Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Surge
Ben Whishaw is one of those actors who has quietly gone about his business, amassing an impressive filmography in a relatively short space of time. Whilst the British actor has starred in big budget films like Spectre, The Lobster, Mary Poppins Returns, and of course providing the voice for Paddington, it’s in smaller releases where …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Rosa’s Wedding
Families come in many shapes and sizes. Each unit is unique, with a complex mix of inter-dependent relationships and hard-won power dynamics. It’s natural in larger broods for people to slip into certain roles over time. There’s normally a dominant force. A patriarch or matriarch and then a range from submissive to controlling and everything …
Glasgow Film Festival: Gagarine
The Cité Gagarine housing project was built on the outskirts of Paris by the Communist Party of France. Named in honour of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who attended its inauguration in 1963, the complex was constructed in the spirit of hope. However, like the political movement itself, by the late twentieth century its fortunes have …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: BIG vs SMALL
Small, but mighty, Joana Linhares de Andrade constantly defies expectations. The pint-sized Portuguese has the heart of a lion and is the only woman from her country to surf the big waves. However, while nothing seems to faze her, she does have one phobia. Along with many other athletes in her field, she shares the …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
Hungary is a nation with a proud history of producing a rich and diverse range of cinema. The turbulent nature of the country’s social and political struggles has been reflected in its filmmaking, with the likes of István Szabó, Miklós Jancsó or Béla Tarr leading the way. However, since the foundation of the National Film …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Eye of the Storm
While James Morrison may not be a familiar name to most, he has played an important role in post-war Scottish art. Indeed, the Glaswegian has often been credited by many as helping to rejuvenate landscape painting in Scotland. His career spanned over seven decades, beginning with tenements of his native Glasgow and ending with countryside …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Black Bear
We do not live in a meritocracy and there is no job sector where this is more evident than the film industry. It’s a vocation overpopulated by wealth, nepotism and privilege. A world in which Christopher Abbott casts a rather unique shadow, slowly working his way up and consistently impressing. Since his debut in Martha …
Glasgow Film Festival: Redemption of a Rogue
One of the most well-known stories in the Bible is that of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger brother leaves home and squanders his life and wealth, only to return home and be fondly welcomed back into the flock by his father. Over the centuries, this idea has been adapted into literature, art, …
Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
Marianne Joan Elliott-Said was one of the most influential musicians and artists of the late 1970s. After watching an early Sex Pistols gig on Hastings pier, she put an advert in Melody Maker looking for ‘young punx who want to stick it together’. She became Poly Styrene and they became the X-Ray Spex. As a …
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Jumbo
In the 21st century, love and sex come in countless shapes and sizes. Whilst many traditional cultures still adhere strictly to a marriage between a man and a ‘woman’, which is consummated on the wedding night, this is no longer the norm. Indeed, my friend tells me that a quick search on the internet will …