email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

GLASGOW 2021

The Glasgow Film Festival adapts to the pandemic and covers the whole of the UK

by 

- From 24 February-7 March, the GFF will host eight world, three European and 48 UK premieres online

The Glasgow Film Festival adapts to the pandemic and covers the whole of the UK
Creation Stories by Nick Moran

Initially planned as a hybrid event taking place both in cinemas and online, the 2021 edition of the Glasgow Film Festival will now unfold entirely online, via Glasgow Film’s new viewing platform Glasgow Film At Home. The movies will be accessible to everyone in the UK (not just in Scotland) for the price of £9.99 per film and with special, themed bundles.

Opening on 24 February with Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, the festival will close on 7 March with Suzanne Lindon’s Spring Blossom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Suzanne Lindon
film profile
]
. Standing out among the festival’s eight world premieres is Nick Moran’s Creation Stories [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
, written by Scottish author Irvine Welsh and starring Ewen Bremner, of Trainspotting fame, as the infamous Alan McGee, founder of record label Creation Records, which brought into the world acts such as My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and Oasis. Another film having its world premiere at the festival is the documentary Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, which sees director Celeste Bell retracing the steps of her own famous mother, Poly Styrene, founder of acclaimed punk band X-Ray Spex.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Among the UK premieres are Kevin Macdonald’s The Mauritanian [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, based on the best-selling memoir by Mohamedou Ould Slahi; Chino Moya’s Undergods [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
; and Aneil Karia’s thriller Surge [+see also:
film review
interview: Aneil Karia
film profile
]
, starring Ben Whishaw. As part of a new collaboration with the Shanghai Film Festival, the Scottish gathering will also feature in its programme Back to the Wharf by director Xiaofeng Li and Yang Lina’s Spring Tide.

The programme is rounded off by films that have already proven successful on the festival circuit, such as Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s Cannes label recipient Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
, Mohammad Rasoulof’s Golden Bear winner There Is No Evil [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Jeanette Nordahl’s Berlin title Wildland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jeanette Nordahl
film profile
]
, Christos Nikou’s Venice Orizzonti opener Apples [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christos Nikou
film profile
]
and Estonia’s Oscar candidate for 2021, Veiko Õunpuu’s The Last Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Veiko Õunpuu
film profile
]
.

The candidates for the Audience Award – the only prize given out at the festival, and the winner of which will be revealed online on 7 March – are Zoé Wittock’s Jumbo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zoé Wittock
film profile
]
, Marley Morrison’s Sweetheart, Lili Horvát’s Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lili Horvat
interview: Natasa Stork
film profile
]
, Shorta [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Ølholm and Frederik …
film profile
]
by Anders Ølholm and Frederik Louis Hviid, Philip Doherty’s Galway Film Fleadh winner Redemption of a Rogue [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, and the documentary Castro’s Spies [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by directors Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon.

The festival will also feature a focus on South Korea, and will once again deliver the scares in partnership with FrightFest, with six titles on the menu, including Out of This World [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by French director Marc Fouchard.

This year’s Industry programme will run online between Monday 1 and Saturday 6 March, with young filmmakers aged under 30 from around the UK able to access the full Industry programme for £10, thanks to a sponsorship deal with MUBI.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy