19 Dec 2024
As film awards season approaches, Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) has announced a programme packed with some of the biggest awards contenders screening throughout January and a season devoted to the legendary British director Mike Leigh.
Awards Contenders
Ones to watch ahead of the nomination announcements from the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards include the decades-spanning romance We Live In Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh; and the gothic vampire tale Nosferatu from Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse), with select screenings on 35mm.
Many of the films nominated for Golden Globes in 2025 will play at GFT in January, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Musical/Comedy and Animation nominees Nickel Boys, The Brutalist, A Real Pain and The Wild Robot. True to form as the place to watch the best of foreign filmmaking in Glasgow, GFT has plans to screen every film in the Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language category, with I’m Still Here, The Girl with the Needle and Vermiglio all playing in January. January is also a month of outstanding performances at GFT, with screenings of Maria, Babygirl and The Last Showgirl, all of which have received Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture nominations for Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Pamela Anderson.
Seasons and Festivals
GFT’s long-running CineMasters season, celebrating directors and key figures from filmmaking history, gives audiences the opportunity to watch their work on the big screen. It returns in January with a season devoted to Mike Leigh, perfectly timed to coincide with the release of his 15th film, Hard Truths. GFT will bring four of Leigh's greatest works – Life is Sweet, Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy and Vera Drake – back to the big screen, with Topsy-Turvy screening from a 35mm print. The season will culminate with a preview screening of Hard Truths on Sunday 26 January.
GFT will play host to the Goethe-Institut Glasgow’s Scotland-wide Fokus: Films from Germany festival. This year’s edition, curated by Camilla Baier, invites film fans to explore the many facets of personal and collective identity in current German cinema. Screenings at GFT will include poignant coming-of-age drama Foreign Language (Langue Étrangère), vivid documentary Rebels (Rebellinnen – Fotografie. Underground. DDR.), spirited 1920 silent comedy Kohlhiesel’s Daughters (Kohlhiesels Töchter), and coming-of-age drama Elbow (Ellbogen).
The cinema will also host a special screening of Kim Carnie: Out Loud in partnership with Celtic Connections — a documentary following Scottish singer and musician Kim Carnie as she meets members of the LGBTQ+ community from around the world, who hid their sexuality for a variety of reasons. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kim Carnie.
GFT’s Queer Cinema Sundays programme, which provides a monthly opportunity to dive into the wonderful catalogue of LGBTQ+ cinema, will return in January with a screening of Xavier Dolan’s Matthias and Maxime. After the film, the team behind The Skinny's film podcast The CineSkinny – Anahit Behrooz, Ellie Robertson, Jamie Dunn and Peter Simpson – will join the Queer Cinema Sundays audience to take part in a discussion
about the film, Dolan and some of the other notable new queer auteurs this century who explore desire, repression and queer lives in similarly raw, challenging and nuanced ways.
Special Screenings
Newly restored in 4K from the original negative film elements, the revisionist Hammer Horror and cult hit Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, directed by legendary creator Brian Clemens (The Avengers, The Professionals), will come to GFT for a one-off screening on Wednesday 22 January.
Glasgow’s film fans will also have a chance to see Mrs Robinson, the new documentary about Ireland’s first female president, Mary Robinson, on Tuesday 28 January.
Accessible Screenings
In addition to an extensive programme of captioned and audio described screenings, GFT has announced the January editions of its long-running accessible film events.
Access Film Club, delivered in partnership with the National Autistic Society Scotland, includes a film screening and post-film chat in a friendly and welcoming environment. The January Access Film Club screening will be Studio Ghibli’s anime masterpiece Spirited Away, with tickets available for just £6.90.
Take 2 Access presents an autism-friendly screening of Disney/Pixar’s Scotland-set animated fantasy Brave. Every child attending a Take 2 Access screening receives a free ticket for themselves and two free tickets for accompanying adults.
Visible Cinema, GFT’s monthly Deaf-friendly film event, will present a screening of Jesse Eisenberg’s witty comedy A Real Pain, starring Kieran Culkin. The film will have descriptive subtitles, and the introduction and discussion will have Live Captioning and BSL interpretation. Tickets are available for just £6.90.
Movie Memories, GFT’s dementia-friendly film event, will bring in the new year with the Powell and Pressburger classic I Know Where I’m Going! Designed to enable people living with dementia to socialise in a safe and welcoming environment, tickets for Movie Memories are just £3, including free refreshments and live music.
Tickets for GFT’s January programme are on sale now from glasgowfilm.org and the GFT Box Office.
Glasgow’s original independent cinema, GFT celebrates its 50th birthday in 2024. Glasgow Film’s ‘£50 for 50’ campaign invites supporters to take part in celebrating 50 years of GFT by donating £50. People making donations will become part of GFT’s cinematic history and help shape the next 50 years of independent film. In return, donors will be invited to a special screening in January 2025 and have their support recognised on screen. Find out more and donate at www.glasgowfilm.org/donate
GFT is operated by Glasgow Film, an educational charity which also runs the award-winning Glasgow Film Festival and Glasgow Youth Film Festival, and is the lead organisation for Film Hub Scotland. GFT is the city’s original independent arthouse cinema and the home of film in Glasgow. Glasgow Film is funded by Creative Scotland, Screen Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
