Glasgow Film Festival

2025 films...

All the LGBT films are here - unusually, slim pickings!

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Opening Gala:

Tornado (2025)

Tim Roth and Jack Lowden star in this survival thriller set in the 1700s as a

young woman finds herself caught in a dangerous situation when she

crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals.

Against the backdrop of 1790s Britain, a young Japanese woman, Tornado,

travels the country with her father's travelling Samurai puppet show. Seeing

an opportunity to carve out a new life for her family, Tornado makes the

decision to steal gold from a local gang led by Sugarman (Roth) and his son,

Little Sugar (Lowden). What follows is a thrilling, adrenaline-fuelled tale as

Tornado races against time to escape a violent demise. Director John

Maclean (Slow West) returns with his 2nd feature film that respectfully pays

homage to classic Japanese samurai films as well as providing a fresh

reinvention of the genre. 

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Closing Gala:

Make It To Munich

(2024)

This inspiring documentary follows 18-year-old Ethan Walker, who just

months after nearly losing his life in an accident, embarks on a 1200km

charity cycle ride to Munich for Scotland’s Euros opening game against

Germany.

“I want to inspire others to just do it instead of hesitating and wondering

about what will happen,” says 18-year-old Ethan Walker in this

heartwarming documentary. The teenager was badly hurt when he was hit

by a car shortly after starting a football scholarship in the US. Despite his life-

threatening injuries, just months later, Ethan, accompanied by a posse

including his knee surgeon Gordon MacKay, embarks on a 1200km charity

cycle ride. Martyn Robertson’s film follows them as they aim to take the

Scotland squad's pennant from Hampden to Munich for their opening

European Championships match against Germany. Inspirational indeed. 

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A Mother's Embrace

(2024)

In a rescue mission gone wrong, Cristian Ponce’s second feature follows

a young firefighter’s attempts to save the elderly residents of a local

nursing home, with more than just the perilous storm outside to

contend with.

In 1996, young firefighter Ana (Marjorie Estiano) and her team are

called to an old people’s home at risk of flooding during the worst

storms to ever hit Rio de Janeiro. As they try to evacuate the elderly,

Ana soon finds that something sinister is lurking beneath the surface,

and the residents are not as innocent as they first seemed. The home

has been built on the grounds of an ancient temple, the site of a

timeless rite to an infernal god, and entangled in their insidious web,

she must face her own traumatic childhood complete with a maternal

monster.

 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

(1945)

Elia Kazan’s heartwarming debut feature is a classic adaptation charting

the turbulent life of an impoverished but resilient family living in a

Brooklyn tenement from the viewpoint of teenager Francie.

Elia Kazan’s heartwarming and humanistic debut feature centres on

teenager Francie (Peggy Ann Garner) growing up with her impoverished

family in the early 1900s. Francie dreams of a better life and adores her

charming father (James Dunn) who is struggling with alchoholism, while

her mother Katie (Dorothy McGuire) strives to put food on the table.

Known for eliciting top performances (A Streetcar Named Desire and On

The Waterfront), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn went on to win two acting

Oscars® for Garner and Dunn. An enduring classic.

 

The American Backyard

(2024)

Cult horror director Pupi Avati’s true crime adaptation is set during the

Italian 1945 Liberation, following a troubled young man and the focus of

his unreciprocated affections.

Pupi Avati, director of the cult shockers The House with Laughing

Windows, Zeder and The Arcane Enchanter, returns to his gothic thriller

roots with a tale of absolute fear. Based on Avati’s 2023 novel and

informed by the infamous true crimes of The Monster of Florence, it

sees a troubled young man fall in love with an American army nurse

during the Italian 1945 Liberation. Moving to America, he finds himself

living next door to the object of his unrequited affections – only she has

completely vanished. So begins an incredibly tense investigation into

the most terrifying situations surrounding her disappearance.

 

Andrea Gets a Divorce

(2024)

Tragicomic shenanigans ensue when a police woman, who is yearning

for promotion, finds herself faced with a moral quandary after she

accidentally kills her drunk husband in a hit-and-run.

Countryside cop Andrea (Birgit Minichmayr) thinks her life’s on the up,

with a prospect of promotion to a bigger town where she can leave her

old life and failed marriage behind her. But her future is thrown into

jeopardy when she accidentally runs over her soon-to-be-ex, Andy

(Thomas Stipsits), and flees the scene. After a local recovering alcoholic

(played by writer/director Josef Hader) confesses to the crime, Andrea

finds herself in an increasing moral quandary about the consequences.

Hader highlights the absurdities of rural life while offering a character

study that generates laughs as well as moving moments. A tragicomic

tour-de-force.

 

Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024)

More martial arts action and comedy mayhem with the kick-ass

assassins who would rather kick back and relax. After their holiday is cut

short, the pair find themselves hunting an infamous hitman.

Kick-ass buddies Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa) are

back and in top form in the third instalment of Yugo Sakamoto's martial

arts franchise. The pair of loveable killers have turned their latest hit job

into a holiday, but their enjoyment is cut short when they find

themselves facing off against a deadly freelance assassin (Sôsuke

Ikematsu). Forced to team up with older killers Riku (Mondo Otani) and

Iruka (Atsuko Maeda), a stickler for the rules, the foursome go on the

hunt.

 

Blackmailed

(1951)

Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde prove a formidable pairing in Marc

Allégret’s thriller about a group who agree to keep quiet after they

witness the murder of a blackmailer.

Mai Zetterling and Dirk Bogarde head a formidable ensemble cast

including Robert Flemyng, James Robertson Justice, Wilfrid Hyde-

White, Michel Gough, and Fay Compton in French director Marc

Allégret’s nimble thriller. A morally complex delight in which hospital

volunteer (Compton) accidentally kills blackmailer Mr Sine (Robertson

Justice), a group of witnesses - including Zetterling’s Carol Edwards, one

of Sine's victims - agree to keep quiet about it. Once the police begin an

investigation, however, it seems there will be consequences for those

holding their tongues.

 

Bob Trevino Likes It

(2024)

Inspired by the director’s own life, this heartwarming dramedy sees two

lonely strangers forge a friendship that offers them both a chance to

heal after unexpectedly connecting through Facebook.

Authentic emotion ripples through Tracie Laymon’s debut feature,

inspired by real events in her own life. Lily (Barbie Ferreira), who was

abandoned by her mother as a child, struggles to cope when her

narcissistic dad Bob (French Stewart) also rejects her. When Lily tries to

reconnect with him over Facebook, she sends a friend request to a man

who turns out to be a warm-hearted stranger with the same name

(John Leguizamo), who is also in need of friendship. Ferreira and

Leguizamo have a cosy chemistry that underpins Laymon’s

heartwarming exploration of the healing power of friendship.

 

Boys Go To Jupiter

(2024)

Distinctive and surreal coming-of-age animation tracks the attempts of

a high-school drop-out to make a quick buck as a gig economy delivery

guy and his encounter with a space alien.

Animation fans looking for distinctive voices won’t want to miss Julian

Glander’s stylish feature debut, which brings the life of Billy 5000 (Jack

Corbett) and his friends to colourful life. Teenager Billy may be a high

school drop-out but he’s also a maths whizz - and he’s found a glitch in

the payment app he uses in his food delivery job that could help him get

rich quick. Glander follows his offbeat hero’s adventures after he

encounters a curious - and seriously cute - space alien and locks horns

with an orange juice firm’s megalomaniac owner (Janeane Garofalo). A

wonderfully weird charmer.

 

Boyz N the Hood

(1991)

John Singleton’s Oscar-nominated debut, starring Cuba Gooding Jr and

Ice Cube, is a gritty consideration of life, and the risk of death, for Black

teenagers on the rocky road to manhood in LA.

At just 24, John Singleton became the youngest director to be

nominated for an Oscar for his gritty coming-of-age story centring on a

group of friends in South Central, Los Angeles – a film whose plea to

'increase the peace' remains compelling and relevant more than 30

years on. After Tre (played as a teen by Cuba Gooding Jr) is sent to live

with his dad (Laurence Fishburne) in LA’s South Central, he forges

friendships with Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut). As

the kids hit their late teens, the random violence in the neighbourhood

threatens the young men’s future.

 

Brief History of a Family (2024)

In post one-child policy China, parents who have doted on their only son

form a bond with the youngster’s new friend - but all might not be as it

first appears.

Jianjie Lin’s slippery psychological drama embeds us within a middle-

class Chinese family in the aftermath of the one-child policy. As an only

child, Wei (Lin Muran) has been the sole focus of his parents (Zu Feng

and Guo Ke-Yu), even though he feels disconnected from them. When a

school incident sees him bring the very different Shuo (Sun Xilun) home

with him things begin to shift as Wei’s parents take a shine to the

teenager - but are his motivations benign? Lin’s formally bracing debut

explores the anxieties of modern China with a chilly precision that

recalls the work of Michael Haneke.

 

By The Throat

(2025)

Grieving the tragic loss of their only child, the residents of a remote

country home are joined by a new housekeeper, Lizzy, who finds herself

embroiled in their devious plans.

Trying to get over a deeply distressing attack that ended in a fatality,

Lizzy Roberts (Patricia Allison) agrees to act as a carer-come-

housekeeper for Amy and Alex Cummings (Jeany Spark and Rupert

Young) at their remote country home. But with Alex away on a business

trip, and Amy still clearly traumatised by the accidental death of their

only child, Lizzy finds her new job not quite as straightforward as she’d

hoped. Yet Amy seems to be improving under Lizzy’s watchful eye and

normality seems to be coming back to the Cummings household. Until

Lizzy starts having nightmares and hallucinations and finds that

normality being twisted by evil outside forces.

 

Coyote Ugly

(2000)

Celebrate 25 years of the most raucous bar in town, as we bring you

Glasgow’s very own Coyote Ugly experience!

Violet Sanford is a small town girl trying to make it in the Big Apple, who

lands a job at the infamous Coyote Ugly nightclub to earn her keep.

With the help of the Coyotes, Violet’s life is turned upside down by

booze, boys, and bar-top dance numbers, as she chases her dreams of

becoming a songwriter in the ‘big bad city’. Don your tiniest t-shirt and

your shiniest cowboy boots for an evening of all-singing, all-dancing

entertainment at Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry, as we say ‘hell no H20!’ in

honour of a true noughties classic.

 

The Craft

(1996)

Have you ever heard of invoking the spirit? Join us at Cottiers and

unleash your inner witch with a very special screening of Andrew

Fleming’s feminist horror classic.

When troubled new girl Sarah Bailey befriends a group of local teenage

witches, the power of their dark magic quickly gets out of hand, bending

heaven and hell in the process. Gather your coven, crystals, and pagan

deities, as Glasgow Film Festival embraces the supernatural for an

evening of all things occult. '90s grunge attire encouraged.

 

Crickets, It's Your Turn (2024)

When introverted Merey accepts an invitation to a party from the

likeable Nurlan, she has no idea that the toxic masculinity she

encounters there will lead to trouble.

When the 25-year-old photographer Merey (Inzhu Abeu) meets the

likeable Nurlan (Ayan Batyrbek) and he invites her to a birthday party

up in the Kazakhstan mountains with his friends, it sounds as though it

will be fun - but the reality is anything but. On arrival, it turns out she is

the only woman there apart from a group of sex workers, marking the

start of a dangerous night. Filmmaker Olga Korotko draws us into the

psyche of Merey while slowly turning the screw of her cat-and-mouse

revenge thriller, laced with dark humour, which dissects toxic

masculinity, male competitiveness and compliance.

 

Daniela Forever

(2024)

After a grieving man is offered a trial drug that will let him encounter his

lost love through lucid dreaming, his attempts to live out his fantasies

have unexpected consequences.

Nicolas (Henry Golding) is reeling from grief after the death of his

girlfriend Daniela (Beatrice Grannò). When a friend tells him about a

drug trial that will let him interact with Daniela through lucid dreaming,

he jumps at the chance - but his dream world experiences start to be

more vivid than the waking ones, and begin to have unexpected

consequences. Nacho Vigalondo has proved himself a master of high-

concept sci-fi with the likes of Timecrimes and Colossal, and he repeats

the feat here, drolly exploring questions of control and acceptance

while suggesting we should be careful what we wish for.

 

Desire: The Carl Craig Story

(2024)

Detroit techno legend Carl Craig offers insights into his life and the

development of his unique style in this pacy portrait that features

contributions from Gilles Peterson, Laurent Garnier and others.

Producer Carl Craig has been a trailblazer in the world of electronic

music for years, expanding Detroit techno via influences that range

from jazz and Gary Numan through to films including Shaft and Blade

Runner. In Jean-Cosme Delaloye’s pacy and personal documentary, Carl

talks about his youth in Detroit and the inspiration he drew from the

city, while revealing his musical journey and how his passion for

discovery has grown down the years. This informative portrait includes

insights from Carl’s family and contributions from other key names in

the business, including Laurent Garnier, DJ Minx, Moodymann and

Gilles Peterson.

 

Dogtooth - 4K

(2009)

The disturbing and provocative pitch black satire about a family whose

three children have been raised in isolation from the world which put

Yorgos Lanthimos’ name on the international map.

A chance to see the restored 4k version of the disturbing and

provocative pitch black satire that put Yorgos Lanthimos’ name on the

map after it won the Un Certain Regard Prize in Cannes. Two sisters and

their brother (Angeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Christos Passalis) have

been raised in complete isolation from the world by their parents

(Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley), who have taught them that

cats are deadly monsters, planes are toys and Frank Sinatra is their

grandfather. But when one of the daughters makes an unexpected and

unsettling trade, the parents’ perfectly constructed world begins to

crack.

 

The Doom Busters

(2025)

A war-time sci-fi adventure that sees the inhabitants of a sleepy English

village fighting aliens from another world, against a backdrop of the

Second World War.

1940. War rages across Europe. Britain prepares for the coming

invasion. But for Arthur Roundtree (Tom Bailey), a young man serving in

the Home Guard, the war is a dull affair. He dreams of action and

adventure, but due to a medical condition he remains stuck in a small,

sleepy English village miles away from the war. However, when an

extraterrestrial creature crashes on the outskirts of the village, a

training exercise suddenly turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Arthur and his companions realise they are not only fighting for their

lives but fighting to save the entire Galaxy!

 

Dreams

(2024)

Part of Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy of stand-alone films about love

and desire, Dreams focuses on the sexual awakening of a teenager who

writes about her crush on her French teacher.

Part of Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy of stand-alone films about love and

desire - including Love, also showing at this year’s GFF - Dreams focuses

on the sexual awakening of a teenager. When French teacher Johanna

(Selome Emnetu) arrives at her school, Johanne (Ella Øverbye) falls

head over heels. She commits her experiences to paper but, when her

poet grandmother Karin (Anne Marit Jacobsen) and mother Kristin (Ane

Dahl Torp) read it, they are torn. Johanne's intimate reflections on love

are well written - but what really went on between the teen and

Johanna? Haugerud again shows a sharp eye for the complexities of

modern relationships and inter-generational communication.

 

Dying

(2024)

Winner of a Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival, this character-driven

drama, centred on the problems faced by a conductor, tackles weighty

themes of life and death with an engagingly light touch.

Matthias Glasner tackles weighty themes of life and death with an

engagingly light touch in this enjoyably complex character-driven

drama. Orchestra conductor Tom Lunies (Lars Eidinger) has a lot on his

plate. His messy family life includes ageing and increasingly infirm

parents (Corinna Harfouch and Hans-Uwe Bauer), an alcoholic sister

(Lilith Stangenberg) and playing the role of surrogate father to the

daughter of his ex-girlfriend (Anna Bederke). As he works on a

composition with his depressive best friend (Robert Gwisdek), things

begin to come to a head. Terrific performances from the ensemble cast

anchor this thought-provoking examination of modern life.

 

Ebony and Ivory

(2024)

A cinematic document of the first meeting between Paul McCartney

and Stevie Wonder at a Mull of Kintyre farmhouse ahead of their

potential collaboration on what may in fact become a global chart-

topping plea for racial harmony.

It topped the charts and earned itself a ban in Apartheid South Africa.

The origin of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s hit duet about racial

harmony is forensically examined by writer/director Jim Hosking (The

Greasy Strangler, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn). His cinematic

document details the first meeting between Paul (Sky Elobar) and

Stevie (Gil Gex) at the ex-Beatles’ Mull of Kintyre farmhouse. Stevie

arrives by rowing boat. From there the pair smoke “doobie woobies”

and devour the entire range of vegetarian ready meals created “By The

Wife” while talking up a storm about the local sheep and what it truly

takes to be a musical legend. An oddball cult classic in waiting.

 

Electric Child

(2024)

High tech thriller sees an artificial intelligence experiment offer hope for

a computer programming genius who has been told there is no cure for

his sick newborn baby - but his desperation could prove dangerous.

With artificial intelligence increasingly creeping into more aspects of our

lives, this slick and timely thriller from Simon Jaquemet considers the

potential consequences. Computer programming whizz Sonny (Elliott

Crosset Hove) and his wife Akiko (Rila Fukushima) are thrilled to

welcome their first son Toru. But their happiness proves short-lived

when doctors tell them the baby is terminally ill. Hoping for a cure,

Sonny decides to harness the intelligence of an AI project he is working

on - featuring a child in a survivalist environment - to help. As Sonny’s

desperation mounts, the bargain he is trying to strike could prove a

dangerous game.

 

The End (2024)

An all-star cast, including Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, and George

MacKay, shines in this post-apocalyptic musical about a family whose

life in a palatial bunker is upended by a new arrival.

Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning Joshua Oppenheimer made his

name as a documentarian with The Act of Killing, which explored the

shocking extent of human denial to justify committing atrocities. In his

ambitious and stirring post-apocalyptic musical, he tackles similarly

dystopian themes. In the near future, a mother and father (Tilda

Swinton and Michael Shannon) have taken refuge in a palatial bunker,

safe from the broken world they helped devastate. Their son (George

MacKay) has never known any other life, so when a young woman

(Moses Ingram) unexpectedly arrives, she causes him to question

everything he knows, threatening the fragile harmony of their family.

 

The Extraordinary Miss Flower

(2024)

A treasure trove of love letters provides the jumping off point for this

vibrant and experimental exploration of a life, featuring music by

Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini.

A treasure trove of secret love letters provides the inspiration for this

stylish and experimental celebration of a life. Geraldine Flower’s

correspondence was discovered by her family after her death and

revealed a wealth of suitors and friends from around the globe, not to

mention potential espionage. Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana

Torrini drew on the correspondence for an album, which threads

through this evocative and enigmatic film as Geraldine (Caroline Catz)

looks back at her life and loves. The supporting cast includes Nick Cave -

who previously worked with directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard on

20,000 Days on Earth - and Richard Ayoade.

 

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

(1982)

Featuring early performances from Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer

Jason Leigh, Forest Whitaker and Judge Reinhold, Amy Heckerling’s

fast-paced high school coming-of-age comedy is in a class of its own.

Enjoy a nostalgic reunion with Amy Heckerling’s debut. A whip smart

high school comedy that offers a fun but frank view of the aspirations

and attempts at romance of a group of teenagers at the start of the

1980s. Featuring early performances from Jennifer Jason Leigh and

Phoebe Cates as pals navigating life and love, it joins the cohort of

teenage classics, including American Graffiti and Grease. The supporting

cast includes Forest Whitaker and Judge Reinhold as well as a

memorable turn from Sean Penn as a permanently stoned surfer. Fast

paced and very funny, it remains in a class of its own.

 

Fear

(2025)

A family are pushed to the limit in this Glasgow-set three-part

psychological thriller starring Martin Compston, alongside his Vigil co-

star Anjli Mohindra, as a family man whose idyllic new life turns sour.

Vigil stars Martin Compston and Anjli Mohindra reteam for this tense

three-part psychological thriller. They play husband and wife Martyn

and Rebecca, who are looking forward to a fresh start in Glasgow after

moving up from London with their two young children. At first life

seems perfect but unnerving comments from their new neighbour Jan

(Solly McLeod) turn out to be the start of something much more

sinister. As accusations start to fly and the authorities turn a deaf ear, it

seems the pair have nobody to turn to. The strong supporting cast

includes Scottish favourites James Cosmo and Maureen Beattie.

 

Four Mothers

(2024)

James McArdle stars in this comedy charmer as a Young Adult novelist

and carer who finds his hands full when three mates ditch their mums

with him for the weekend.

Young adult novelist Edward (Glasgow-born star James McArdle) is also

a carer for his non-verbal mum Alma (Fionnula Flanagan), who gives

him orders via an iPad. If juggling life with her and an impending book

tour wasn’t enough, his three friends see an opportunity to ditch their

own ageing mums with him as they head for a gay Pride weekend. Soon

the demanding Jean (Dearbhla Molloy), Rosie (Paddy Glynn) and

Maude (Stella McCusker) are making their presence felt. Darren

Thornton spins this scenario - loosely adapted from Italian hit Mid-

August Lunch - into a heartwarming comedy charmer about caring for

others and yourself.

 

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FrightFest Short Film Showcase

For the first time in Glasgow, FrightFest presents its renowned SHORT

FILM SHOWCASE, strand, which shines the spotlight on home-grown

talent, unleashing the creative imaginations of seven up-and-coming

directors from the UK and Ireland, including two from Scotland. All the

directors and various cast will be at the event to introduce their films.

Films in running order:

Canary Bones (Scottish Premiere)

Mulch (World Premiere)

The Pearl Comb (World Premiere)

By the Light of the Fire (World Premiere)

Conveyance (International Premiere)

The Birdwatcher (World Premiere)

Pumpkin Guts (Scottish Premiere)

 

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From Hilde, With Love

(2024)

A polished biopic of Hilde Coppi, a German resistance fighter with the

Red Orchestra anti-fascist group, whose resilience is tested to the limit

when she is arrested in 1942 while pregnant.

Andreas Dresen’s polished and evocative period drama, set in 1942,

tells the true story of one woman’s resilience in the face of the Nazi

regime. Hilde Coppi (Liv Lisa Fries) was a German resistance fighter with

the Red Orchestra anti-fascist group. After falling in love with her

comrade Hans (Johannes Hegemann), Hilde becomes pregnant. But as

the birth of her son approaches, she is arrested and imprisoned by the

Gestapo, pushing her inner strength and resilience to their absolute

limits. Dresen employs a non-linear narrative to craft a detailed and

emotionally resonant film anchored by a powerhouse performance

from Fries.

 

Gazer

(2024)

Nerve-jangling indie thriller sees a woman, who suffers from a

degenerative disorder that means she loses track of time, become

mixed up in a dangerous mystery that could prove deadly.

Frankie (Ariella Mastroianni, who co-writes) suffers from a

degenerative brain disorder that means she loses track of time.

Desperate to be reunited with her young daughter, she agrees to take

on a high-risk job for a woman she meets at a support group. When

things don’t go to plan, Frankie finds herself sucked into a web of deceit

that could prove deadly. Ryan J Sloan’s nerve-jangling neo-noir thriller

is a moody and twisty stylish treat that lovers of the likes of Christopher

Nolan’s Memento won’t want to miss.

 

Ghost Killer

(2024)

MMartial arts action is given a comedic kick in this stylish story of a fed-up

young woman (Baby Assassins’ Akari Takaishi) who strikes a revenge

pact with a hitman’s ghost.

Fed-up Fumika (Akari Takaishi, who also stars in GFF’s equally fun Baby

Assassins: Nice Days) is grappling with life’s usual problems when she

comes across a bullet casing on the street. Not realising it was used to

kill hitman Hideo (Masanori Mimoto), she takes it home and finds

herself haunted by his ghost, who can possess her... if she lets him.

After he helps her, Fumika enters into a pact to help him get vengeance

- and mete out justice. Takaishi excels in what is effectively a dual role,

as director Kensuke Sonomura effortlessly blends fluid martial arts with

strong characterisation and humour.

 

Ghostlight

(2024)

When a construction worker happens upon an amateur theatre group,

it offers him an outlet for his bottled up emotions as he and his family

try to cope with grief.

Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson (Saint Frances) handle complex

emotions with a light touch in this moving tale of a family struggling to

heal. Dan (Keith Kupferer) has a short fuse, bottling up his feelings for

gradually revealed reasons. When he stumbles on a theatre group’s

rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet, it offers him an outlet, although he

keeps his hobby secret from his wife Sharon and feisty daughter Daisy

(Kupferer’s real-life spouse and child Tara Mallen and Katherine Mallen

Kupferer). Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness) provides notable support

as a veteran actor finally getting the chance to play Juliet.

 

Gina

(2024)

 Sensitive and well observed drama offers a child’s eye view of life with a

pregnant and single mum of three who is struggling with addiction

while trying to make ends meet.

Ulrike Kofler offers a child’s eye view of the world in her sensitive and

well observed family drama. Little Gina (Emma Lotta Simmer, making a

magnetic debut) is only nine but has been forced to grow up fast

because of the chaotic attitude of her alcoholic mother (Marie-Luise

Stockinger). Gina takes care of her two siblings as she tries to navigate

the unpredictability of a home that often has no food on the table.

Kofler gives a clear-sighted view of the impact of a dysfunctional

lifestyle that has been passed down from mother to daughter while also

suggesting change is possible.

 

The Girls

(1968)

Mai Zetterling’s trailblazing feminist consideration of gender, marriage

and motherhood playfully intertwines a women’s tour of Aristophanes'

Greek comedy Lysistrata with the reality of the cast's off-stage lives and

their fantasies.

Mai Zetterling’s fiercely feminist consideration of gender, marriage and

motherhood playfully intertwines a tour of Aristophanes’ Greek comedy

Lysistrata by three women (Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, and

Gunnel Lindblom) with the reality of their off-stage lives and fantasies.

Themes of the play echo through the lives of its stars, while the inner

thoughts of some of their audience are also revealed. Slated by critics

and spurned by audiences on its release, her sharply satirical look at the

tough road to equality is now viewed as one of her best works and a

trailblazer in terms of the women’s movement.

Gloria! A mute maid at an institute for orphaned girls discovers a talent for the

piano, inspiring others to embrace their own gifts in this costume drama

with a contemporary twist.

Italian actress and singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario celebrates

women’s voices erased from history in her heartwarming directorial

debut. Set in the 1800s at a musical institute for orphaned girls near

Venice, preparations are underway to welcome the Pope. When Teresa

(Galatea Bellugi), a seemingly mute maid, stumbles upon a piano in a

storeroom, she uncovers her hidden talent. Her music sparks a

revolution among the other girls, inspiring them to let their voices be

heard. This costume drama with contemporary flair is sure to sweep

you up in its joyful celebration of music and rebellion.

 

Gregory’s Girl

(1980)

Bill Forsyth’s classic about a teenager (John Gordon Sinclair) who falls

for the star player of the school football team (Dee Hepburn) is still top

of the crowd-pleasing league more than 40 years on.

If there was a league for coming-of-age crowd-pleasers, Bill Forsyth’s

Cumbernauld-set classic would surely take top spot. He perfectly

articulates the awkwardness and sweetness of teenagehood, with a cast

of newcomers who the nation took to its heart. Gregory (John Gordon

Sinclair) falls head-over-heels for Dorothy, the new star player of the

school football team (Dee Hepburn), even though she’s led to his

demotion to goalie. Clare Grogan, meanwhile, shines as girl next-door

charmer Susan. With its no-nonsense portrayal of growing pains, from

lust to puppy love, Gregory’s Girl remains hilarious, heartfelt and

sharply observant more than 40 years on.

 

Harvest

(2024)

Caleb Landry Jones (Nitram, Get Out) stars in Athina Rachel Tsangari’s

atmospheric, folk horror-inflected adaptation of Jim Crace’s novel about

a rural Scottish village on the brink of irrevocable change.

Adapted from the novel by Jim Crace and told from the perspective of

Walter (Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram), the manservant to local landowner

Master Kent (Harry Melling), life in a late Middle Ages village is

disrupted by a series of unexpected incomers. In her first English-

language feature, director Athina Rachel Tsangari (Attenberg, Chevalier)

suggests that the threats to the villagers’ way of life come not only from

outside their boundaries but also from within, where xenophobia

reigns. Her atmospheric cautionary tale about the dawning of modern

capitalism is a folk horror-inflected triumph of worldbuilding, exploring

a community on the brink of irrevocable change.

 

Hearts of Darkness: The Making of Final Friday (2025)

An in-depth look into the making of slasher horror sequel Jason Goes to

Hell: The Final Friday; the controversial ninth episode in the Friday the

13th franchise.

In 1993, Jason Voorhees went to hell in what is one of the most

polarising instalments in the entire Friday the 13th franchise. In this

probing documentary, director Adam Marcus (Secret Santa) takes you

behind the scenes for a never-seen-before look at the controversial

ninth episode in the iconic series. Insightful interviews with the cast and

crew explores the unique landscape of pressures; studio scrutiny

surrounding the franchise at the time; and the hopping from Paramount

Pictures over to New Line Cinema that paved the way for the eventual

Freddy Vs. Jason crossover.

 

Hidden

(2005)

A married couple’s comfortable lifestyle begins to implode after they

start to receive surveillance tapes of their home in Michael Haneke’s

gripping psychological thriller, starring Juliette Binoche and Daniel

Auteuil.

Four years after The Piano Teacher won a trio of prizes in Cannes,

Michael Haneke’s disturbing psychological thriller opened the festival -

and took home another three awards, including Best Director. Anne and

Georges (Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil) enjoy a bourgeois lifestyle

with their son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky) until their comfort is

shattered by the arrival of a videotaped surveillance recording of their

own house. Others follow after, some accompanied by childish but no

less unsettling drawings. Initially baffled by the arrivals, soon the

tension between the pair grows as questions of festering guilt begin to

take hold. A grippingly tense triumph.

 

Hill

(2024)

A Formula One documentary exploring the impact of champion Graham

Hill's death in a plane crash on his 15-year-old son Damon and how it

shaped Damon’s future career.

One Name. Two World Champions. In 1996, Damon Hill claimed the

Formula 1 World Championship. In doing so he cemented his place in

motorsport history, following in the footsteps of his legendary father,

Graham Hill. This is a unique family story set against the backdrop of the

fastest sport in the world. How Damon Hill defied the odds and

overcame tragedy to step out of his father’s shadow and become a

racing legend in his own right. Hill is directed by BAFTA-nominated

filmmaker Alex Holmes (Maiden, The Rig) and produced by Simon

Lazenby, Victoria Barrell of Sylver Entertainment (McEnroe, Schmeichel)

and Cora Palfrey and Luc Roeg of Independent Entertainment (Lewis

Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, My Policeman).

 

Homegrown

(2024)

An engrossing and troubling dive into the lives of three Donald Trump

supporting patriots in the run-up to the 2020 election and its aftermath,

which led to the US Capitol attack.

As Donald Trump settles back into the White House, this engrossing and

troubling documentary turns the clock back to the run-up to the 2020

election and the explosive attack on the US Capitol in its aftermath.

Michael Premo follows three Trump supporting self-described patriots -

a New Jersey dad-to-be, a Texan Proud Boys activist who is trying to

build bridges with the Black Lives Matter Movement and an Air Force

veteran in New York - as they rally ahead of the vote. Premo captures

the inherent contradictions between what the men say and what they

do, plus visceral footage from the insurrection itself.

 

House of Ashes

(2024)

Socio-political feminist thriller documenting the home-arrest of a

grieving widow, which pits reality against the supernatural and

perceptions of insanity.

Imagine being jailed for a common occurrence beyond your control,

something that your body decides for you? In the USA, this could

happen to you if you have a uterus, depending on where you live. The

terrifying rise of the treatment of women is the socio-political backdrop

for this cautionary tale where Mia is under house arrest but must also

contend with the suspicious death of her husband. Mia experiences

strange phenomena that could be man made or supernatural. Or both?

One thing is quite clear - Mia is in danger and cannot leave her home.

 

I Do Not Come To You By Chance

(2024)

Kingsley has the smarts but no prospects for a job after university.

Burdened with family responsibilities, he turns to his charismatic uncle,

who lures him into a web of deceit – a decision that will change the

course of his life.

Based on Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's best seller I Do Not Come to You by

Chance, the film tells the story of Kingsley (Paul Nnadiekwe), a first-

born son, who struggles to provide for his beloved family when his ailing

father's income dwindles. Possessed of a fine mind but poorly

connected in the Nigerian job market, Kingsley takes a job working for

his notorious uncle, Cash Daddy (a magnetic Blossom Chukwujekwu),

the larger-than-life mastermind of a thousand email scams. As Kingsley

falls reluctantly under his mentor's spell, he discovers his own innate

flair for the art of the confidence trick.

 

In Our Blood

(2024)

In this chilling psychological horror, a filmmaking duo documents the

director's attempt to reunite with her estranged mother, who

mysteriously goes missing during the shoot.

Nothing is as it seems when filmmaker Emily Wyland teams up with

cinematographer Danny to shoot an intimate documentary about

reuniting with Emily’s estranged mother. When her mother suddenly

goes missing, possibly succumbing to the addictions that first tore her

family apart, the duo must piece together increasingly sinister clues to

find her before it’s too late. Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker

Pedro Kos’ feature debut masterfully blends psychological mystery with

chilling horror, weaving a twisted tale about reconciling with the ghosts

of our past and confronting our shared complicity.

 

In Vitro

(2024)

Edge-of-your-seat thriller set on an isolated Australian cattle farm in a

near future, where a husband and wife’s hi-tech struggle to stay afloat

financially takes a sinister turn.

The climate crisis has taken its toll on the isolated Australian farm run

by Layla (Talia Zucker) and her husband Jack (Ashley Zukerman) in the

near-future. They have adopted a hi-tech approach to breeding cattle in

a bid to stay afloat, but sick animals and stress, coupled with the

absence of their son, who is away at boarding school, increasingly put

their marriage under strain. As a dark secret emerges, their world

unravels in unexpected and terrifying ways. Will Howarth and Tom

McKeith craft a sinewy and unpredictably twisty chiller under

threatening Australian skies that asks existential questions and offers

edge-of-your-seat thrills.

 

Just Another Girl on the I.R.T

(1992)

The only feature film to date by writer/director Leslie Harris is an

intense exploration of the complexities of life and difficult choices faced

by an ambitious Black teenager from the Brooklyn projects.

Brooklyn teenager Chantel (played with naturalistic verve by Ariyan A

Johnson) dreams of becoming a doctor - which she sees as a route out

from the life her working-class parents lead in their housing projects

home. Intelligent and sharp-tongued, Chantel thinks she has it all

worked out, until she falls for Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen) and discovers she

is pregnant. Leslie Harris’ only feature film to date is as ambitious as its

central character. Like Boyz N The Hood the previous year, Harris

realistically considers the tough choices faced by teenage African-

Americans of the period, this time with a female focus.

 

Kill The Jockey

(2024)

A highly talented but self-destructive jockey, who is in debt to a

gangster, gets an opportunity for reinvention in Luis Ortega’s

mischievous and inventive comedy drama starring Nahuel Pérez

Biscayart.

One-time champion jockey Remo (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) has been

failing to rein in his bad habits lately, which means he’s struggling at the

track as well as being in debt to kingpin Sirena (Daniel Giménez Cacho).

His relationship with fellow jockey Abril (Úrsula Corberó) is also under

pressure. When an accident leaves him badly injured, Remo wakes from

a coma and embarks on a gender-bending journey of repeated

reinvention through Buenos Aires, while trying to dodge Sirena. There’s

never a dull moment in Luis Ortega’s mischievous mix of thriller,

comedy and drama, which also features one of the year’s best dance

scenes.

 

The Kingdom

(2024)

Coming-of-age elements mix with crime drama as a teenager is plunged

into the world of the mafia after she is forced to go on the run with her

fugitive father.

It’s 1995, and 15-year-old Leela (impressive newcomer Ghjuvanna

Benedetti) finds her carefree summer shattered after she is bundled off

to the house where her Corsican mob boss dad (Saveriu Santucci) is

hiding out. She has previously been shielded from her father’s violent

world, but with a mafia war brewing she finds herself on the run. Julien

Colonna's pacy and authentic crime drama is cut through with the

coming-of-age experiences of Leela as she begins to see the dark

underworld of her father’s life more clearly. Colonna raises the question

of the cycle of violence - and whether it is possible to escape it.

 

Lady Bird

(2017)

Sprightly semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy from Greta

Gerwig stars Saoirse Ronan as the self-declared Lady Bird as she

navigates the final year of school and her relationship with her mum

(Laurie Metcalf).

Sprightly semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy from Greta

Gerwig stars Saoirse Ronan as the self-declared Lady Bird as she

navigates the final year of school and heads to college. Desperate to

leave her hometown behind her, the assertive teenager experiences the

ups and downs of teenage life as well as locking horns with her mum

(Laurie Metcalf). An immersive and sideways look at the experiences of

teenagehood and motherhood that is both funny and poignant.

Featuring knockout performances from Ronan and Metcalf - who were

both Oscar®-nominated - the strong supporting cast includes Timothée

Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges and Beanie Feldstein.

 

The Last King of Scotland: The Last Sacrifice

(2024)

A folk-horror documentary exploring the origins of Robin Hardy’s The

Wicker Man (1973), which mirror the deeply rooted identity crisis of

Britain’s history and the influence of an era-defining genre.

Did you know the real-life 1945 witchcraft killing of Charles Walton was

the terrifying event that inspired the classic shocker The Wicker Man?

From filmmaker Rupert Russell comes an incredible documentary

looking into the dark heart of Britain and finding a country in a deep and

frightening identity crisis – with an almost national descent into

madness reflected in the strand of cinema it produces. A brave, new

exploration, this unsettling true-crime interrogation probes into the

eerie, enigmatic cultural undercurrents that shaped the 1970s folk

horror genre.

 

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

(2024)

Fresh retelling of Eugene O’Neill’s classic play about addictions and

acrimony sees Jessica Lange reprise her Tony-winning Broadway

performance on-screen alongside Ed Harris.

Jessica Lange reprises her Tony-winning Broadway performance as the

morphine-addicted Mary Tyrone in this fresh adaptation of Eugene

O’Neill’s classic autobiographical play. Adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire

(Rabbit Hole), Lange is reteaming with Jonathan Kent - who directed

her in the garlanded on-stage version - for his feature debut. Lange is

joined by Ed Harris as Mary’s husband James, an established actor

plagued by regrets and Ben Foster and Colin Morgan as sons Jamie and

Edmund. Over a single August day in 1912, the dysfunctional family

wrestle with their own demons and each other as addictions, anxiety

and acrimony surface.

 

Love

(2024)

Part of Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy of stand-alone films ruminating on

modern relationships. A character-driven drama centring on the sexual

experiences of a heterosexual urologist and her gay colleague.

Part of Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy of stand-alone films concerning the

complexities of modern relationships, including Sex, is showing at GFF

alongside other instalment Dreams. Against an Oslo backdrop, 40-

something urologist Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig) is considering the

possibility of engaging in more casual sex rather than simply opting for

monogamy. She finds inspiration in the liberated attitude of her

younger gay nursing colleague Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen).

Haugerud continues to take a contemplative approach to the intricacies

of love, lust, and communication across the full spectrum of desire

while celebrating freedom and choice.

 

Loving Couples

(1964)

Mai Zetterling’s feminist directorial debut is an adaptation of Agnes

von Krusenstjerna’s sexually frank novels. The lives of three women are

revealed in flashback as they prepare to give birth.

Mai Zetterling’s fearlessly feminist directorial debut caused waves when

it premiered at Cannes - with the mayor going so far as to ban the film’s

poster because it featured naked silhouettes. Adapted from the sexually

frank and controversial novels by Agnes von Krusenstjerna it reveals the

lives and loves of three women (Gio Petré, Harriet Andersson and

Gunnel Lindblom) as they prepare to give birth, highlighting the

ingrained misogyny they have faced since childhood. Recalling the

reaction, Zetterling said: “The fact that I was behind the camera seemed

to bother the male viewers”. A bold debut that remains thought

provoking today.

 

The Luckiest Man in America

(2024)

Game show thriller recounting the true story of an ice-cream truck

driver (Paul Walter Hauser) whose winning streak on 'Press Your Luck'

threatens to bankrupt the production company.

An engrossing game show thriller based on the true story of

unemployed ice-cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser)

who hit a winning streak on popular US game show 'Press Your Luck' in

1984. As Michael’s winnings start to mount, the million dollar question

becomes, is he a scammer or the luckiest man in America? Director

Samir Oliveros perfectly evokes the 80s atmosphere to recount this

David versus Goliath story as the stakes mount both on and off-screen.

A stranger-than-fiction gem, featuring terrific performances from

Walter Goggins, David Strathairn and Shamier Anderson in support.

 

Make it to Munich

(2024)

This inspiring documentary follows 18-year-old Ethan Walker, who just

months after nearly losing his life in an accident, embarks on a 1200km

charity cycle ride to Munich for Scotland’s Euros opening game against

Germany.

“I want to inspire others to just do it instead of hesitating and

wondering about what will happen,” says 18-year-old Ethan Walker in

this heartwarming documentary. The teenager was badly hurt when he

was hit by a car shortly after starting a football scholarship in the US.

Despite his life-threatening injuries, just months later, Ethan,

accompanied by a posse including his knee surgeon Gordon MacKay,

embarks on a 1200km charity cycle ride. Martyn Robertson’s film

follows them as they aim to take the Scotland squad's pennant from

Hampden to Munich for their opening European Championships match

against Germany. Inspirational indeed.

 

The Man Who Finally Died

(1963)

Mai Zetterling stars alongside Peter Cushing and Stanley Baker in this

intriguing thriller about a German migrant to Britain who receives a

mysterious phone call claiming his long-dead father is alive.

Joe (Stanley Baker) is a German migrant who has been living in Britain

since the outbreak of the Second World War. When he receives a

mysterious phone call claiming that the father he believed long-dead is

still alive, he returns to his homeland to investigate. There he is

surprised to learn his father had remarried the much younger Lisa (Mai

Zetterling) with both taking refuge in the home of a physician named Dr

von Brecht (Peter Cushing). As Joe struggles to find out the truth, he

becomes increasingly convinced a conspiracy is afoot in Quentin

Lawrence’s twisty and intriguing thriller.

 

McVeigh

(2024)

This tense thriller considers the radicalisation of Iraq War veteran

Timothy McVeigh in the run-up to the Oklahoma City Bombing, the

single deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the US.

Mike Ott’s tense and minimalist thriller puts the life of Timothy

McVeigh under the spotlight. The Iraq War veteran perpetrated the

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, which became the single deadliest act of

domestic terrorism in the US, killing 168 and injuring 600. Ott keeps us

with the Travis Bickle-like McVeigh (Alfie Allen, John Wick), who has

been deeply affected by the Waco siege in Texas two-years before.

Among those shaping his attitude in the run-up to the attack is white

supremacist Richard Wayne Snell (Tracy Letts), who is awaiting

execution. A chilling consideration of radicalisation and the banality of

evil.

 

Meanwhile on Earth

(2024)

After her astronaut brother goes missing in space, an artist is contacted

by an alien offering her a deal - but what sacrifice is she prepared to

make to bring him back?

Oscar-nominated animator Jérémy Clapin (I Lost My Body) proves he is

just as adept with live action in this science-fiction drama that works as

a tense character study and a meditative consideration of coming to

terms with grief. Artist Elsa (Megan Northam) is working as a caregiver

for the elderly while struggling with the loss of her astronaut brother

Franck (Sébastien Pouderoux) during a space mission. During a strange

encounter of the third kind, an alien (voiced by Dimitri Doré) offers her

a deal - but what is she prepared to sacrifice in order to bring Franck

back?

 

Meat

(2024)

Tense thriller sees a family start to rot from within after a long-running

feud leads to a crime. Will blood prove thicker than water for a

patriarch facing a stark choice?

Life is good for middle-aged butcher Takis (Akyllas Karazisis), who is

about to open a butcher’s shop in his village, along with his wife (Maria

Kallimani), his son Pavlos (Pavlos Iordanopoulos) and Christos (Kostas

Nikouli), an Albanian who the family have raised as their own. But when

a long running feud leads to a violent crime, will blood prove to be

thicker than water as the patriarch faces a stark choice? A tense and

confident thriller from first time director Dimitris Nakos built around

gripping ensemble performances with enough twists to keep you

guessing right up until the last.

 

Mexico 86

(2025)

When a revolutionary’s son comes to live with her after 10 years apart,

she is torn between maternal instinct and political activism that could

put both their lives in danger.

When activist Maria (Bérénice Béjo, in one of her finest roles to date)

witnesses her husband being gunned down on the street by corrupt

police, she is forced to leave her baby son with her mother (Julietta

Ergurola) and flee Guatemala. Ten years later a shift in circumstances

means Maria and Marco (Matheo Labbé) are thrust back together, even

as her dangerous revolutionary schemes threaten their lives. Director

César Díaz draws on his own relationship with his mum to craft this taut

thriller that delivers tension at the same time as offering a nuanced

exploration of mother and son dynamics.

 

Mistress Dispeller

(2024)

A fascinating documentary insight into a growing Chinese professional

service, which sees undercover ‘mistress dispellers’ hired by cheated-on

spouses to break-up marital affairs and get relationships back on track.

This fascinating documentary offers an inside look at the growing

Chinese industry of the ‘mistress dispeller’ – people hired by cheated-on

spouses to go undercover in a bid to break up an affair and save their

marriage. Elizabeth Lo’s humanistic and absorbing film – shot with care

and the full consent of all three participants – offers the fly-on-the-wall

intimacy of a real case as a mistress dispeller tries to save a couple’s

marriage while offering a surprisingly sympathetic ear to the much

younger ‘other woman’. A non-judgemental look at a relationship in

crisis that considers the challenges of romance in modern China.

 

Motel Destino

(2024)

This neon-lit steamy thriller sees a young man hiding from a mob boss

in a Brazilian love motel after a botched hit, where he embarks on an

affair that could prove dangerous.

A busy love hotel provides the steamy backdrop for this erotic thriller

from Karim Aïnouz, which draws on classic noir themes from the likes of

Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Heraldo (Iago

Xavier) is on the run after a botched hit when he takes shelter at the

sweat-soaked establishment. There he falls for the wife (Nataly Rocha)

of the volatile owner (Fabio Assunção) and he embarks on a dangerous

affair with her. This may be a place of sexual escape, but whether

Heraldo can get out is another question. Aïnouz’s gripping neon-lit neo-

noir is unpredictable and stylishly intense.

 

Mr. K

(2024)

Crispin Glover stars as a magician who checks into a strange and

decaying hotel full of odd residents and then discovers he can’t leave, in

this Kafkaesque darkly comedic mindbender.

Crispin Glover is perfectly cast as a magician who finds the hotel he is

staying at is full of unexpected tricks in this surrealist comedy drama.

After checking in to the decaying establishment, Mr. K (Glover) begins

to encounter a host of strange residents, including a pair of elegant

sisters and a kitchen full of egg chefs - who view him as a potential

saviour - while discovering there seems to be no way to leave. Fans of

Terry Gilliam, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro will love the elaborate

world creation in director Tallulah H Schwab’s inventive and inviting

existential mindbender.

 

Muriel's Wedding

(1994)

Join us as we celebrate 30 years of Australia’s most endearing anti-hero,

as we journey from Porpoise Spit to Glasgow for a front row seat at

Muriel’s Wedding.

Social outcast and high-school dropout Muriel Heslop is a no-hope

nobody with an unhealthy ABBA addiction. With the help of stolen

funds, she changes her name to ‘Mariel’ and leaves home for the

holiday of a lifetime, in the hope of fulfilling her dreams of marriage and

a life outside of Porpoise Spit. Get ready to sing and dance your heart

out to ABBA’s greatest hits on Muriel’s special day, as we revel in the

timeless brilliance of Toni Collette’s breakthrough performance.

 

Mustang

(2015)

This spirited coming-of-age tale - which won the Glasgow Film Festival

Audience Award in 2016 - sees five orphaned young sisters defy their

ultra-conservative family as they face being forced into arranged

marriages.

As Glasgow Film Festival turns twenty-one, it’s the perfect time to

introduce new audiences to this spirited coming-of-age story, which

won the festival’s Audience Award in 2016. Five orphaned sisters find

themselves on a collision course with their ultra-conservative Turkish

village, as their house becomes a prison and one-by-one they are

entered into arranged marriages. Writer/director Deniz Gamze

Ergüven, co-writing with Alice Winocour, draws on the energy of her

young protagonists mixing tense drama with a fairy-tale quality that

helps deliver a message of defiance with a lightness of touch.

 

My Dead Friend Zoe

(2024)

Army veteran Merit is suffering from PTSD and struggling with civilian

life, not least because of her reliance on her best friend Zoe - who

remains her constant companion despite being dead.

Army veteran Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) is suffering from PTSD

after a tour of Afghanistan and struggling with civilian life, not least

because of her reliance on her best friend Zoe (Natalie Morales) - who

remains her constant companion despite being dead. As Merit becomes

increasingly isolated in her relationships with her concerned counsellor

(Morgan Freeman) and mother (Gloria Reuben), her ailing grandfather

(Ed Harris) could be the catalyst for change. First-time director Kyle

Hausmann-Stokes draws on his own Army experiences to convey a

powerful message about the impact of conflict on soldiers and society’s

treatment of veterans infused with warmth and humour.

 

Neon Dreaming

(2024)

Eight-year-old Billie’s attempts to find out the true identity of her

absent mother are brought to life in Marie-Claire Marcotte’s moving

and well-observed drama that celebrates childhood free-spiritedness

and imagination.

The free-spiritedness and imagination of childhood skips through Marie-

Claire Marcotte’s well-observed drama. Eight-year-old Billie (Maélya

Boyd, in a winning feature debut) believes her absent mum is a

ballerina until a school show-and-tell sows the seeds of doubt in her

mind. Billie enlists the help of her best friend Sherry (Maïna-Rose

Caméus), increasingly determined to find out the truth, whether her

dad (Corey Loranger) and grandma (Geneviève Langlois) like it or not.

Marcotte crafts a vivid and frequently humorous child’s eye view of the

world that builds to a moving consideration of family relationships and

the possibility of starting over.

 

The New Year That Never Came

(2024)

Six seemingly disconnected lives intersect as Romania stands on the

brink of revolution, culminating in the fall of Nicolae Ceauşescu and his

communist regime.

Days before Christmas in 1989, a revolution is simmering under the

surface as the lives of six ordinary people become intertwined as the

country faces a monumental change to the political landscape. The city

of Bucharest is authentically portrayed, as are the people who struggle

to escape the influence of politics on every aspect of their lives until it

becomes too much to bear and an explosive moment unites them.

Director Bogdan Mureşanu crafts an accomplished and impressive

debut feature that captures a pivotal moment in Romanian history and

builds to a blistering and powerful conclusion.

 

Nocturnal

(2025)

Gritty thriller follows a former gang member whose fresh start is

threatened after his brother’s death. While investigating, he discovers

an author had disturbingly predicted the circumstances of his demise.

Former gang member Min-tae (Ha Jung-woo) has made a fresh start

since leaving prison and is now a construction worker. But his new life is

threatened after his younger brother Seok-tae dies in mysterious

circumstances and his sister-in-law (Yoo Da-in), who works in a singing

bar, vanishes. Filled with anger, Min-tae becomes determined to find

out the truth and encounters author Ho-ryeong (Kim Nam-gil), whose

novel, Nocturnal, had disturbingly predicted the circumstances of Seok-

tae’s death. Kim Jin-hwang’s hard-boiled action thriller revolves around

the raw and intense performance of Ha as Min-tae relentlessly goes on

the hunt for Seok-tae’s killer.

 

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

(2000)

Joel and Ethan Coen’s glorious (and very loose) retelling of Homer’s

Odyssey, transposed to the deep south in the 1930s, is just as funny,

strange and irresistible now as it was 25 years ago. It tells the story of

Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), a charming, fast-talking con-

artist who escapes from a chain-gang in a hunt for treasure, along with

the two hapless fellows he is still chained to, Pete (John Turturro) and

Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson). Their ensuing epic journey will see them

encounter many strange sights, characters and ‘ob-stack-les’, as well as

inadvertently becoming musical sensations.

The Coens identified the comic potential behind George Clooney’s

matinee idol looks, and drew it out to incredible effect, with Clooney’s

performance as McGill matching some of the classic screwball turns of

Cary Grant or Clark Gable. With beautiful cinematography by Roger

Deakins and a Grammy-winning soundtrack of unforgettable southern

gospel and bluegrass songs, O Brother is one of the Coen Brothers’ very

best.

 

On Falling

(2024)

A lonely Portuguese migrant working as a picker in a Scottish warehouse

struggles to forge connections in an immersive character study that also

shines light on the precarity of modern employment.

Writer/director Laura Carreira immerses us in the life of Aurora (Joana

Santos) in her moving character study of a Portuguese migrant working

as a picker in a Scottish warehouse. Aurora's workdays are dictated by

the bleep of a machine and her evenings are strained by loneliness in

shared accommodation as she dreams of securing a better job. An

empathetic social realist snapshot that offers a window into the financial

precariousness of the gig economy, delivered with a lightness of touch

that stresses the importance of everyday connection.

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

(1975)

Milos Foreman’s Oscar®-winning drama follows criminal RP McMurphy

(Jack Nicholson), who is sent to a mental facility. There, his rebellious

streak sets him on a collision course with Nurse Ratched (Louise

Fletcher).

Jack Nicholson takes centre stage in Milos Foreman’s Oscar-winner

about a criminal who is sent to a mental institution. Initially RP

McMurphy (Nicholson), thinks the place will be a soft touch but his

rebellious behaviour puts him on a collision course with the controlling

Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel and

produced by Michael Douglas, it was filmed in the real-life Oregon State

Hospital - where some of the actors took up residence during shooting.

The ensemble cast includes Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito and Christopher

Lloyd, and their characters are just as vital as Nicholson to the

tragicomic poignancy.

 

Pather Panchali

(1955)

Satyajit Ray’s stunning debut offers a vibrant consideration of village

life for a family living on the breadline in Bengal, focusing on the

experience of young Apu and his sister Durga.

Satyajit Ray’s debut presents the multifaceted life of a family living on

the breadline in 1910s rural Bengal with a focus on the lives of young

Apu (Subir Banerjee) and his older sister Durga (Runki Banerjee).

Immersive in its detail of everyday village life in the period, it doesn’t

shy away from the harsh reality of scraping by for mum Sarbojaya

(Karuna Bannerjee) and dad Harihar (Kanu Bannerjee). Nevertheless

Ray’s clear-sighted drama - the first in his Apu trilogy, based on

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s coming-of-age novel - is laced with

humour and humanism. The film also features an early score from Ravi

Shankar.

 

Peaches Goes Bananas

(2024)

Intimate documentary, shot over 17 years, offers an immersive insight

into the work of queer feminist musician Peaches, from her high energy

stage extravaganzas to her quiet life with her family.

Marie Losier takes an intimate approach to the life and career of queer

feminist musician Merrill Nisker, aka Peaches, in this fascinating and

immersive documentary. Shot over 17 years, it features onstage and

backstage footage from the Canadian’s high energy, risqué electro punk

extravaganzas. Peaches offers insights into her creative process and the

changes that come with ageing. Away from the spotlight, she discusses

her home life and her strong relationship with her parents and sister

Suri. While fans will love this frank, all-access insight, it is also a great

introduction to Peaches’ unique body of work for newcomers.

 

Peacock

(2024)

Matthias slips into any role demanded of his clients - from boyfriend to

dutiful son - but as this smart absurdist comedy shows, he has enough

trouble just being himself.

Matthias (played with impeccable nuance by All Quiet on the Western

Front star Albrecht Schuch) is a master of performance, slipping

seamlessly into any role demanded by his rent-a-companion company’s

clients - from art-loving boyfriend to Good Samaritan and dutiful son.

His people-pleasing attitude has become so extreme that his girlfriend

Sophia (Julia Franz Richter) begins to wonder if there’s any of the ‘real’

him left, plunging Matthias into an existential crisis. Austrian director

Bernhard Wenger shows a similarly keen eye for the absurdities of

modern life as Ruben Östlund, but his clever tragicomedy also has a

humanistic heart.

 

The Piano Teacher

(2001)

Michael Haneke’s award-winning psychological drama sees a piano

teacher, who is stifled by her relationship with her mother, embark on a

dangerous game with a student who has fallen for her.

Isabelle Huppert’s steely and riveting performance anchors Michael

Haneke’s provocative psychological drama, which took home the

Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix along with acting prizes for Huppert and

her co-star Benoît Magimel in 2001. She plays Erika, an unmarried

piano teacher who has a stifling toxic relationship with her mother

(Annie Girardot), whose home she shares. A repressed voyeur, Erika

indulges her masochistic urges alone until a much younger student,

Walter (Magimel) becomes determined to pursue her. Haneke’s

adaptation of Elfriede Jelinek’s controversial 1983 novel is a cool

dissection of control dynamics that is still potently thought-provoking

more than two decades later.

 

Piggy Bank

(2024)

A playful hybrid that blends self-experiment with mockumentary as the

director’s plan to live for “a year without money” interrogates idealism

and activism while offering serious observations on the climate crisis.

Christoph Schwarz blends self-experiment with mockumentary in his

playful and comedic hybrid film that interrogates middle-class idealism.

When the Austrian director receives €90,000 to make a TV documentary

about living for a year without money, he immediately blows all the

cash on a weekend house for his family. This is just the jumping off

point for a film that cleverly mixes fact with fiction to take a sideswipe

at performative activism, slyly asking what it means when you literally

have money to burn. Behind the satiric humour, Schwarz articulates the

all-too real challenges presented by the world’s climate crisis.

 

Planet B

(2024)

An eco-activist awakens to find herself in virtual prison Planet B. Her

only hope of escape is an undocumented migrant who has found a way

to access this reality.

It’s 2039 and eco-activist Julia (French A-lister Adèle Exarchopoulos)

disappears without a trace on her group’s latest strike only to awaken

to find herself in Planet B - a virtual prison. There she forms a fragile

pact with Nour (Souheila Yacoub), an undocumented Iraqi journalist

who has her own urgent reasons for visiting Planet B and who offers

Julia her only hope of escape. Aude Léa Rapin’s gripping and complex

futuristic thriller raises questions about police surveillance and the

treatment of political prisoners in the modern world. The Beast director

Betrand Bonello’s otherworldly synth score adds to the eerie

atmosphere.

 

The Players

(2024)

Fifteen-year-old Emily finds herself caught up in a dangerous web of

power dynamics when she joins an avant garde theatre company in

Sarah Galea-Davies' compelling study of manipulation and

enablement.

It’s the summer of 1994 and 15-year-old Emily (Stefani Kimber) is

thrilled when she is cast in an avant garde production of Hamlet. To

start with, the theatre company feels like a surrogate family but the

rules and instructions given to her by director Reinhardt (Eric Johnson)

take a risky turn. Sarah Galea-Davis draws on her own teen experiences

of acting to scrutinise the unequal power dynamics that can exist in

creative environments as Reinhardt’s toxic attitude is enabled by other

members of the group. When the pressure mounts, the question

becomes will Emily stick to the script?

 

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

(1969)

The drama that catapulted the late, great Maggie Smith to international

fame with her Oscar®-winning turn as an idealistic Edinburgh teacher

whose controversial approach sees her lock horns with the conservative

headmistress.

Here’s a chance to see the riveting Dame Maggie Smith in her prime.

The Muriel Spark adaptation, directed by Ronald Neame, catapulted

Smith to international fame and won her an Oscar® for her portrayal of

a fascism-obsessed school teacher in 1930s Edinburgh, whose offbeat

approach with her “girls” becomes manipulative. Dame Maggie is

matched by Celia Johnson as the conservative headmistress who takes

her on. Notable support also comes from Gordon Jackson, as a fellow

teacher, and Pamela Franklin as a rebellious pupil.

 

Psyche

(2024)

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic limbo, Mara and her computer

companion set out to discover the meaning of life from a series of

puzzles, memories and buried trauma, in this science-fiction epic of self-

discovery.

Trapped in limbo during a near-death experience, Mara (Sarah Ritter)

and a vintage 1980s computer she finds buried in the sands of time

form an alliance to figure out the meaning of life from discarded

memories of friends, family and fantasy. Together, they navigate

through a dystopian world of surreal, broken realities deciphering

cryptic clues and puzzles laid out before them, causing Mara to embark

on a profound quest of self-discovery and mind-bending redemption.

Confronting her deepest fears by facing all the traumas in her life, her

journey becomes a poignant exploration of isolation, psychological

tension, survival and human vulnerability.

 

Queens

(2024)

Heartwarming drama charts an estranged father’s attempts to

reconnect with his daughters as they and their mother prepare to leave

the turbulence of 90s Peru for a new life in the US.

The push and pull of family ties lies at the heart of Klaudia Reynicke’s

heartwarming drama, drawn partially from her own experience of

emigrating as a child. It’s the 90s and Peruvian politics are turbulent,

leading mum Elena (Jimena Lindo) to decide to quit the country with

her teenage daughter Aurora (Luana Vega) and younger child Lucía

(Abril Gjurinovic) for a better life in the US. To leave, Elena needs the

children’s estranged father Carlos (Gonazalo Molina) to sign the

paperwork, leading him to a tentative reconnection with his kids. A

nuanced exploration of family relationships built around strong

ensemble performances.

 

Quiet Life

(2024)

The reality of the Swedish asylum system is given a Greek Weird Wave

twist in this psychological drama about a family of refugees whose

daughter mysteriously falls ill as they face deportation.

Alexandros Avranas gives a Greek Weird Wave to the real-life medical

condition of Child Resignation Syndrome - which sees children of asylum

seekers slip into a coma-like state. Russians Sergei (Grigoriy Dobrygin),

Natalia (Chulpan Khamatova) and their kids Alina (Naomi Lamp) and

Katja (Miroslava Pashutina) are seeking leave to remain in Sweden.

When the family learns that their application is rejected, Katja

mysteriously falls seriously ill. Avranas draws on influences including

Michael Haneke and Yorgos Lanthimos to paint a gripping dystopian

picture of bureaucracy gone bad and the desperate lengths people

trapped in the system can be driven to.

 

Raw

(2016)

This deliciously dark horror debut from Titane director Julia Ducournau

follows a vegetarian veterinary student whose discovery that she has a

taste for meat becomes increasingly extreme.

Titane director Julia Ducournau serves up a feminist coming-of-age

horror with a sharp bite in her debut feature Raw. Garance Marillier

stars as Justine, a strict vegetarian who has just headed off to the same

veterinarian training college as her sister (Ella Rumpf). During a brutal

hazing ritual Justine discovers she has a taste for meat that becomes

increasingly extreme. Similarly to this year’s The Substance, Raw deftly

employs body horror to explore issues of societal pressure and women’s

struggles with body image. Stylishy shot, with sly nods to the likes of

Carrie, Raw is a horror fan feast.

 

Red Path

(2024)

Powerful coming-of-age drama rooted in the turbulent reality of rural

Tunisia shows a young shepherd coming to terms with trauma after the

brutal murder of his cousin in the mountains.

Based on a true story, Lotfi Achour combines social and magic realism

to explore the harsh realities of life in rural Tunisia. When 13-year-old

shepherd Ashraf (Ali Hleli) and his cousin Nizar (Yassine Samouni) head

to the mountains with their flock, the day ends in tragedy at the hands

of jihadists. Ashraf returns home alone as the only witness to a brutal

crime and finds himself trying to work through the trauma as his family

struggle for justice. Featuring remarkable performances from its young

cast, this is a tough but essential snapshot of the impact of conflict on

children.

 

Restless

(2024)

When the neighbour from hell moves in next door, a sleepless care

home worker finds herself pushed to the limit, in this gripping and

darkly comic domestic thriller.

Classical music-loving care worker Nicky (Lyndsey Marshal) finds her

quiet life shattered when the neighbour from hell moves in next door.

What at first seems to be a housewarming one-off turns into a nightly

event as Dean (Aston McAuley) hosts noisy parties, depriving Nicky of

sleep and pushing her to the edge of sanity. Built around a gripping

performance from Marshal, debut director Jed Hart captures the

psychological torment of sleep deprivation, while lacing this tense

domestic thriller with dark humour. Barry Ward offers gently comedic

support as an old friend of Nicky’s who is attempting to date her.

 

The Return

(2024)

The English Patient stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reunite in

this adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey that sees Fiennes’ Odysseus return

to a very different kingdom from the one he left.

Twenty years after he went to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus (Ralph

Fiennes) washes back up on the shores of Ithaca. The decades have

taken their toll, but his wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) has kept the

faith as she waits, fending off suitors, while she and their son

Telemachus (Charlie Plummer) are constantly under threat. Uberto

Passolini’s gripping drama leaves mythological creatures aside to dig

into the psychological underpinnings of Homer’s epic, fuelled by the

spellbinding performances of Fiennes and Binoche.

 

Rita

(2024)

The directorial debut of Sex and Lucía star Paz Vega sensitively charts

the experience of a girl and her brother in 1980s Seville as tensions rise

between her mother and father.

It’s a long, hot summer in Seville in 1984 and school is out for seven-

year-old Rita (a spirited Sofía Allepuz) and her brother Lolo (Alejandro

Escamilla). Their child’s eye view of the world is mostly focused on

feeding pigeons, racing carousel horses and dreams of the beach but

the angry tirades of their father José Manuel (Roberto Álamo) against

their mother (Paz Vega, also making her directorial debut) frequently

punctuate their happiness. Sex and Lucía star Vega sets the wide-eyed

sweetness of childhood against a backdrop of the threat of domestic

violence in her sensitive and powerful directorial debut.

 

Rumplestiltskin

(2025)

The classic fairy tale like you’ve never seen it before. When a king’s

promise is broken, Rumpelstiltskin makes a deal with the devil in Andy

Edwards’ masochistic thrill ride.

The scariest villain from our collective childhoods returns in this

haunting tale - only this time, he’s darker, bloodier, and nastier. Once

upon a time, a miller (Mark Cook) attempts to marry his daughter

(Hannah Baxter-Eve) off to the King (Colin Malone) by claiming she can

spin straw into gold. With the help of a demonic imp (Joss Carter), she

fulfills the task, but the King becomes greedy and demands more.

Desperate, she promises the imp her firstborn child in exchange for his

continued help. When the time comes to honor her bargain, dark forces

collide as the imp makes a sinister deal with the devil.

 

Scared to Death

(2024)

While conducting research for their film, a production crew hold a

séance in an abandoned children’s centre, summoning the spirits of the

dead youngsters - and something far more malevolent.

Jasper (Oliver Paris) is a young, ambitious filmmaker determined to

climb the Hollywood ladder. Working as a lowly production assistant, he

seizes the chance to prove himself as a ‘real’ director by suggesting to

his cantankerous boss that the crew and actors from their upcoming

horror film attend a genuine séance in an old, haunted house as

research. The chosen location is an abandoned children’s shelter, shut

down 70 years earlier following the mysterious deaths of five children in

1942, reportedly found scared to death. Once the séance begins, the

mismatched crew find themselves trapped and tormented by the spirits

of the children - and by something even worse.

 

Scrubbers

(1982)

Mai Zetterling’s raw depiction of the relationships and rivalries in a

closed girls’ borstal offers a gritty female flipside to Alan Clarke’s Scum,

also written by Ron Minton.

When Annetta (Chrissie Cotterill) and Carol (Amanda York) escape from

a girls’ correctional facility their freedom doesn’t last. Carol is thrilled to

be sent to a closed borstal, hoping to reconnect with her lover Doreen

(Debby Bishop) but she’s in for a nasty shock. Meanwhile, Annetta, who

was desperate to see her daughter, is out for revenge, believing Carol

has grassed her up. Mai Zetterling paints a raw depiction of power play

and rivalries in the borstal, offering a gritty female flipside to Alan

Clarke’s Scum, also written by Ron Minton. The supporting cast includes

Kathy Burke in her screen debut.

 

Sew Torn

(2024)

Stylish neo-noir gives a seamstress the chance to pursue three destinies

after she stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong - commit the perfect

crime, call the police, or simply drive away.

When seamstress Barbara (Eve Connolly) stumbles upon the aftermath

of a drug deal gone wrong, she faces three choices: commit the perfect

crime, call the police, or simply drive away. Freddy Macdonald’s

offbeat, choose-your-own-adventure neo-noir allows her to do all three,

looping through her trio of destinies as she repeatedly encounters

ageing sheriff Ms Engel (K Callan) and villainous mobster Hudson (John

Lynch). Connolly shines in the central role, while debut director

Macdonald threads his story together with verve, having darkly comic

fun upending expectations as Barbara puts her sewing skills to

surprisingly inventive - and unpredictable - use.

 

Sharp Corner

(2024)

When a man's new home proves to be a road accident blackspot, he

becomes increasingly obsessed with preparing for the next one in Jason

Buxton’s tense psychological thriller, starring Ben Foster.

A new home should be a welcome step up for Josh (Ben Foster), his wife

Rachel (Cobie Smulders), and their son, but their first night is shattered

when a car crashes into a tree in their garden with tragic consequences.

Josh discovers that the road design makes their house an accident

blackspot and becomes increasingly consumed with preparing for the

next inevitable crash. Writer/director Jason Buxton delves into what

makes Josh psychologically tick as he hides his growing obsession from

his wife. Foster brings a simmering intensity to a role that keeps

audiences guessing until the very end.

 

Showgirls (1995) - 30th Anniversary

30th anniversary screening of Paul Verhoeven’s provocative camp

classic about a young woman who becomes determined to claw her

way to the top of the Las Vegas exotic dancer heap.

Paul Verhoeven re-teamed with Basic Instinct writer Joe Eszterhaz for

his provocative and deliberately sleazy melodrama about a young

woman (Elizabeth Berkley) trying to reach the top of the Las Vegas

exotic dancer heap. It was a critical and commercial flop on release,

with the director the first person to turn up and accept his Razzie

Awards. Verhoeven has had the last laugh as Showgirls has attracted

cult status down the years as a satirical camp classic and a favourite on

the midnight movie circuit. This 30th anniversary screening invites you

to take a fresh look at this pop culture icon.

 

Silver Star

(2024)

When an ex-con’s bank robbery attempt goes south, she ends up

forming an unexpected relationship with the young woman she takes

hostage in this moving odd couple road trip dramedy.

Debut directors Ruben Amar and Lola Bessis invite us to hop into the

car for an emotional and frequently funny road trip. Billie (Troy Leigh-

Anne Johnson) is fresh out of jail and trying to help her estranged

parents when she hatches a plot to rob a bank. After the hold-up goes

south, she takes Franny (Grace Van Dien) hostage - little realising the

feisty pregnant woman is not about to go quietly. Buttoned up Billie and

exuberant firecracker Franny bond on the run and prove the most

engaging road trip pairing since Thelma and Louise - buckle up for a

heck of a ride.

 

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

(2024)

The night-time streets of Manila in the Philippines are vividly brought to

life as a gang of young male sex workers embark on an odyssey that

sees friendships forged and tested.

The dreams and desires of a group of young male sex workers are

sensitively explored in Petersen Vargas’ moving drama, which brings

the night-time streets of Manila in the Philippines vividly to life. When

streetwise Uno (Jomari Angeles, Ma’ Rosa) meets the more vulnerable

Zion (Miguel Odron), he takes him under his wing - but the rest of his

gang aren’t so sure about the new kid. A fateful event will lead them on

an unexpected odyssey across the city that sees friendships forged and

tested. Vargas finds hopefulness in unexpected places without making

light of the harsh reality the youngsters face.

 

Spilt Milk

(2024)

An 11-year-old searches for his missing brother in 1980s Dublin, in this

ambitious debut that views the harsh realities of housing estate life

through a child's eyes.

In 1980s Dublin, 11-year-old Bobby (Cillian Sullivan) dreams of being a

detective, just like his TV idol, Kojak. Offering to hunt down lost items

on his housing estate with the help of his pal Nell (Naoise Kelly), the

pair begin their biggest case after Bobby's brother Oisin (Lewis Brophy)

goes missing. Their hunt takes them into the dangerous underbelly of

the housing estate where they live, as the harsh realities of addiction

are presented through a child’s eyes. Nominated for four Irish TV & Film

Academy awards including Best Picture, Director and Screenwriter,

Brian Durnin’s ambitious and well-crafted drama anchors its stronger,

adult themes in the sweet central performances of newcomers Sullivan

and Kelly.

 

Stationed at Home

(2024)

The lives of a group of strangers intersect with cab driver Ralph, who is

eagerly awaiting the sight of the International Space Station in this

humorous and humanistic offbeat drama.

It’s Christmas Eve 1998 in Binghamton, New York, and cab driver Ralph

(Erik Byaarnar) can’t wait to finish his night shift, get home to his

telescope and catch a glimpse of the International Space Station flying

past. Through the course of the night, his path will cross with that of

two drinking buddies (Darryle Johnson and Peter Foster Morris), a

coked up out-of-towner (Jeff Dumont), a shoe magnate (Endres

Kincaid) and a mysterious woman (Eliza VanCort), as their lives

intersect in unexpected ways. Daniel V Masciari’s beautifully shot black

and white drama has an offbeat, Jarmuschian feel and is full of humour

and heart.

 

Stealing Pulp Fiction

(2024)

Fast-paced offbeat comedy heist sees a pair of best buddies plan to

steal Quentin Tarantino’s personal copy of Pulp Fiction - with a little bit

of unexpected help from their therapist.

Quentin Tarantino fans Jonathan (Jon Rudnitsky) and Steve (Karan

Soni) are best buddies and when they hear that the director’s personal

copy of Pulp Fiction is being shown at their local cinema, they hatch a

plot to steal it. Inviting their sardonic, Tarantino-hating mate Elizabeth

(Cazzie David) in on the heist, they unexpectedly find their therapist

(Jason Alexander) also tagging along. Danny Turkiewicz’s fast-paced

film makes a virtue of its own silliness as the hapless foursome find

nothing goes to plan. Offbeat and shot through with references to

Tarantino’s style, this quirky comedy will appeal to fans and newcomers

alike.

 

Sunshine Follows Rain

(1946)

Mai Zetterling cemented her star status in this Swedish box office hit as

the daughter of a wealthy farmer who falls for a hard-up fiddler (Alf

Kjellin), against her father’s will.

Mai Zetterling re-teamed with her co-star from Ingmar Bergman’s

Torment, Alf Kjellin, for this Swedish box office hit that helped cement

her star status. Gustaf Edgren’s romantic melodrama sees Zetterling

play the daughter of a wealthy farmer who falls for a hard-up fiddler

after he comes to her rescue. Her father is against the match, not just

because the fiddler is penniless, but for personal reasons, and tries to

push her into marriage with another man. Lyrically scored and shot with

an eye for period detail, Zetterling and Kjellin are perfectly cast as the

couple who are determined true love will conquer all.

Screening with short film, The War Game, Mai Zetterling had previously

cut her teeth on documentary short films for the BBC before she made

her fictional short debut. In it, she scrutinises the conditioning of young

boys regarding violence, as a children’s game becomes increasingly

dangerous. It marked an auspicious start for her fiction directing, going

on to be BAFTA nominated and named Best Short at Venice Film

Festival.

 

Super Happy Forever

(2024)

Struggling with his wife’s death, Sano returns to Izu, the island where

they first met, to make peace with his grief. Through non-linear

storytelling, this unconventional love story examines love, loss, and

healing.

After the sudden loss of his wife, grumpy and apathetic Sano (Hiroki

Sano) returns to the island where he and Nagi (Nairu Yamamoto) first

met; the seaside town of Izu. With his friend Miyata (Yoshinori Miyata)

by his side, the two rediscover the island together in the shadow of

Sano’s mourning, flicking between past and present with melancholic

warmth and endearing humour. Much like the non-linear storytelling of

We Live In Time, Kohei Igarashi’s unorthodox romantic comedy tells a

love story in two parts; one of a blossoming romance, the other of loss

and the bittersweet passage of time.

 

The Surfer

(2024)

Nicolas Cage brings full-throttle intensity to this psychological thriller

about a dad who is pushed to the edge by local surfers when he returns

to his beloved childhood beach with his son.

Nicolas Cage gets gnarly as a man pushed to the edge in Lorcan

Finnegan’s trippy psychological thriller that tackles toxic masculinity.

Cage’s unnamed divorced dad takes his son (Finn Little) on a trip to his

favourite childhood surf spot, where he dreams of buying back his

beach house. His perfect plan is shattered when a local surf gang, led by

Julian McMahon’s Scally, becomes threatening. As Cage’s character is

increasingly humiliated, his temper starts to boil in the heat. With nods

to Ozploitation hits like Wake In Fright, Cage offers another deliriously

disturbing turn in a film full of suspense and surprises.

 

The Surprise Film

It's that time of year again where the speculation is rife and the

predictions are many, but in the end, will you be able to guess what we

have up our sleeves? A firm staple of the Glasgow Film Festival

programme, The Surprise Film returns, and the only thing we can

promise is that if you buy a ticket, then we will show you a film. New or

old? Drama or horror? Foreign language or a made-up language? All will

be revealed on the night, so please join us for one of the highlights of

the festival.

 

The SwedishTorpedo

(2024)

The true underdog story of how Swedish mum Sally Bauer became

determined to realise her dream of swimming the English channel is

recounted in this sensitive and vibrant period biopic.

Sally Bauer was a Swedish mum on a mission. Born in 1908, she had a

fierce passion for long-distance swimming and a dream of crossing the

English Channel. The water was the least of her challenges, since she

also faced the expectations of society at the time - particularly as she

was a single mother - along with the looming threat of the Second

World War. Josefin Neldén brings a vibrant determination to the role of

Sally, focused on her aim, even as she navigates her personal

relationships. Frida Kempff recounts Sally’s remarkable story with verve

on dry land and in the water.

 

Take 2: Madagascar

(2005)

Colourful family favourite, with a voice cast including Chris Rock and

Ben Stiller, sees bored zoo zebra Marty’s dream of going back to the

wild lead his friends on an adventure.

Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) is bored with his life in Central Park Zoo, so

after he hears about a break-out plot by the establishment’s penguins

he decides it’s time to go back to his roots. After his friends, a giraffe

(David Schwimmer), hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and lion (Ben Stiller),

try to bring him back, it prompts the zoo’s authorities to decide to send

them back to their natural habitat. But their voyage to Kenya does not

go to plan. This colourful animation is packed with enough jokes to

ensure audiences of all ages will have a wild time.

 

Take 2: Whistle Down The Wind

(1961)

Enduring family classic starring Hayley Mills as one of three siblings who

believe a wanted criminal hiding out in their barn is actually the second

coming of Jesus Christ.

Hayley Mills heads the mostly young cast of this enduring family classic -

based on a book by her own mother Mary Hayley Bell. Mills plays

Kathy, who along with her siblings Charlie and Nan (Alan Barnes and

Diane Holbrook) come to believe that a criminal (Alan Bates) hiding out

in their barn is actually the second coming of Jesus Christ. Bryan Forbes’

nuanced debut is shot with the children’s viewpoint in mind and

showcases the naturalism of his young stars - who were mostly non-

professional local schoolchildren - and the natural landscape of

Lancashire where it was filmed. Forthright and full of heart.

 

This Is England

(2006)

This raw portrayal of a young boy finding his feet in Thatcher’s Britain,

after a group of skinheads become his surrogate family, is a powerful

coming-of-age drama and dissection of the period.

Thomas Turgoose shot to fame as the young star of Shane Meadows’

semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, set against the stark

backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain. Turgoose’s Shaun is 12 years old and has

already suffered the loss of his father, who was killed in the Falklands

War. Bullied at school, things pick up for him when a gang of skinheads

become like a surrogate family. As the youngster finds himself drawn to

Combo (Stephen Graham, menacing and magnetic), a psychotic ex-con,

who is a firm believer in the National Front, he faces tough choices

about where his true loyalties lie.

 

Tornado

(2025)

Tim Roth and Jack Lowden star in this survival thriller set in the 1700s

as a young woman finds herself caught in a dangerous situation when

she crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals.

Against the backdrop of 1790s Britain, a young Japanese woman,

Tornado, travels the country with her father's travelling Samurai puppet

show. Seeing an opportunity to carve out a new life for her family,

Tornado makes the decision to steal gold from a local gang led by

Sugarman (Roth) and his son, Little Sugar (Lowden). What follows is a

thrilling, adrenaline-fuelled tale as Tornado races against time to escape

a violent demise. Director John Maclean (Slow West) returns with his

2nd feature film that respectfully pays homage to classic Japanese

samurai films as well as providing a fresh reinvention of the genre.

 

Two to One

(2024)

German A-lister Sandra Hüller stars in this ensemble comedy. It’s 1990

and as German reunification looms, a trio of friends find a trove of

soon-to-be worthless banknotes and hatch a get-rich-quick scheme.

Anatomy of A Fall and Toni Erdmann star Sandra Hüller joins the

ensemble cast of this heartfelt comedy. It’s 1990, and the reunification

of East and West Germany is looming; the old East German currency is

about to become worthless. When friends Maren (Hüller), Robert (Max

Riemelt), and Volker (Ronald Zehrfeld) stumble upon a trove of notes,

they hatch an elaborate scheme with their neighbours to capitalise on

the find. Natja Brunckhorst expertly creates characters you can invest

in to light-heartedly explore the clash between capitalist greed and

socialism through the prism of family and friendship.

 

U Are The Universe

(2024)

Fans of Moon won’t want to miss this funny and surprisingly moving

science-fiction drama centring on a lone astronaut seeking connection

after being left with no home to return to.

Space trucker Andriy (Volodymyr Kravchuk) is making a run to Jupiter,

accompanied by his joke-telling right-hand robot Maxim (Leonid

Popadko) when he receives bad news from Earth. A message suggesting

he might not be as alone as he feared leads him to embark on a

dangerous mission in search of connection. While Pavlo Ostrikov

includes nods to Moon and Solaris, among others, he crafts a unique

atmosphere of humour and heartache that pulls you into its orbit and

keeps you there. A gripping watch made all the more remarkable by the

fact it was shot during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

 

Veni Vidi Vici

(2024)

Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann will slay you with this social satire

centred on the uber-rich Maynard family whose patriarch has taken up

the ultimate hobby - killing random humans for sport.

Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp) has enough money to get away with

just about anything - even random murders. That’s the premise of

Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann’s sharp satire - produced by Ulrich Seidl

- which takes aim at the super-rich who see themselves as above the

law and those who enable them. Helped by his butler (Markus

Schleinzer), it's not just the hired hands who turn a blind eye even as

Amon makes little secret of his murderous hobby. Meanwhile, his

daughter seems set on following in his footsteps. Hoesl and Niemann

set their sights on collective apathy and give it both barrels.

 

Village Rockstars 2

(2025)

A sequel to the acclaimed 2017 film, Village Rockstars, follows Dhunu

who's now in her teens facing the harsh realities of adulthood in a small

village in Assam. Though her rockstar dreams have faded, Dhunu works

hard on her farm dealing with floods, and great loss.

Seven years after the making of Village Rockstars (2017), which had its

UK Premiere at Glasgow Film Festival 2018, 17-year-old Dhunu

navigates new challenges of adolescence in her small village of

Kalardiya. Though Dhunu still enjoys climbing trees and exploring the

land, her youthful dreams of becoming a rockstar have faded, along

with her teenage sensibilities, in the face of the real world issues

surrounding her. As she transitions into adulthood, Dhunu faces the

harsh realities of working the land, battling frequent floods, and dealing

with her mother’s declining health, developing a resilience as strong as

her rebellious childhood.

 

The War Game

(1962)

Mai Zetterling had previously cut her teeth on documentary short films

for the BBC before she made her fictional short debut. In it, she

scrutinises the conditioning of young boys regarding violence, as a

children’s game becomes increasingly dangerous. It marked an

auspicious start for her fiction directing, going on to be BAFTA

nominated and named Best Short at Venice Film Festival.

 

Went Up The Hill

(2024)

Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom

Thread) star as strangers brought together by a family connection in this

haunting tale of grief, possession and breaking free from the past.

Jack (Dacre Montgomery) turns up at his estranged mother’s funeral

believing he has been invited by her widow Jill (Vicky Krieps) - but she

claims it wasn’t her who called him. Jill invites him to stay and the pair

start a tentative connection but, after dark, they discover they aren’t

alone as Elizabeth’s spirit makes her presence felt. The dead woman

possesses each of them in turn but while they remember speaking to

her in the morning, neither can recall what they did under her charge.

Samuel Van Grinsven’s slow-burn chiller becomes a haunting

examination of grief, possession and breaking free from the past.

 

Zero

(2024)

The clock is ticking in this break-neck thriller. Two Americans wake up

with bombs strapped to them and face a twisted treasure hunt to stop

them detonating 10 hours later.

Two American strangers are about to join up for a life-or-death mission

- but not through choice. #1 (Hus Miller) and #2 (Cam McHarg) have

both just woken up in Senegal with bombs strapped to their chests and

a timer set to blow up 10 hours later. Their only hope is to follow

directions given to them over the phone by a mysterious voice (Willem

Dafoe) that sends them on a twisted and dangerous clue-solving hunt

across Dakar. Jean Luc Herbulot mixes sharp scrutiny of geopolitics with

break-neck thrills to exhilarating effect as the pair face a race against

time.

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