BY Mark Adams, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival

THE world of film is a staggeringly complex one. A rare and quixotic blend of commerce and culture, prone to whims, luck and unquantifiable star power, the industry is almost impossible to predict. But when the heavens align and all the elements fall into place it can work as a rare combination of financial success and cultural credibility, while sustaining an extended infrastructure of skilled technicians among both cast and crew. The challenge for Scotland is to find a way to develop a sustainable and supportive film industry that will not only draw in big-budget projects from around the world, but also allow local talents to develop and flourish.

There have been times when all of those aspects fell into place. With the 1983 release of Bill Forsyth’s gem Local Hero and the 1996 launch of Trainspotting, attention was drawn to all things Scottish and the spotlight has rightly shone on the country's ability to craft great films with amazing talent. The hardest thing is to build on those opportunities when they arise – and with all the good will in the world, a handful of great films do not an industry make. It takes vision, commitment, passion, partnerships, luck and a real single-minded belligerence to see a major project through. And make no mistake; establishing a sustainable and fully integrated film industry is such a major project.

There are naturally many valid arguments as to why Scotland has had problems developing a self-fulfilling and vibrant industry, though in truth you might hear a variation of those arguments from many countries around the world. Earlier this year, it was announced that the country's first purpose-built film and TV studio is to be created outside Edinburgh. And there is little doubt that having a flexible and technically advanced studio is a step in the right direction (though perhaps more than one new studio would be better). And while an influx of films filling studio space would of course have a massive knock-on effect in terms of technicians, support services and acting roles, all of this must go hand-in-hand with good old-fashioned creative verve and the passion for telling local stories in a vibrant and accessible style and giving young writing, directing, producing and acting talents a platform to shine.

Of course Scotland offers great things to and for filmmakers, and one could easily argue that it more than punches above its weight in terms of talent developed. The long-held concern that making films is a tough, exasperating, endurance test – both for local filmmakers and for those wanting to shoot here – hangs over the industry in a similar way that it does in pretty much all countries, but perhaps (yes, perhaps) there is cause for cautious optimism with a proper studio in the pipeline and high-profile projects bound for the region.

At the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) – which celebrates its 70th birthday this summer – we have developed and fostered the notion that all aspects of the film industry are welcome, from would-be writers and burgeoning filmmakers through to seasoned professionals and those with international experience. We encourage film folk from around Scotland to come and meet fellow filmmakers from around the world; to have the chance to dance at our annual ceilidh with bemused yet enthusiastic guests; to discuss important matters of state till the early hours in the Filmhouse bar and – most importantly – to see a wide range of films old and new. This is – after all – the cultural currency we all trade in.

Nothing would make me happier than to be able to open and close with amazing new Scottish films and to punctuate the busy programme with local gems. When great films are available to us they are there, front-and-centre, and there is a real sense of pride when we get to show local stories featuring great Scottish talent; when films feature the best of the amazing Scottish locations and when local filmmakers can get the chance to engage with the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Edinburgh audiences in question and answer sessions.

For simple reasons of timing and availability, this isn't always possible. Over recent years, we have been able to feature some great local films – dramatic features, documentaries, shorts and animation – over recent years, but the very nature of film festival programming is that we are greedy. A great Scottish film industry means a great selection of varied films for us to help promote to the world … and have no doubts, the film world watches very closely what is screened at EIFF, and a festival success can lead to further exposure around film festival circuit.

It is always worth taking a breath and simply savouring some of the wonderful Scottish films. They may be hard to develop and make but they also live long in the memory and always offer a perspective of what can be made and the residual impact they can have.

From the sublime 1949 adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s Whisky Galore! and the cult chills of the 1973 pagan chiller The Wicker Man through to the whimsical delight of Bill Forsyth’s 1983 charmer Local Hero and the sheer verve that drove Danny Boyle’s 1996 classic Trainspotting, the history of Scottish cinema is punctuated with a series of film classics. And lets not forget Gregory’s Girl, The Eagle, Brave, Macbeth, Under the Skin, Braveheart and Sunshine On Leith, as well as my personal favourite, I Know Where I’m Going!

And the Scottish actors and actresses that have made an impact worldwide? Well, too many list of course … but let's just name-drop Sean Connery (once voted as "the greatest living Scot"), Tilda Swinton, Ewan McGregor, Karen Gillan, Robert Carlyle, Kate Dickie, James Cosmo, Kelly Macdonald, Brian Cox, David Tennant and James McAvoy.

This great sense of film history and abundance of talent naturally, though, leads to frustration. OK it rains now and then and the midges can be annoying, but Scotland is a country with an abundance of talent, stunning and versatile location backdrops and a vibrant sense of its own culture. From the road through Glen Etive and Glen Coe as seen in the James Bond film Skyfall or the stunning Rosslyn Chapel used in The Da Vinci Code through to the beauty of St Andrews seen at the start of Chariots Of Fire and the beaches at Morar and Arisaig as featured in Local Hero, there is no denying Scotland has locations to rival many other countries.

And while it is never simply about money, there has long been a niggling frustration that while local rivals such as Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales (not to mention heavily subsidised mainland European competitors) have mined the influx of film and television productions from around the world, Scotland has been left struggling in their wake.

In truth a sustainable and always developing and adapting film industry is all about a certain pragmatism. Trends change; technologies adapt; genres and stories vary; movie stars drop in and out of popularity and, as always, audience tastes remain unpredictable.

After Colin Welland made his famously enthusiastic and well-intentioned “the British are coming” speech at the 1982 Oscars after picking up his Academy Award for Chariots Of Fire, the local UK industry promptly virtually imploded. This was a time when UK studios and production companies were closing and when money seemed to have dried up. It took the advent of low-budget films from the likes of Channel 4 to kick-start the industry, but as always these things take time.

As has ever been the case, the film industry ebbs, flows and drops in and out of vogue depending on all sorts of issues. Exchange rates, government changes and co-production treaties all have an impact, as does star-power and enthusiasm for certain storylines. If there is a passion for castles, swords, romance and epic adventure then countries and locations that can provide the backdrops to help facilitate those projects will be in demand. But at heart this is a fickle industry … hence the underlying truth that a balanced and supportive infrastructure is the key building block from which an interlinked and established industry can be assembled.

The recent arrival of Hollywood superheroes in the form of Avengers: Infinity War brought a welcome dose of genuine excitement to Edinburgh and the local production scene, with filming happening around the city and in an empty warehouse in Leith. The guarded sense of optimism is bolstered by the announcement of the big-budget film Mary Queen Of Scots, which is set to star Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie and be directed by theatre producer Josie Rourke, and the fact Scottish director David Mackenzie is due to film the story of Robert the Bruce (possibly to be played by Chris Pine) in Netflix’s ambitious period drama Outlaw King.

There is also a batch of intriguing local films in the pipeline. Jack Lowden (who features in Christopher Nolan’s Second World War epic Dunkirk as well as starring in EIFF closing night film England Is Mine) stars in writer/director Matt Palmer’s thriller Calibre, set in an isolated Highlands village during a weekend hunting trip; John McPhail’s much-anticipated Anna And The Apocalypse promises to be a cool genre title. Meanwhile Brian Cox takes the lead role in the soon-to-be-released drama Churchill as well as playing things for laughs in The Etruscan Smile, filmed in both Scotland and San Francisco.

On the small screen, Outlander continues to provide employment for people in the industry as well as raising the country's profile. Craigh na Dun and Castle Leoch may be well come from writer Diana Gabaldon’s imagination, but the Outlander tours take folk to Glencoe, Pollock Country Park, Culross, Dysart Harbour, Callendar House, Loch Katrine, Glasgow Cathedral and Drummond Castle Gardens and other stunning locations. As the fictional power of the likes of Harry Potter, Inspector Morse and Brideshead Revisited have proven, film and television can be a wonderful boost for tourism, and the more projects that make great use of magnificent Scottish locations, the more the power of the region is culturally exported internationally.

With film and television production spend in Scotland having risen from £23 million in 2007 to an estimated £53 million in 2015 (according to Creative Scotland statistics) there is a certain cautious optimism in the industry, with the proposed £250million Pentland Studios project deemed a “game-changer”.

But if the new studio is set to give the Scottish film industry a welcome boost then it must go hand-in-hand with local filmmakers and local stories also fitting into the cultural equation. And in turn this must be complemented with marketing and promotional support to help these films reach their audiences, both domestically and internationally.

By its very nature the film industry needs to be linked-up, supportive, flexible. It relies on both governmental support and international profile, with an appreciation of the big picture and a cultural flexibility to embrace both big-budget Hollywood blockbusters and small-budget local dramas. At its core it has to develop and support local talent, always taking the long-view on how best to grow and sustain. A strategic commitment backed by state appreciation of the impact cultural exports can have is always needed, though this has to sit alongside development of both talent and storytelling.

The great thing about storytelling in film and television is that what is "good" and "bad" is always subjective. A heavily slated project might find a massive audience, and one that is a critical success might struggle to find its niche. This is where that notion of culture and commerce collide and where the word "industry" plays its part. An industry is a collection of all of the many and different aspects of the film world working in tandem and the access point (cinemas, festivals, on-line, television, home entertainment) is as important as the production process. One is nothing without the other. Types and styles of projects may vary, but the key thing is that they get made and are part of a long-term structure that is able to adapt and doesn’t exist in bubble.

Nothing is ever written in stone in the film business – empty studios in remote countries stand testimony to that – but at the same time it is a business that demands that you dream as well as crunch the numbers. Maybe that dream can come true and an integrated, promoted, and culturally supportive film industry can be fully developed.

Mark Adams is artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which opens on June 21 and runs until July 2. The Sunday Herald is the festival's media partner www.edfilmfest.org.uk