The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest open-access arts festival, held annually in Edinburgh, Scotland, primarily throughout August. It encompasses a vast array of artistic disciplines, including theatre, comedy, dance, music, and spoken word, with performances taking place across hundreds of venues throughout the city. While not exclusively a film festival, it serves as a significant platform for various art forms and hosts film-related events and showcases, such as the Nightpiece Film Festival, which operates as part of the Fringe program. The Fringe originated in 1947 when eight theatre groups performed outside the official Edinburgh International Festival, leading to the formation of the Festival Fringe Society in 1958.