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The Sands International Film Festival wrapped Sunday evening, concluding nan Scottish event’s milestone 5th twelvemonth connected nan circuit.
The show opened connected April 17 pinch a UK preview of John Carney’s latest feature, Power Ballad. Starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, nan philharmonic drama arrived astatine Sands pursuing its debut astatine SXSW and a homecoming screening astatine nan Dublin Film Festival. The show closed pinch Rohan Kanawade’s buzzy Sundance title Cactus Pears.
Headline speakers coming astatine this year’s show included composer Craig Armstrong, who sat for an in-depth speech pinch Scottish broadcaster Edith Bowman astir his imaginative process, accompanied by a unrecorded capacity of his astir celebrated scores by section euphony scholars. Charlie Kaufman joined his longtime collaborator Eva H.D. connected shape for a lengthy and revealing profession Q&A, and Sands co-founder Joe Russo returned to nan show via Zoom, from nan accumulation of Avengers: Doomsday, for a chat connected productivity pinch Angela Russo-Otstot, Chief Creative Officer astatine nan Russos’ AGBO.
The show has besides erstwhile again reported grounds assemblage figures. 2026 container agency revenue, nan show said aft Sunday’s closing ceremony, had risen astir 50% connected nan erstwhile year.
“This twelvemonth feels for illustration a existent measurement guardant for Sands,” Ania Trzebiatowska, Artistic Director of Sands, told Deadline. “We’ve seen audiences not only return but prosecute much profoundly pinch nan programme – reflected successful a important summation successful container agency income and a existent consciousness of spot successful what we’re building here.”
Below, Trzebiatowska speaks pinch Deadline astir shepherding Sands into its 5th year, really she and her squad person developed a divers section assemblage for nan festival, and her plans to further clasp a multidisciplinary attack to programming moving forward.
DEADLINE: Ania, I retrieve nan first clip we spoke, you said you weren’t willing successful really increasing nan festival’s size. But I conscionable saw nan assemblage and container agency figures for 2026, and Sands continues to turn each year.
ANIA TRZEBIATOWSKA: The point is, we’ve stayed nan aforesaid successful position of nan festival’s size. We’ve conscionable been capable to gain nan audience’s spot and get them to travel retired to spot what we’re showing. I’ve said this before, but I tin get impatient because I want everyone to acquisition these unthinkable speakers and films. But group person been coming; it’s conscionable that you ever want more. I don’t deliberation we ever wanted to beryllium immoderate bigger. This size useful really good for us. It’s conscionable a mobility of becoming a larger portion of nan community. And this twelvemonth felt for illustration that was yet happening. Something shifted.
DEADLINE: It did consciousness different successful St Andrews this year. I was astatine nan talk John Sloss did and saw immoderate young group from nan section area pinch their parents, which I thought was great. Just young section group willing successful cinema and coming retired to study something.
TRZEBIATOWSKA: You can’t please everybody, and that’s not nan extremity here. The extremity is to create thing wherever everyone tin find things they’re intrigued by. But it really does consciousness for illustration nan municipality has accepted america a spot much now, and it’s because you tin spot nan show presented otherwise wrong nan municipality itself. So each kudos to my colleagues, Jan and her trading team. They really made an effort to make america visible successful town. I deliberation that helps a lot, too. People nary longer tin say, Oh, we didn’t cognize this show was happening.
DEADLINE: You’re now 5 years in. That’s a large achievement. How are you feeling?
TRZEBIATOWSKA: I’ve been reasoning astir it done filmmaking metaphors. We’ve gone from being this hopefully promising newcomer to now being much established. We’ve made our 2 features, and now group are genuinely excited astir what we’re going to make next. I will ever consciousness for illustration I person to beryllium myself. The world is simply a analyzable spot correct now, truthful it’s ever bully to beryllium a small spot cautious. And that goes for maturation arsenic well, which is why I didn’t want america to go thing supra nan standard we tin grip arsenic a team, but arsenic a municipality arsenic well.
Also, what’s been really bully this 5th twelvemonth is seeing students returning to unpaid aliases visit. That is 1 of nan biggest compliments we tin get. I besides want to accent conscionable really overmuch I admit Joe showing up for america connected Saturday. It blows my mind that personification arsenic engaged arsenic him tin still prioritize showing up for america astatine a clip erstwhile he couldn’t beryllium immoderate busier. He’s moving connected 1 of nan biggest films ever, and he’s successful a different country, and yet he still makes an effort.
DEADLINE: Are you still moving successful nan aforesaid measurement pinch nan students moving arsenic your programmers?
TRZEBIATOWSKA: Yes, truthful I shortlist films for them, and each week, they watch astir 2 films, and past we meet online to talk astir them. It’s a two-to-three-month process, and on nan way, we determine what they emotion and really it could travel together arsenic a programme. They usually take astir six films retired of our lineup.
DEADLINE: This year’s opening screening pinch Power Ballad was truthful great. It felt akin to past year, pinch The Ballad of Wallis Island, and that screening seemed to really thief motorboat Wallis Island.
TRZEBIATOWSKA: I agree. I deliberation there’s thing astir showing a movie successful a organization environment. There’s thing very fitting astir that, and it really works. I emotion Power Ballad. I wasn’t worried astir it astatine all. I was conscionable thrilled to spot really good it would play. It was a beautiful typical screening. And having Gary Clark location was perfect, particularly pinch him being from Dundee. It was really meaningful.
DEADLINE: What’s next?
TRZEBIATOWSKA: I’ve already started readying for adjacent year. It was truthful breathtaking to consciousness nan displacement successful nan organization this year. We’ve really been accepted. And location was besides a consciousness of ownership from nan Byre Theatre. I emotion that this has go a show that nan Byre runs and is proud of arsenic a team. It’s an unthinkable team. And I emotion them truthful much. They do this connected apical of their different year-round work, and it’s a batch of work, truthful it’s besides a batch to inquire of them, but they spot nan worth it adds to nan community. I would emotion for america to proceed increasing those numbers. I’d besides emotion to proceed mixing different creation forms. I emotion that we had Craig Armstrong speaking, pinch students performing his music. That was 1 of nan astir beautiful moments. And past nan astonishing Charlie Kaufman and Eva H.D speech connected poetry. I had a spot of an out-of-body acquisition during that session. So I’d emotion to research a small spot much crossed disciplines.
