The Edinburgh International Film Festival begins tonight in the Scottish city and runs until 29th June, and promises to present an exciting selection of films from the world over to real live audiences who'll have a chance to get a first look at some of this year's best upcoming releases.

And this year, Rotten Tomatoes will be right there, supporting the festival as an official media partner and presenting the first Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award to one of a shortlist of five films in the Directors' Showcase category.

The Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award joins our Golden Tomato and Certified Fresh trophies as a symbol of quality and a commitment to promote emerging as well as established talent within the film industry. In the spirit of the festival, our chosen shortlist is as eclectic as it is intriguing and represents work from all around the globe.

The five films will be viewed by a panel of leading film critics comprised of Wendy Ide of The Times, freelancer Anna Smith, IGN's Chris Tilly, Time Out's Dave Calhoun, David Edwards of The Daily Mirror and Charles Gant of Heat. They will be joined by Rotten Tomatoes' UK editor Joe Utichi and will provide their ratings for each of the five films. The highest scoring entry will be declared the winner at a lavish awards bash in Edinburgh on 26th June.

The films competing for the first Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus award will be:

The Kreutzer Sonata ,starring Danny and Anjelica Huston and based on Tolstoy.
Red, a smalltown thriller with Brian Cox and Tom Sizemore.
The Visitor, powerful human drama from the director of The Station Agent.
Let the Right One In, a vampire tale with a difference from Sweden.
Summer Hours from director Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche.

All five of the films will screen to the public ahead of the awards ceremony and you can find out more information about the films, including booking details, at the official festival website.

Stay tuned to RT for more news from the festival and the announcement of the winner of the Critical Consensus Award on Thursday 26th June.