Beldina Odenyo documentary to close Edinburgh Film Festival 2026

It’s been announced today that this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) will come to a close with the sure-to-be-moving Bel, a new documentary telling the story of Beldina Odenyo, the award-winning Kenyan-Scottish musician, singer, songwriter and playwright who performed under the stage name Heir of the Cursed.

The Scottish music and theatre communities were rocked in November 2021 when news broke of Odenyo's passing. She left behind raw, intimate video diaries and a hard drive full of original songs, and we’re told this stirring film will document the journey Odenyo’s sister and friends took to release this work posthumously. The resulting documentary is said to provide "a heartfelt, insightful portrait of a complex, intelligent and profoundly talented young woman".

Bel is the first feature film directed by Louise Lockwood, who has a background in television documentaries. “I never knew Bel,” says Lockwood, “but her sister, Leah, is my friend. We live in the same village outside Glasgow, our children go to school together and I witnessed the impact Bel’s death had on her family and friends. When she died, Bel was still relatively unknown; I want to help Leah change that. The talent was and still is there – hopefully this film will help give Bel a platform to share it from.”

The screening at EIFF will be Bel’s world premiere, and this will be the third Scottish documentary on the trot to close the festival, with Paul Sng’s Irvine Welsh doc Reality is Not Enough bringing the curtain down in 2025, and Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands the closer in 2024.

“From the moment we saw this profoundly moving film, we knew it had to be at our festival,” said EIFF’s director, Paul Ridd. “Honouring a lost Scottish artist with sensitivity, warmth and nuance, Louise Lockwood’s film, like Bel’s music, is humane, intimate and raw. We can think of no more perfect a way to close the festival than with this wonderful film.”

One of the film’s associate producers is the poet Jackie Kay. "Bel’s time on earth was too short,” says Kay. “Her afterlife would surprise her if only she could come back to see. Hers was a haunting presence; she was mesmerising to see perform live. With this profoundly moving and insightful documentary, Bel’s legacy is rich, stretching into the unmarked years."

Bel joins the EIFF programme alongside Louis Paxton’s debut feature The Incomer, which will open the festival. The full EIFF 2026 lineup will be revealed on 1 July.

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Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026 runs 13-19 Aug, more info at edfilmfest.org