Next week, the Glasgow Film Festival kicks off. It will screen a wide range of films including documentaries, classics, children’s movies, and the work of debut writers and directors. Iain Canning is the festival’s programme co-ordinator, he spoke to us about some of the things Glasgow Film Festival 2015 has to offer.
The festival has always been popular with people who love cinema; Iain believes that one of the special things about GFF is its appeal to so many people:
“The idea of it is to just try to kind of reach out to as much people as humanly possible. We want to try to include everyone. That’s the thing that I always loved about getting involved with the festival, even as a volunteer, is just that there is such a huge eclectic mix of things there for everyone.”
This is proven if you look at the schedule for this year; there are so many different aspects of cinema being portrayed including a celebration of Australian films and the work of Ingrid Bergman.
There will also be some special events before and after certain screenings, something which GFF is famous for. A roller disco will be held before a screening of Dazed and Confused, and an arcade themed after party will take place following a showing of a new gamer documentary, King of Kong.
“The bottom line is that we want people to enjoy themselves and have a great time.”
Some of the most anticipated films being shown this year include Still Alice, which includes a BAFTA-winning performance by Julianne Moore. There are also several films being shown as part of Film 4’s ‘Frightfest.’
The schedule for this year’s festival is pretty packed, the GFF calendar is very crowded and it is impossible to go and see everything over the 12 days. Iain’s favourite aspect of this is enjoying how busy Glasgow gets during the festival and seeing people rushing from one screening to another:
“The most exciting time is right in the heart of the festival when people are running about… You see a huge variety of people and they’re here for the same thing, they’re here just because they love the experience of cinema.”
Glasgow Film Festival begins on Wednesday 18th February and runs until Sunday 1st March. Check out the full schedule here.
