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Festival coverage

Glasgow Film Festival

2009

Festival co-director Allan Hunter (picture by Stuart Crawford)
Festival co-director Allan Hunter (picture by Stuart Crawford)

Now in its fifth year, the Glasgow Film Festival is bigger and better than ever. The Festival is the fastest-growing film event in Britain, attracting audiences of more than 20,000 in 2008 when it played host to a bumper array of UK premieres including Lars And The Real Girl, Cassandra's Dream, The Cottage, The Bank Job, Honeydripper and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Opening with the eagerly-awaited In The Loop - an caustic satire on the underbelly of British politics - at which a host of stars are expected to appear, it showcases a great selection of movies including several UK premieres. Alongside this there'll be guest appearances from the likes of Bill Paterson and Michael Caine, a celebration of short films, an Audrey Hepburn retrospective, gigs by local bands, special tie-in club nights and even a live demonstration of sword fighting in tribute to centenary swashbuckler Errol Flynn.

You can look forward to two days of Frightfest horror films (also, don't miss Tomas Alfredson's classy prepubescent vampire masterpiece Let The Right One In), see the best of contemporary Mexican cinema, or join in the activities at the exciting new Youth festival. Other premieres include Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, a swansong for the screen legend's career. The closing gala will feature Last Chance Harvey, so don't miss your chance to get in on the action between the 12th and 26th of February. We'll be bringing you hot news, reviews and features throughout the festival here.

Other years (20)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Friday the 13th
    Review preview for Friday the 13th

    Friday The 13th is a well made but fairly unremarkable film. What about it could so incense the white male American critic?

    Donald Munro · 3 out of 5
    A series of vicious murders occurs at a summer camp.
  • The Adventures Of Robin Hood
    Review preview for The Adventures Of Robin Hood

    The film is completely unabashed and utterly committed to delivering on its promise of adventure.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Classic version of the outlaw tale.
  • Funny Face
    Review preview for Funny Face

    Donen shows us how magic is made.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
    A fashion photographer discovers a sales girl's ability as a model and makes her a star.
  • Ballast
    Review preview for Ballast

    Ballast is absorbing because it bravely avoids dramatic cliches to deliver a more positive experience than might be expected.

    David Graham · 4 out of 5
    An emotionally frayed family find their lives torn apart in a small Mississippi Delta town.
  • Let The Right One In
    Review preview for Let The Right One In

    It is frequently not what you see but what you hear which holds the horror.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    A touching story of first romance... with a side-serving of horror.
  • Disgrace
    Review preview for Disgrace

    Detached rather than indifferent.

    James Benefield · 3.5 out of 5
    The complex social life of an English professor forms a mirror for a complex country.
  • Hell's Pavement
    Review preview for Hell's Pavement

    Where the film centres on Aimee and her foster parents, it works well, with solid performances and real energy.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A young girl experiences the child care and fostering system, where good intentions don't always lead to good results.
  • Breakfast At Tiffany's
    Review preview for Breakfast At Tiffany's

    A film that is in step with its contemporary Hollywood background, for better and for worse.

    James Benefield · 3.5 out of 5
    A writer falls for his mysterious socialite neighbour. Re-issue.
  • I Sell The Dead
    Review preview for I Sell The Dead

    Monaghan and Fessenden are cast perfectly and have a great onscreen rapport, reminding me of a re-vamped Abbott and Costello.

    Darren Amner · 3.5 out of 5
    A grave robber looks back on the life he has led and the unburied bodies that haunt his memories.
  • Deadgirl
    Review preview for Deadgirl

    A sombre film that never shows more than it needs to, and never allows its more outrageous or shocking moments to descend into sadistic spectacle or farce.

    Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
    After two teenagers find a dead girl in the basement of a disused mental asylum, the boundary between right and wrong becomes sickeningly blurred.

A–Z of Glasgow Film Festival 2009 reviews

Features

  • Loopy Politics
    Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison and Armando Iannucci tell us what making In The Loop was like for them.
  • Bart got a release date
    Ten years after he conceived it, Brian Hecker's Bart Got A Room is finally coming out in the US - we talk to him about the film's journey.
  • The Final Reel
    Days Nine and Ten of the Glasgow Film Festival: scary monsters, punk nostalgia and Scandinavian treats.
  • Hits and Misses
    Days Seven and Eight of the Glasgow Film Festival: pirates, wrestlers, horror films and sticky-out ears.
  • In the Red Room
    Days Five and Six of the Glasgow Film Festival: rabbits, religion and Audrey Hepburn.
  • When the Lights go Down
    Days Three and Four of the Glasgow Film Festival: Robin Hood, short film, and European cinema.
  • Heavy Metal Cinema
    Rock band Anvil tell us what it was like to star in their own documentary.
  • Rude Awakening
    Days One and Two of the Glasgow Film Festival: In The Loop, Anvil and The Dungeon Moor Killings.
  • Disturbing Grace
    Exclusive interview with director Paul Solet on his debut horror feature.
  • All go at the GFF
    The 5th Glasgow Film Festival line-up is announced.