Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews

Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews International Film Festival of St Andrews | 2025 dates coming soon…

06/09/2026

Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews 2026 was a great success, marking its milestone fifth edition with world-renowned guests including Laura Mulvey, Charlie Kaufman, Gary Clark and Craig Armstrong.

The three-day festival in April saw the Byre and other venues throughout St Andrews abuzz with cinephiles, experts and stars, all coming together to celebrate their love of film.

But Sands isn’t just for April. Our Sands Selection screenings during the year keep that buzz going, pairing great films with great discussion.

Join us this month for a special screening of Everybody to Kenmure Street (12A), followed by a post-show discussion with Director Felipe Bustos Sierra and Tabassum Niamat, who features in the film.

This crucial, timely film reflects the bold, distinctive voice of Sands.

Book your tickets now

📍Byre Theatre
📆 Tuesday 15 September, 6.30pm
🎟️ https://byretheatre.com/shows/sands-selection-everybody-to-kenmure-street/

James McNeill Whistler – one of the great innovators of 19th-century art and a passionate believer in “art for art’s sak...
14/07/2026

James McNeill Whistler – one of the great innovators of 19th-century art and a passionate believer in “art for art’s sake”.

Delve into the life and works of this contemporary of the Impressionists, with Exhibition On Screen's blockbuster film, bringing Tate Britain’s first major retrospective of Whistler to a global audience, and the Byre’s big screen.

Dir: David Bickerstaff | UK | 2026 | 1h 30m | cert TBC

📍Byre Theatre
📅 Sunday 18 October, 2.00pm
🎟️https://byretheatre.com/shows/exhibition-on-screen-james-mcneill-whistler/

It’s over a month since Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews 2026 wrapped but the legacy of this year’s fes...
09/06/2026



It’s over a month since Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews 2026 wrapped but the legacy of this year’s festival lives on.

Our rucksacks and lanyards have been on their travels, with pitstops in Èze in the south of France, Dubrovnik in Croatia and even at the Festival de Cannes, courtesy of journalist and Sands moderator Wendy Mitchell.

Shout-out to our brilliant designer Emma Quinn Design.

Tag us in your pictures and let us know where you take your Sands bag on tour. We’d love to see where it goes next.

27/04/2026

“Absolutely brilliant.”

Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews is over for another year and we’re looking back on just one of the highlights from this year’s festival.

Renowned film composer Craig Armstrong. treated us to reflections on his career and his approach to creating film scores, before St Andrews music scholars and associate teachers performed three stunning pieces of his work from Far from the Madding Crowd, Moulin Rouge! and World Trade Center.

Here are some of the reactions from those lucky enough to be in the room for such an captivating session.

Sands 2026 marked its milestone fifth edition with a significant increase in box office income, increasing by nearly 50%...
25/04/2026

Sands 2026 marked its milestone fifth edition with a significant increase in box office income, increasing by nearly 50%.

Here are just some of the other impressive stats racked up over the festival weekend…

📸: Euan Cherry for Getty and the Sands marketing team

24/04/2026

It’s already a week since began with an engaging and thought-provoking academic and industry conference, kicking off an incredible weekend of film and discussion that celebrated storytelling in all its forms.

Our director Ania Trzebiatowska spoke to Deadline, reflecting on the milestone fifth edition of the festival.

“This year feels like a real step forward for Sands,” she said. “We’ve seen audiences not only return but engage more deeply with the programme – reflected in a significant increase in box office income and a real sense of trust in what we’re building here.”

Read the full article here: https://deadline.com/2026/04/sands-ania-trzebiatowska-fifth-edition-1236867808/

~AGBO

23/04/2026

Four days on from the end of and we're still basking in all the lovely feedback we've had about this year's festival.

Here's just some of the kind words from our incredible guests.

Whether you were fortunate enough to be in the audience for Moving Pictures: The Poetry of Cinema and Vice Versa – An af...
22/04/2026

Whether you were fortunate enough to be in the audience for Moving Pictures: The Poetry of Cinema and Vice Versa – An afternoon with Charlie Kaufman and Eva H.D. or not - you are strongly encouraged to look up the poems that Eva and Charlie shared with us in an unforgettably beautiful event...

To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall by Kim Addonizio
The Mercy by Philip Levine
Falling and Flying by Jack Gilbert
I Thought on His Desire for Three Days by Linda Gregg
The beginning of Welcome to These Lines by Leonard Cohen
night vision by Lucille Clifton

21/04/2026

“When you make a film, you have to market it with that same kind of passion.”

From discussing her first internship at the Golden Globes to her work as Chief Marketing Officer at AGBO, Marian Koltai-Levine shared invaluable insights into her career during her This Much I Know… session at .

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