There’s a scene in A History of Violence where Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) comforts his daughter in the aftershocks of a nightmare, he tells her, “There’s no such thing as monsters”. It’s a tender yet quietly unsettling moment - whilst Tom may not be lying to her, we can’t help but sense he isn’t telling her the whole truth. It perfectly foreshadows a story which seems simple, but hides a much more complicated view of humanity.

Classic noir, which thrived in the 1940s and 1950s, was born from pulp crime novels and a generally-felt suspicion and dissatisfaction with how law and order was maintained. In American noir, we see a bleak, sensual and expressionist reflection of societal upheaval that was more interested in shades of grey than crisp black-and-white. Decades on, filmmakers who came of age during noir’s heyday began to update their favourite hardboiled stories – think the psychologically and visually ambitious worlds of Thief,…

Against red, blue, purple, a piercing neon green, she wears: a gold and black panelled top, ballooned sleeves and flowing trousers; a bikini; a red jumpsuit; a feathered top; and, a black leather trouser suit, punctuated with a kick and a gunshot. ‘She’s super bad,’ repeats the sweet, climbing tenor of Willie Hutch. The opening credits of Jack Hill’s Foxy Brown (1974) announces Foxy (Pam Grier) as a true force within the numerous, shifting spaces she occupies, while declaring her…

Weekend: Sunday 28 April, 7:30pm

In this era of modern filmmaking more films are becoming more profitable than original. Perhaps this is mainly due to the progressive technological growth that is continuing to shape and develop the films we see on our screens, but nevertheless originality is something we crave when going to the cinema. As part of Glasgow Film Festival’s 20th Anniversary edition retrospective season, Young Frankenstein is a film that was beyond its years. It’s humorous, unconventional, yet full of heart.

Any cinephile worth their salt knows of Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece The Godfather (1972) and its sequel, The Godfather Part II (1974). Both are often heralded as the greatest films to be shown on the silver screen; both achieving Best Picture at their respective Academy Awards and the former earning the silver slot on the American Film Institute ranked list of greatest films. Beloved by so many, they were an easy target for Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar box office behemoth Barbie…

For almost a decade, Greta Garbo was the Queen of Hollywood. Poached from Sweden by Louis B. Mayer of MGM Studios and brought to America amid intense hype, she dominated silent cinema before successfully making the leap to talkies and becoming one of the biggest earners in the business. By 1939, however, her star-status was waning. Following a few flops, she was one of the many actors to be infamously deemed ‘box office poison’ by independent theatre owners. Legendary for…

Hollywood has always loved a star-studded literary adaptation. William Wyler’s ultra-romantic 1939 reworking of Emily Brontë’s terrifyingly powerful novel still sweeps audiences away 85 years later, remaining faithful in spirit yet smartly adapting to on-screen storytelling. 

All we can ever do in our work is write our own biography.' - Dorothy Arzner

‘Plain, decent, everyday, common rightness’, is what James Stewart’s Jefferson Smith has. ‘And this country could use some of that’. Because, if Mr Smith Goes to Washington is to be believed, by 1939 the ideal of American liberty was under attack by powerful meddlers: corrupt senators, political machines, ambulance chasing journalists. Citizens were at the mercy of those select few who had the might and influence to control elected representatives and newspapers, shaping society as they see fit while holding…

Spoiler warning: these notes are best read after viewing the film. They contain discussion of plot and character details. 

During World War One Howard Hawks served as Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps, the branch of the military responsible for communications. An incredibly dangerous job, it’s said by some, including Hawks himself, that the pilots of this division would refer to themselves as belonging to ‘The Suicide Club’. The perceived foolhardiness of those pilots who tasked themselves with the job of delivering mail in unforgiving conditions would be alluded to in the title, and form the basis of his…

Relive the GFF24 opening gala, where we welcomed friends old and new to the UK Premiere of Rose Glass' new feature, Love Lies Bleeding.

Spoiler warning: these notes are best read after viewing the film. They contain discussion of plot and character details.

Spoiler warning: these notes are best read after viewing the film. They contain discussion of plot and character details.

It's here, the full GFF24 programme!

Glasgow Film Festival returns for our 20th edition. Join us from 28 February - 10 March 2024 for premieres, Q&As, specials events, and more. Until then, take a look at our video to find out who we are and what we do.

Submissions are now open for the 20th anniversary of the Glasgow Film Festival, which runs from 28 February - 10 March 2024.

Matt Johnson (The Dirties, Nirvanna the Band the Show) sat down with us at GFF23 to talk about his life and career, as well as his new film BLACKBERRY.

We were delighted to host the UK Premiere of Carol Morley's TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING at #GFF23, and had a great chat with some of the guests on the red carpet such as director Carol Morley.

Amid China’s introduction of a new national security law that restricts certain words, images, books, slogans and songs, director San San F Young examines the internal struggle of those who choose to fight to protect the creative freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong. San San F Young joined us on the GFF23 red carpet to discuss her film; HONG KONG MIX-TAPE at GFF23. Seek this film out - it went down a storm.

Young Selectors, a panel of 18–25 year-olds with a passion for film, returned for Glasgow Film Festival 2023 in full force. Eight young people, all based in Glasgow, selected films from the festival programme to spotlight with introductions, discussions, reviews and online content. Our Young Selectors talk about their picks for GFF23 here, and their choices were stellar!

Fast-paced, funny and brimming with eye-popping Crouching Tiger-like fights, Polite Society is played to the hilt by a fantastic cast. Priya Kansara is a force of nature as Ria but may just have met her match in Nimra Bucha’s formidable matriarch, a woman who will let nothing stand in the way of her son’s nuptials. We were joined on the GFF23 red carpet by writer/ director Nida Manzoor, star Priya Kansara, producer Olivier Kaempfer, and exec producer John Pocock.

Two 20-something Londoners embrace their impulsive side and embark on a day of joyous mayhem in director Raine Allen Miller’s debut feature that is a vibrant and playful rom-com for the new generation. Director Raine Allen-Miller and cast member Vivian Oparah joined us on the GFF23 red carpet with producer Yvonne Isememe Ibazebo.

Our lovely Audience Award sponsors, Belhaven Brewery, invited us to go along for a tour of the oldest working brewery in Scotland. We were joined by The Post Performance Blues Band and Blackberry director, Matt Johnson :)

Now that GFF23 is over - lets relive it in the virtual realm! All this week we're sharing the great videos by Richie Morgan from the GFF red carpet, giving you the inside look on the fest. Check out our Youtube channel for much much more!

Emily Watson and screenwriter Shane Crowley were fantastic GFF23 guests and it was great to have them present and talk about GOD'S CREATURES.

We're so thrilled that the legendary Lee Grant(!) sent us this video to introduce the series of 5 documentaries of hers we're showing at GFF23.

There's only award that Glasgow Film Festival gives out and it is decided by the people that matter most, YOU, our wonderful audience!

The Glasgow Film Festival 2023 programme is here, and you can experience it in video form here and in Letterboxd list form here - letterboxd.com/gff/list/glasgow-film-festival-2023-programme/

The end of the year is always list central, and 2022 was a bigger list year than most. With the arrival of Sight and Sound's latest 'Greatest Films of All Time Poll' we see the shifts in the canon, and it has of course sparked lots of debate around Bests, Greatests, Favourites, and more.