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Glasgow Film Festival celebrates its 21st edition with over 33,000 attendances

A stellar lineup of Hollywood stars including Toni Collette, Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, James McAvoy and Tim Roth lit up the city alongside a programme of free films and events for the community

Attendance from press and industry was up by 15% from last year with almost 750 delegates visiting Glasgow Film Festival 2025

Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) wrapped the 21st edition of Scotland’s flagship film festival after an epic 12 days, featuring 114 feature films from 39 countries at Glasgow Film Theatre and nine other venues across the city, attracting over 33,000 attendances.

Make It To Munich

For the first time in its history, the festival opened and closed with Scottish world premieres – John Maclean’s Tornado and Make it to Munich from Martyn Robertson. The programme continued to spotlight Scottish talent with Glasgow-shot, Amazon studios drama Fear being given a big-screen premiere at GFT, and Edinburgh director Laura Carreira‘s debut feature On Falling screening at 10 partnering cinemas across the UK: Barbican London, BFI Southbank London, Cameo Edinburgh, Chapter Cardiff , DCA Dundee, MacRobert Art Centre Stirling, Queens Film Theatre Belfast, Showroom Sheffield, Tyneside Newcastle and Watershed Bristol.

The celebration of Scottish film on screen extended beyond the film programme into the GFF industry programme that returned for its 10th edition this year. GFF continues to be the major meeting point for the Scottish filmmaking sector, welcoming almost 750 delegates to the festival. The event – at brand new venue The Social Hub Glasgow – hosted the four-day conference that offered panels, 1-2-1 meetings and networking opportunities for delegates at all stages of their screen careers.

Within 10 years the festival’s industry programme has grown from a two-day local networking event in 2016, to a four-day national event today, attracting delegates from around the UK and beyond. Industry Focus 2025 supported 39 filmmaking talents with one of the three Festival year-round talent development initiatives, culminating in over 200 hours of support to help filmmakers develop their creative and business skills.

Glasgow Film’s ethos of Cinema for All is reflected in the Festival’s approach to talent development, creating impactful programmes curated from the ground up, by the sector and for the sector, in a show of full circle support by nurturing emerging talent.

The Inaugural Funny Features Industry Audience Award.

Responsibility

GFF25 Industry Focus saw Kaljeven Lally (writer), Isabella Bassett (producer) and Jena Hunter’s (producer) Responsibility win the inaugural Funny Features Industry Audience Award. The feature follows Sanjeev who quickly becomes suspect-number-one in a bizarre murder case and the target of two opposing crime families, the police, and not to mention… his parents. Industry Focus’ newest talent lab gave participants access to one-to-one consultancy sessions, workshops and bespoke mentoring to support the development of their projects.

Animatic Talent Development Scheme

Abi Lamb, Lochs and Legends – photo by Eleanor Stewart.

This year also brought the sophomore year of the Animatic Talent Development scheme to facilitate the development of Scottish creatives’ animated features, TV series and short film ideas. This saw three award winners and a special mention at The Animatic Live Pitch. The winner for Best TV/Feature Pitch was animated Scottish folk mystery Lochs & Legends by Abi Lamb and the award for Best Short Pitch went to To Myself and the Forest of Tigers by Sammi Duong. Overlords, an animated adult comedy series from Hannah Kelso was also presented with the inaugural Animatic Industry Audience Award. Finally, a special mention was awarded to The Three Graces by Wilma Smith.

Free Programme

The festival’s free programme of events this year included its daily free morning retrospective screenings, which welcomed hundreds of movie-goers each day to enjoy classics likeGregory’s Girl, Lady Bird and Boyz n the Hood on the big screen. GFF also worked with communities around the city to co-create a Community Takeover Day at Garnethill Multicultural Centre, which featured a free screening of Ukrainian sci-fi drama U Are The Universe, plus food and activities for all ages. This event was made possible with the help of the Glasgow 850 Festival Fund, as was the Festival’s Young Ambassador programme, a GFF initiative for 18-25 year old’s to learn more about the festival and stage their own pop-up cinema event.

Classic Films and Famour Faces

James McAvoy

Bringing cinematic gems and the talent behind them to Glasgow is what the festival does best, as was the case with the sell-out showing of the classic Australian film Muriel’s Wedding, where Toni Collette surprised the audience to join a GFF / ABBA lip sync – all while welcoming a multitude of famous faces onto the red-carpet including Jessica Lange, James McAvoy, Tim Roth, Ed Harris, George Mackay and Martin Compston. The festival also marked its final year under GFF director Allison Gardner, who retires from Glasgow Film in October.

On Falling

Glasgow Film Festival will return for its 22nd edition in 2026 with the full programme revealed in January. Festival dates will be announced soon. A selection of films from GFF25 will screen at GFT throughout 2025 with On Falling, The End, and Just Another Girl on the IRT screening this month.

What guests said about GFF25

GFF25: Muriel’s Wedding30th anniversary screening of Muriel’s Wedding with a special introduction by star of the film Toni Collette.Photo by Ingrid Mur

Toni Collette, who stunned festival-goers at special 30th anniversary screening of Muriel’s Wedding, said: “It really amazes me that an experience that changed my life profoundly still resonates with people and means so much to people and continues to inspire people so thank you for having her [Muriel] here tonight. I’m quite moved.”

Koki, ‘Tornado’ World Film Premiere – Glasgow Film Festival 2025 – 26th February

Kōki, lead actor in Opening Gala title Tornado, spoke on the GFF red carpet: “Being able to see Tornado for the first time in Scotland means so much to me and being able to be here at the Glasgow Film Festival is such a special experience for me.”

Tornado director John Maclean spoke alongside Kōki, at the world premiere: “Beautiful cinema, the GFT. So it’s incredible to be in a beautiful cinema and this film was made for the big screen, shot on 35mm film, and it was made in Scotland. It has a lot of cast from Scotland, a lot of crew from Scotland. So it just feels absolutely right to be here.”

The End actor George Mackay spoke on the GFF red carpet: “It’s wonderful to be here. I love Glasgow, I love this festival. So it’s a pleasure to have a film here.”

Martin Compston © Eoin Carey

Martin Compston, actor in Fear, raved about GFF and the festival’s home, the GFT: “I do think it was really important that a show filmed in Glasgow had a Glasgow premiere. To be at the film festival … it’s extra special. I’ve got some great memories here at the GFT. Love working in telly. That’s my bread and butter, but you know, on the big screen premiere you cannot beat sitting in there and having that shared experience with an audience is brilliant.”

About GFF

GFF is one of the leading film festivals in the UK and is run by Glasgow Film, a charity which also runs Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow Film Festival is made possible by support from Screen Scotland and the BFI Audience Projects Fund, both awarding National Lottery funding, Glasgow Life and EventScotland, part of VisitScotland. GFF would also like to extend thanks to the Glasgow 850 Festival Fund that helped make community outreach activity impactful by engaging children, young people and the wider community with the festival.

Isabel Davis, Executive Director of Screen Scotland, said: “Screen Scotland is proud to be the major backer of Glasgow Film Festival, which has outdone itself once again with a powerful programme of films and events.   Emblematic of the power of cinema to inspire and assemble people, the programme and guest speakers have drawn a fantastic response from the public.  Meanwhile, the industry programme has taken another leap forward, convening local and international industry like never before, sparking industry conversations and myriad new connections across the week.

“This festival also marks the final edition under the leadership of Allison Gardner, whose passion, vision, and dedication have been central to shaping GFF into the world-class event it is today. We thank her for everything she has done for film in Scotland and beyond, and wish her all the very best for the future.”

Ben Luxford, Director of UK Audiences at the BFI, said: “Congratulations to Glasgow Film Festival for delivering a joyous celebration of film for audiences across the city, Scotland and the UK. It’s a real privilege to see BFI National Lottery funding be part of the festival’s continual success and helping it expand its reach; we’re so pleased to see audiences and industry embrace the festival with such enthusiasm. A special mention must go to the dancing queen, Allison Gardner for her leadership in creating and steering the festival into what it is today. We thank her immensely for her contribution to UK film and cinema culture, and we wish her a well earned (brief) rest.”

Chair of Glasgow Life, Bailie Annete Christie, said: “The outstanding audience figures and sell-out events at Glasgow Film Festival 2025 reflect what a resounding success this year’s festival has been. GFF25’s expansive and dynamic programme showcased the very best in world cinema, offering a rich mix of contemporary and retrospective screenings across a wide range of genres. The impressive range of premieres and the presence of global film stars drew audiences from near and far, making this milestone 21^st edition truly special.

Edith Bowman, James McAvoy and Allison Gardner credit photo Eoin Carey

“A huge congratulations to Festival Director Allison Gardner and her team for delivering such a superb anniversary festival. Allison’s vision, leadership, and passion have shaped Glasgow Film Festival into the internationally renowned event it is today. As she marks her final year at the helm, we extend our deepest thanks for her outstanding contribution over many years—her impact on Glasgow’s cultural landscape has been extraordinary.”

Rebecca Edser, Head of EventScotland, said: “The 21^st edition of the Glasgow Film Festival has been another outstanding celebration of cinema, creativity and storytelling. It has showcased an incredible array of films, welcomed industry talent from around the world, and engaged audiences with a truly diverse and inspiring programme.

“Supported through our International Programme, the festival is part of an exciting portfolio of events strengthening Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events and helping bring social and economic benefits to our communities and country through the year.

“Congratulations to Allison and the GFF team on the success of this year’s festival.”

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