Pig sees Oscar winner Leaving Las Vegas, Rumble Fish, Wild at Heart, The Rock and Con Air as a truffle hunter living in the Oregon wilderness who returns to his hometown after his pig is kidnapped. -love.

The red carpet event will take place at the Festival Theater, EIFF’s largest venue for gala premieres, on August 18.

The festival, which has returned to its traditional August slot in the calendar this year, has already announced that a new Billy Crystal comedy Here Today will close the 2021 event.

The Festival Theater will also host an EIFF special screening of a film adaptation of the hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, as well as an outdoor celebration event in St Andrew Square, which will be one of the festival’s main venues. this year.

An open-air screening program is also organized at Port Edgar Marina in South Queensferry.

Cage has received critical acclaim for one of his strongest film performances ever in Pig, the directorial debut of co-writer Michael Sarnoski, who was nominated for an Oscar five years ago for his short film The Testimony.

He plays a former chef who became a truffle hunter after the death of his wife and lives in the wild with his pig foraging until he is robbed after being attacked.

Speaking to Collider about the film, Cage said, “It was a screenplay that I thought I wrote with great sincerity. He had no other motivation than to tell a quiet story of loss. It was very evocative.

“Michael was a director who wanted to tell a different kind of story. It was kind of a loss meditation. I was at a point in my own life where I thought ‘no actor, please. “.

“I have a close relationship with my animal siblings – my cats and my dogs. I sometimes have bad dreams of losing my cat. We have all become very close to our animals after what we have been through with the pandemic and quarantine.

“I didn’t feel like it would be a huge challenge to play that role and that it would come out very easily because I thought I had the connections and the life experience to tell this story. has attracted. “

Sarnoski said: “We are delighted to share PIG at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

“It has been a labor of love for everyone involved, and we hope it will give the audience a moment of reflection and togetherness after such a difficult year.”

Nick Varley, Senior Festival Programmer, said: “Honoring the work of Nicolas Cage has become something of a tradition in Edinburgh and we are delighted to continue our long association with the premiere of this most beautiful and inspiring film.

“From the moment the programming team watched Pig, we knew this was the opening film for the 74th edition of the festival.”

The full lineup for this year’s film festival, which runs August 18-25, will be announced on July 28.