The Fantastic Fourth Glasgow Film Festival
14th - 24th February, 2008
Full listings and booking information
Programme Launch
Co-Directors Allison Gardner and Allan Hunter launch the full programme for the 4th Glasgow Film Festival. Running from February 14th to 24th, the Festival will screen more than 100 films over eleven days with a star-studded line-up of UK premieres that include new films featuring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, Romola Garai, Danny Glover and Monica Bellucci.
The Festival opens on Thursday February 14th with a gala UK premiere of Woody Allen's dark comedy Cassandra's Dream co-starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as debt-ridden Cockney brothers confronted with an offer they cannot refuse. An outstanding British cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Phil Davis, Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins and rising star Hayley Atwell.
"Glasgow is proud to open with the new film from one of the great names in American cinema, " says Allison Gardner. "We hosted the UK premiere of Woody Allen's Scoop in 2007 and are thrilled to continue that relationship."
The Festival closes on Sunday February 24th with the UK premiere of Lars And The Real Girl featuring a knockout performance from Ryan Gosling as a lonely young man who finds himself the perfect girlfriend. The fact that he met her on the internet leaves some people anxious on his behalf. The fact that she is a doll causes all kinds of hilarity and heartache in this inventive charmer.
"Lars And The Real Girl is a wonderfully original film that is extremely funny and very touching," declares Allan Hunter. "Ryan Gosling is fast become another Glasgow favourite after last year's sell-out screenings of his Oscar-nominated performance in Half Nelson."
Bumper Crop of UK Premieres
The Festival's bumper crop of UK premieres includes Margot At The Wedding, a bittersweet tale of feuding sisters co-starring Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Sayles' Honeydripper starring Danny Glover as the owner of a failing nightclub in the American South of the 1950s, The Cottage, a gory chiller from London To Brighton director Paul Andrew Williams, The Bank Job, Roger Donaldson's recreation of a true life British heist starring Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows, La Sconoscuita (The Unknown), a brooding comeback thriller from Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore, Le Deuxieme Souffle (The Second Wind), a stunning all-star remake of the Jean-Pierre Melville classic with Daniel Auteuil, Monica Bellucci and Eric Cantona, documentary Body Of War on the very human cost of the war on terror, family adventure The Spiderwick Chronicles with Freddie Highmore and the latest blood-curdling classic from a master of horror-George A Romero's Diary Of The Dead.
Local Talent
Glasgow will also celebrate local talent from rising stars to undervalued names from cinema's past. Glasgow-born Frank Lloyd was the first Scot to win an Oscar and enjoyed a lengthy career in which he worked with Cary Grant, James Cagney and Charles Laughton. Glasgow celebrates his legacy with a rare screening of the 1922 silent version of Oliver Twist starring Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney Sr as Fagin. Neil Brand will provide the piano accompaniment. Glasgow will also celebrate the work of local filmmakers Zam Salim and Charles Henri Belleville. Salim's shorts like Laid Off and Is It Just Me have earned him an international reputation and the promise of a glittering career to follow. Belleville has been creating a buzz with his inspirational debut feature The Inheritance, a low-budget road movie following two brothers confronting their past as they head for Skye.
Shorts Programme
The focus on Zam Salim is part of the opening weekend of GFF that showcases the exciting shorts programme organised in partnership with the CCA, Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts and curated by The Magic Lantern. The Magic Lantern is an independent Glasgow based film night showcasing short films, combining the finest new work with treasures from archive, focusing on innovative filmmaking which blurs the boundaries between narrative-based and more experimental genres. The programme will be shown at the CCA from 15 -17 February 2008. The programme includes a chance to see rare archive shorts by filmmakers such as Wim Wenders and Chantal Akerman, alongside a diverse range of the best new short films from around the world. There will also be two panel discussions, where experts including producers, programmers, and filmmakers will highlight and discuss many of the key issues around short filmmaking. The weekend will launch at the CCA alongside the preview of the exhibition Let Me Show You Some Things, the exhibition includes a new film by the same name, by artist Sarah Tripp and new work by artist Robert Orchardson, both commissioned by the CCA.
Films from Eastern EuropeThe Death Of Mr Lazarescu have been massive arthouse hits in recent years. Glasgow presents the chance to view a selection of new work from Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Serbia include film noir The Trap (Klopka), the award-winning California Dreamin' and Empties, the latest delight from Oscar-winning Czech director Jan Sverak.
Vintage Holywood
Fans of vintage Hollywood, glorious melodrama and fine acting will not want to miss a 12-film Festival retrospective devoted to the glittering career of the legendary Bette Davis. The Glasgow Film Festival marks the centenary of her birth with a retrospective that runs the full length of her legendary career. Film channel TCM (Turner Classic Movies) are official sponsors of the retrospective that begins with a special Valentine's Day screening of classic wartime weepie Now Voyager (1942) and will include career landmarks like Jezebel (1938), All About Eve (1950) and What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962) screening in brand new prints at the launch of a national tour.
Glasgow Schools Film Festival
Running parallel to the main Festival is the Glasgow Schools Film Festival (GSFF), a programme of thirteen separate events for schools programmed by GFT Learning. GSFF 08 features an impressive range of screenings and workshops designed to inspire young people to engage with film in fun and interactive ways. The Festival includes a special focus on documentary films, featuring some of the best new documentaries from around the world and complemented by training for teachers on how to creatively approach documentary, led by documentary filmmakers Alice Nelson (winner of Scottish BAFTA for Best Short Film 2007) and Doug Aubrey (co-director of production company Autonomi and Project-Trainer for Diversity Films). Also on offer is an engaging programme of French and German titles and a number of specially designed cross-curricular workshops supported by teaching resources. The Scottish Screen Archive returns by popular demand with a new film event for primary pupils on the Glasgow Empire Exhibition of 1938. Other workshops include interactive film and drama sessions on the history of travelling showpeople in Scotland and a Brazilian carnival workshop from the UK charity Comic Relief. Additionally, BBC Blast are running free creative activities workshops for teens in community and arts venues in Easterhouse and Castlemilk. All screenings and events are free of charge to pupils from Glasgow local authority schools.
Events and Special Guests
The Festival will also has an excellent line up of exciting events and special guests. Turner Classic Movies special guest Barry Norman, introduces Oscar-nominated film noir, The Letter (1940) on 19th February followed by a Q&A, our silver anniversary screening of Local Hero will be attended by cast and crew and numerous Directors and Actors will be present to introduce their films and host Q and A's. If you are serious about cinema then Glasgow is the place to be in February with 100 films screening over eleven days and amazing opportunities to meet the filmmakers of today and the stars of tomorrow.
Bailie Liz Cameron, Vice-Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, added:
"Glasgow: Scotland with style is delighted to be sponsoring The Glasgow Film Festival, which continues to grow in stature year-on-year thanks to its exciting, imaginative programming.
The GFF reinforces the city's style credentials and latest research indicates that 24% of visitors to the festival originate from outwith the Greater Glasgow area, which not only demonstrates its wide appeal, but also presents us with a significant opportunity to maximise its potential for increasing visitor numbers to the city."
VisitScotland area director for Glasgow, Tom McWilliam said:
"Consumer research in UK tells us that 40 per cent of potential visitors will choose their break on the strength of an event or festival, and our target market segments for city breaks have a keen interest in arthouse cinema. Glasgow Film Festival therefore has a powerful recipe to attract visitors in February, and sustain Glasgow's credentials as a year-round cultural destination,"
Ken Hay, Chief Executive of Scottish Screen said:
"Scottish Screen is proud to be supporting Glasgow Film Festival. Building on the success of the first three years, the fourth edition of the Festival promises to be its most successful yet, with bold programming bringing a rich diversity of films and events to attract and inspire audiences from Glasgow and beyond."
Full listings and booking information
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