Tips for the Glasgow Film Festival

It always amazes me that in the Glasgow, one type of festival or another is always just round the corner. With the final resonance of celtic and world music still lingering in the city’s collective ears, our attentions are swiftly being turned to the up-and-coming Film Festival, which runs from the 14-24 of February.

Hosted by the city’s Film Theatre the Fourth Glasgow Film Festival features a hefty line-up of movies, shorts and guest-speakers, spread out across a handful of venues which are mostly within walking distance of each other. And this is no glitzy holywood affair– there are poignant documentaries, politically-themed films and a wealth of Eastern European film talent to devour over the event’s ten days.

If you want to sample what this burgeoning example of Glaswegian culture has to offer, then check out this list of 5 hot tips for the festival which I put together with the help of fellow Earz Mag scribe Andy Sharp:

5. “Soft” by Simon Ellis

Where: CCA
When: Saturday 16 February
Time: 2.30pm

British filmmaker Simon Ellis’ multi-award-winning short “Soft” is part of Cinema Extreme, a joint venture between the UK Film Council’s and FilmFour, designed to “encourage and develop filmmakers with a distinctive directorial voice and cinematic flair”, and takes place during the Glasgow Film Festival’s weekend of short films. “Soft” is a short about violence, family and paranoia in British suburbia; read more about it here, and more about Ellis here.

4. Special Preview of “The 11th Hour” By Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen

Where:GFT
When:Thursday 14th Feb
Time:10:15-12:00

Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this powerful documentary discusses the growing problems of global warming, enviromental damage, depletion of the oceans’ habitats, and the mass extinction of wildlife on Earth. With the help of Steven Hawking, David Suzuki, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, Thom Hartman and many other prominent scientific, enviromental and religious autorities, we are taken on a journey through all the dangers facing the modern world, and the true effect we are having on the planet. Yet rather than portraying a bleak world’s end view, this film tries to deliver a message of hope to “The generation that gets to change the world… forever.”

3. George A. Romero’s “Diary Of The Dead”

Where: Cineworld 15 R/st
When: Saturday 16th Feb
Time: 20:45

Horror master George A. Romero continues his infamous series of zombie flicks including classics such as “Night Of The Living Dead” the original “Dawn Of The Dead”, and the most recent and expensive of the “Dead” films “Land Of The Dead.” This offering is a little different, with the director returning to the low budget approach of the first films in the series. Basically: a group of students who head out into the woods to make their own horror movie and find themselves in it for real, when the living dead once again walk the earth in search of human flesh. Underpinned with a commentary on the irresponsible media and the sheer mass of uncontrolled information in the modern age, Romero goes for a more intelectual kind of gore.

2. Exclusive screening of “Lars And The Real Girl”

Where: GFT
When: Sunday 24th Feb
Time: 19:00

Paul Shneider and Emily Mortimer star in this strange and original tale of a boy called Lars, whom the entire local community have a soft spot for, gets a new girlfriend. Though they met on the internet everyone is very happy for him however, there is one problem; the new girl in town is a “realistic” full-sized doll. The comic reactions of his friends and neighbours slowly give way to a heart-warming tale of love and acceptance, which has been described as a “must see of the year”.

1. “Why Make A Short?” discussion group

Where: CCA
When: Saturday 16th Feb
Time: 11:30

This is a “round table” discussion on the importance of short movies, including aspect of short-making such including practical guidance on how to get your film funded. With panel members featuring Kaleem Aftab (journalist and producer), Robbie Allen (Development Executive at Scottish Screen) and GMAC Short Film Executive Karen O’Hare, this one is a must for any budding filmmakers attending the festival, and anyone who thinks that size doesn’t matter.

Film Festival Links:

Glasgow Film Festival: Official website
Glasgow Film Theatre: Official Website
Download the Official Festival Program (.pdf)

Press & Blog Links Round-up:

Film Preview Special: It’s On… It’s Gone blog, see parts 2 and 3.
“Glasgow’s pick and mix pleasures”: Scotsman article
Glasgow Film Festival 2008: Skinny Mag Preview
Out of the West: The List article
Glasgow Film Festival 08: Hi-Arts Article

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Posted in Culture

Tags: film, Glasgow, glasgow film festival

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1 Comment

• 02.12.08 By Jonathan Melville:

  Hi Martin,

  Thanks for the link to the blog, much appreciated. Also thanks for the link to the Skinny article as I wrote that too! I’ll be heading over to a few things this Sunday and the next weekend so let me know if you’re planning to go to anything, be good to catch-up.

  Jon

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