic cinema, with live music from Tromsø Silent Film Days’ Dina Konradsen and Jo Einar Jansen that promises a blend of traditional folk and modern electronica. The screening will be followed by a Folkemølje in Linlithgow that promises to be a lively mix of dance tutorials and a high-energy club night!
Robert Louis Stephenson and Arthur Conan Doyle are well-represented by the first screen adaptation of Kidnapped and a Sherlock Holmes triple-bill starring Eille Norwood; the home-grown talent continues with High Treason, imagining a UK on the brink of war in an Art-Deco-tinged future. As touched on by HippFest Director Alison Strauss at the launch, silent film remains topical in an age of anti-immigration sentiment and persecuting the ‘other’, so Nat Ross’s look at the 1920’s American immigrant experience in April Fool is very timely. The Crowd brings the festival to a close, directed by King Vidor and tackling the struggle to achieve the American dream.
There’s a wealth of returning events, including the favourite Jeely Jar screening, offering 2-for-1 tickets for those who bring a clean jam jar. The heritage Bo’Ness railway also offers Platform Reels, an open-air screening with food provided, and this year it tackles a favourite Edinburgh topic: trams. New Found Sound brings the best local young musicians together to accompany shorts from the archive, and the decadent Friday Night Gala celebrates flappers with Colleen Moore in Why Be Good?, followed by a champagne-fuelled afterparty.
As with previous years, those who can’t make it to a screening have the chance to watch selected films from the comfort of their sofa, with a 7-day extended viewing window on streaming platform Vimeo. HippFest 2026 promises to be a great way to see in the spring.
HippFest runs from 18-22 March. Tickets are available now.