FEST is excited to announce a brand new confirmation for its industry program: the remarkable Irvine Welsh. Welsh joins Tony Grisoni and Isabel Coixet at our industry program, which offers a cycle of live masterclasses guided by professionals from different areas of cinema and audiovisual.

Irvine Welsh is a world-renowned Scottish novelist, best known for his gritty characters, challenging prose, and realistic portrayal of Scotland's criminal underbelly, whose work is characterized by the use of the raw Scots dialect. Welsh’s novels are always set in his native Scotland and filled with anti-heroes, small time crooks and hooligans, that, despite their obvious scumbaggery, are imbued with a sad sense of humanity that almost always turns them into likable characters.

His works have been adapted for the screen numerous times, to widespread success. His book Trainspotting (1993) — a worldwide phenomenon and bestseller in the UK, and internationally, that focuses on the darker side of human nature and drug use — was adapted by Danny Boyle in 1996, starring then-rising actors Ewan McGregor and Kelly Macdonald. The film has since cemented itself in cinema cult canon. 

Welsh is also the author of various other novels, including Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance (1996), Glue (2001), The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (2006), The Blade Artist (2016), Dead Men’s Trousers (2018), and various other masterworks. Of these books, The Acid House (1994), Porno (2002), and Filth (2013) were also adapted for the big screen; the latter counts with renowned actors like James McAvoy, Jamie Bell and Jim Broadbent. 

Irvine Welsh will present a masterclass about his career, his outlook on his film adaptations and his experience in the industry during FEST, for accredited participants. Stay tuned for further confirmations and announcements.