The event will be opened with a screening of Scottish movie Young Adam, starring Ewan McGregor.
The line-up also features Clint Eastwood's big-name thriller Mystic River and Mike Hodges' follow-up to the acclaimed Croupier, which sit alongside Arabian melodramas and Russian love stories.
Artistic director Shane Danielsen said the fortnight of film screenings and events had been shaped by the theme of "The New Europe".
This was inspired by American Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's comments about old Europe.
More than 20 of the films being screened will raise questions about war, displacement and national identity.
Cultural event
Mr Danielson said it was important that the festival should have a purpose other than simply seek to entertain.
"This purpose should reflect the times in which we live," he said.
"A film festival, or indeed any kind of cultural event, should both foster and encourage debate."
Clint Eastwood's latest film will be screened at the event
The 57th festival will feature more than 100 film premieres between 13 and 24 August.
They will be shown in six Edinburgh cinemas, along with three Glasgow venues.
The line-up encompasses animation, documentaries, music promos, short films, experimental films, on-stage interviews and red carpet premieres.
Opening night film Young Adam is an adaptation of Alexander Trocchi's cult novel.
Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Emily Mortimer star alongside Ewan McGregor in what is described as an "elegant, strange and beguiling" study of existential discontent.
Crime thriller
Clint Eastwood's Mystic River stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon and Lawrence Fishburne.
The crime thriller is adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane.
The directors attending the festival include Mike Hodges, whose gangland thriller I'll Sleep When I'm Dead stars Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling.
Irish director Jim Sheridan, the man behind My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father, brings his semi-autobiographical tale In America to the festival and will meet audiences as part of the festival's Reel Life section.
The line-up also features Clint Eastwood's big-name thriller Mystic River and Mike Hodges' follow-up to the acclaimed Croupier, which sit alongside Arabian melodramas and Russian love stories.
Artistic director Shane Danielsen said the fortnight of film screenings and events had been shaped by the theme of "The New Europe".
This was inspired by American Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's comments about old Europe.
More than 20 of the films being screened will raise questions about war, displacement and national identity.
Cultural event
Mr Danielson said it was important that the festival should have a purpose other than simply seek to entertain.
"This purpose should reflect the times in which we live," he said.
"A film festival, or indeed any kind of cultural event, should both foster and encourage debate."
Clint Eastwood's latest film will be screened at the event
The 57th festival will feature more than 100 film premieres between 13 and 24 August.
They will be shown in six Edinburgh cinemas, along with three Glasgow venues.
The line-up encompasses animation, documentaries, music promos, short films, experimental films, on-stage interviews and red carpet premieres.
Opening night film Young Adam is an adaptation of Alexander Trocchi's cult novel.
Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Emily Mortimer star alongside Ewan McGregor in what is described as an "elegant, strange and beguiling" study of existential discontent.
Crime thriller
Clint Eastwood's Mystic River stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon and Lawrence Fishburne.
The crime thriller is adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane.
The directors attending the festival include Mike Hodges, whose gangland thriller I'll Sleep When I'm Dead stars Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling.
Irish director Jim Sheridan, the man behind My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father, brings his semi-autobiographical tale In America to the festival and will meet audiences as part of the festival's Reel Life section.