The U.K.’s Edinburgh TV Festival has appointed fashion designer Tan France as international editor of its advisory board, while Screen Scotland will be a joint headline sponsor for the event alongside YouTube.
France is known as one of the Fab Five in Netflix’s Emmy-winning makeover hit, “Queer Eye.” The NY Times best-selling author and influential tastemaker also fronted Netflix’s global fashion design competition series “Next in Fashion,” and also hosts popular celebrity makeover series “Dressing Funny” on Netflix’s YouTube channel Netflix Is A Joke.
In the newly created position, France will work with newly appointed advisory chair Georgia Brown, head of European originals for Amazon; festival creative director Stewart Clarke, a former Variety correspondent; and the festival’s advisory board to shape and curate this year’s event.
“I am passionate about making content that touches people around the world, and content that is truly representative of the audience watching,” France said. “Whether it is on a streamer, traditional TV, or a digital platform, it’s such an exciting time to be a creative.
“The Edinburgh TV Festival is a brilliant platform to shine a light on the amazing people in our business and their work — and to ask meaningful questions, to move the dial on what is offered to the audience. I can’t wait to be involved in shaping the TV Festival this year as international editor, and to be working with the team there, at a moment when there is incredible opportunity, as well as major challenges.”
Fatima Salaria, executive chair of The Edinburgh TV Festival, added: “Tan will bring a new dimension to the Festival as we aim to be more disruptive and challenging. He really sums up our theme of accelerating change. When you come off a call with Tan your energy levels are higher and your belief in what’s possible goes up a notch. I can’t wait to see his influence on the festival.”
Meanwhile, screen agency Screen Scotland has become joint headline partner alongside long-standing festival sponsor, YouTube, for 2021.
David Smith, director of screen at Screen Scotland, said: “The Edinburgh TV Festival is the key event in the TV industry’s calendar. Screen Scotland’s new two-year partnership with Edinburgh TV Festival will showcase Scotland’s talented screen production sector and its uniquely rich mix of locations and growing infrastructure to the decision makers who come to Edinburgh each year to reflect on what’s happened, and to plan for the future.”
