The countdown is officially on to Glasgow Film Festival 2025. Your local friendly Moviescramble team will be there from February 26 until March 9, bringing you as many reviews as we can. So, what can cinema goers look forward to?
Country Focus
Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has announced that its 2025 Country Focus will be Austria. The From the Heart of Europe: Austria on Screen programme brings an eclectic mix from hard-hitting drama to absurdist comedy. Josef Hader’s tragicomedy Andrea Gets a Divorce about a policewoman whose life is turned upside down after an accident with her ex-husband, is joined by Gina, directed by Ulrike Kofler, which explores the impact of generational poverty, satirical mockumentary Piggy Bank directed by and starring Christoph Schwarz takes a swipe at performative activism and middle class apathy, Peacock an absurd drama directed by Bernhard Wenger (who’s style has been compared to Yorgos Lanthimos) and Veni Vidi Vici which takes a stab at the lives of the rich and powerful, helmed by directorial duo Juliane Niemann and Daniel Hoesel.
From the Heart of Europe also brings one of Austria’s most famous and audacious filmmakers, Michael Haneke’s classics back to the big screen, with perverse drama The Piano Teacher (2001) starring Isabelle Huppert as a sexually repressed teacher romantically pursued by her younger student and disturbing psychological thriller Hidden (Caché) (2005) starring Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil as a couple tormented by a stranger keeping them under surveillance.
Special Events
Glasgow Film Festival 2025 (GFF25) has also revealed its Special Event screenings happening at atmospheric venues across the city and featuring some pre-screening surprises, with the classic Australian rom-com Muriel’s Wedding (1994), the millennial favourite Coyote Ugly (2000) and 1990s teen horror The Craft (1996). Venues include Cottiers in Glasgow’s West End and Govan’s Grand Ole Opry. Tickets to the special events will go on sale on 16th December at 12 noon.
UK Wide Screenings
Glasgow Film Festival’s UK-wide screenings are returning with Scottish filmmaker Laura Carreira’s award-winning social-realist drama On Falling. Shot in Edinburgh and Glasgow, produced by Ken Loach’s Sixteen Films and winner of the BFI London Film Festival’s Sutherland Award, On Falling is an honest and raw depiction of loneliness and the instability of the gig economy through the eyes of Portuguese warehouse picker Aurora. Following its Scottish premiere at GFF25 on 28 February, GFF will present special preview screenings of the film at cinemas across the UK. The full list of venues will be announced in January.
And So Much More
For those looking for some post-cinema thrills, GFF After Hours is back by popular demand for its second year, with a host of entertainment including Movie Karaoke, Festival Ceilidh and the notoriously fiendish Film Quiz.
Glasgow Film Festival 2025 will also host the launch of a new long-running season at Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), Scotland’s leading independent cinema which is also the home of GFF. The new season, Coen Brothers of the Month, follows the conclusion of the hugely successful Scorsese of the Month strand, and GFT is getting ready to dive into the many and varied works of an equally iconic, influential and unique force in filmmaking: Joel and Ethan Coen. Beginning during at GFF25 with a 25th Anniversary screening of their eighth feature O Brother, Where Art Thou? this season will showcase a different Coen Brothers classic every month at GFT, until there are no more left to show.
Allison Gardner, CEO of Glasgow Film and Director of GFF, said: “At Glasgow Film Festival we always look forward to reaching new audiences whether it be through our UK wide screenings or special events. Our special events promise to be a highlight as each new festival comes around as it offers our audiences a truly interactive experience with film. We are very excited to present Country Focus From the Heart of Europe: Austria on Screen, bringing some of the best of Austria’s new and repertory film to Glasgow’s big screens.”
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, Glasgow Life and Event Scotland.
The full programme for the 2025 Glasgow Film Festival will be announced on Tuesday 21 January. You can find out more on the official GFF website.
- Glasgow Film Festival 2025 Announces Country Focus, Special Events and UK Wide Screenings - December 11, 2024
- Armand – Review - November 4, 2024
- Eephus – Review - November 3, 2024
