EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL HAS STARTED!

For the next ten days, thousands of people with their eyes glued to their cameras will descend upon Edinburgh like a terrifying cyborg army. They will do this because they are or want to be filmmakers, and they will be en route to this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.

The festival – now into its 65th year, and still looking so dapper – started on Wednesday, and runs until the 26th of June. There'll be plenty of great stuff happening, such as the world premiere of Page Eight, the first film David Hare's directed in 20 years, and that lass Felicity Jones in a "coming of age" comedy drama called Albatross.

But, being the mirror-kissing egotists that we are, we're most excited about our involvement in this year's EIFF. Shorts!

Yeah, shorts. You know: as in short films. From Thursday 'til Saturday next week, there'll be a load of short film stuff happening at the festival. There will be screenings of short films that have already been made, and there will be loads of conferences, discussions and workshops to teach you how to make short films of your own.

We're also throwing the festival's official closing party and awards showcase. It'll take place at the Teviot next Saturday, the 25th of June, from 8pm 'til 1.30am. Sons & Daughters and Summer Camp will be performing live, and Errors are among the Djs who'll be making noise while you sensibly sip the complimentary drinks.

The final eight films from the Nokia Shorts 2011 competition will also be premiering on the night, but you can only get in if you're on the guestlist – to do that, email nokia@edfilmfest.org.uk.

Find out more about the Nokia Shorts Weekender here, while full details of the festival can be got at here.