At just five-years-old, the Glasgow Film Festival is still a somewhat youthful event; not just in years but also in outlook. And while it might lack the heritage of Scotland’s other major film festival, Edinburgh, it more than makes up for this with an exciting and innovative programme of events and screenings.
Building on the city’s burgeoning music scene there’s an entire section dedicated to the crossover between cinema, music and visual art. The Music and Film strand will include local experimental rock group Union of Knives performing against a backdrop of video installations, and for one night only The Arches will be transformed into a traditional 1920s film theatre. SHHH! An Evening of (Not so) Silent Movies will see several bands (including My Latest Novel, Zoey Van Goey and Dolby Anol) presenting especially composed pieces to accompany a film of their choice.
The Shorts Film Festival will be returning for its second year with a selection of short films from artist and filmmaker Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know). There will also be an effort to reclaim Glasgow’s title of ‘Cinema City’ with a series of projections in the windows of former cinemas; harking back to a time when Glasgow had more picturehouses than any other city in Europe. And if you ever dreamed of a Lynchian inspired night of surrealism, your prayers may have been answered in the form of a specially curated club night at the legendary Optimo at the Sub Club. It will feature projections of early avant-garde shorts and a David Lynch inspired red room; a surreal clubbing experience that doesn’t come around too often.
There’s also much anticipation for the opening gala performance. Coming straight from Sundance and trailing many favourable reviews, In The Loop should give a boost to British comedy and to the start of the festival. And that’s all alongside the Audrey Hepburn retrospective, a focus on emerging films from Mexico and a celebration of Scottish filmmaking in the form of the Great Scots strand.
Youth isn’t an age, it’s a state of mind, they say, so there’s no excuse not to check out the programme at this year’s GFF.
Glasgow Film Festival: February 12-22
