Burning an Illusion, Glasgow Film Theatre
22 – 25 August, 2022
Pat Williams, played by the award-winning Cassie McFarlane, is a London girl with a caring family, her own flat and a job that she enjoys, who looks forward to settling down to a comfortable married life. Her dream is shattered when she meets Del (Victor Romero), a charming but vaguely discontented toolmaker, who soon moves in and then loses his job causing them both to challenge their assumptions about each other and their aspirations.
Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature, shot around the communities of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, marked a coming-of-age for Black British cinema. A love story that traces the emotional and political growth of a young Black couple in Thatcher’s London, it was the first British film to give a central voice to a Black woman, charting her journey to emotional maturity, emancipation and political awakening.
(1981)
GFT, 12 Rose Street, Glasgow G3 6RB

This section: Cinema, What's On Glasgow West End: cinema, clubs, theatre, music, events, festivals, community and more
Related Pages
- On The Sea at GFT
- Legally Blonde – 25 Anniversary
- The Man Who Wasn’t There – 4K at GFT
- Take 2: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at GFT
- Bangla Mela, Celebrating Commonwealth Games 2026
- Overhaul Live in Store, LNFG
- All Elements Scottish Hip Hop Jam 2026
- Ann MacKinnon, Scottish Writers Centre
- Them & Us – Pink Floyd & Fleetwood Mac Tribute
- Terry Neason Songs and Words, Òran Mór
- tell it slant at Locavore
- Take 2: Batman – Mask of the Phantasm
- Mare’s Nest at GFT
- ‘Premature’: First clip released from brand new Scottish rom-com
- Commonwealth Community Festival
- The Odyssey at GFT
- Alasdair Gray Archive – Matthew Arthur Williams: Holding Ground
- Everbody to Kenmure Street at GFT
- Going for Gold: Young Talent 2026 at ProjectAbility
- Arepas for Venezuela – Fundraiser