Why Edinburgh? - About Film Edinburgh

"The looks you can do in Edinburgh... you can do anything!"
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein 2024

"Filming was straight forward and we had great control of our locations"
William McGregor, Director, One Of Us

"Edinburgh truly is a joy to film in!"
Lloret Dunn, location manager

Why should you film in the Edinburgh city region?

Here are just a few reasons:

A breathtaking array of locations dating from the medieval to the contemporary. The capital can also boast a unique geology which invades the city providing rural settings right in the heart of its urban centre, while East Lothian and the Scottish Borders offer picturesque villages, churches, sandy beaches, spectacular mansions and historic castles and monuments; and Midlothian boasts glorious woodland, historic mining landscapes and stately homes.

A highly skilled crew base across all departments - 25% of Scotland's crew base live in the Edinburgh city region.

Dedicated film studio FirstStage Studios with over 90,000 ft2 of flexibly configured, blacked-out, part soundproofed shooting space, up to 82ft/25m high, and circa 35,000 ft2 of workshops.

Co-operation from the council across all service departments. The City of Edinburgh Council and East Lothian Council renewed their Film Charters in 2023, confirming their commitment to facilitating filmmakers.

No permit required to film on the street, provided filming does not cause an obstruction.

Excellent transport links. Edinburgh Airport, only 8 miles from the city centre, flies to more destinations than any other Scottish airport. Waverley Station, in the heart of the city, provides high speed rail links across the UK.

During the summer, the hours of daylight are among the longest in Europe and the quality of light is spectacular all year round.

Dedicated film office support for productions. We guarantee a response to filmmaker requests within 24 hours (Mon-Fri).