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Glasgow Film Festival · 2013

Glasgow Film Festival 2013

Youth

Put together by a group of young film enthusiasts and designed to provide something for everyone from toddlers to teens, the Glasgow Youth Film Festival, which precedes the main festival, always offers a strong selection of movies.

Programme

21 films · 11 reviews

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Alfie The Little Werewolf (Dolfje Weerwolfje)

On his seventh birthday, a boy discover a hair-raising family secret.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2011; Director: Joram Lürsen; Writer: Tamara Bos, based on the book by Paul van Loon.; Stars: Ole Kroes, Maas Bronkhuyzen, Remko Vrijdag, Vader Vriends)

China Heavyweight

In central China, where a coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions, the top students face dramatic choices as they graduate – should they fight for the collective good or for themselves?

(Year: 2012; Director: Yung Chang; Writer: Yung Chang; Stars: Zongli He, Yunfei Miao, Moxiang Qi, Zhong Zhao)

The Day Of The Crows (Le jour des corneilles)

Review preview for The Day Of The Crows

Complex and immersive, funny but with a sense of danger lurking in its darker moments, this is the sort of film that children and adults will watch to the end and then want to watch again.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Animated story of a boy who leads a wild existence deep in the forest until the day he discovers civilised life in a neighbouring village and meets a girl who lives there.

(Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Jean-Christophe Dessaint; Writer: Amandine Taffin; Stars: Voices of Jean Reno, Isabelle Carré, Claude Chabrol, Lorànt Deutsch)

Full review

The Deflowering Of Eva Van End (De Ontmaagding Van Eva Van End)

Review preview for The Deflowering Of Eva Van End

With astute social commentary interwoven in these personal dramas, this is a film whose cruellest joke is on its title character.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The arrival of a handsome exchange student causes a troubled family to come apart at the seams.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2012; Director: Michiel ten Horn; Writer: Anne Barnhoorn, Michiel ten Horn; Stars: Vivian Dierickx, Jacqueline Blom, Freerk Bos)

Full review

Fat Kid Rules The World

A suicidal teenager is befriended by an aspiring punk musician but his father disapproves.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Matthew Lillard; Stars: Jacob Wysocki, Matt O'Leary, Billy Campbell)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Review preview for Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a laugh-out-loud fest that makes you wonder how can kids be so intelligent and so stupid at the same time.

Gabriella Trybalska · 4.5 out of 5
A teen plots a day off school.

(Country: US; Year: 1986; Director: John Hughes; Writer: John Hughes; Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Kristy Swanson, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward)

Full review See: Article about the Brat Pack, John Hughes and teenagers in the movies.

First Position

Review preview for First Position

An immensely involving and engaging experience.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
A documentary following a group of kids through tough ballet training.

(Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Bess Kargman)

Full review

From Up On Poppy Hill

Review preview for From Up On Poppy Hill

Deserving of special mention is the fantastically lush animated vision of Yokohama.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
A new friendship and the prospect of romance are thrown into disarray by a shocking revelation.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2011; Director: Goro Miyazaki; Writer: Hayao Miyazaki, based on a story by Tetsurô Sayama; Stars: Masami Nagasawa, Junichi Okada)

Full review

Gimme The Loot

Review preview for Gimme The Loot

Vibrant, funny and ultimately touching, Leon's loose limbed narrative is an ode to both the tribulations of adolescence and the city in which it's set.

Neil Mitchell · 3.5 out of 5
A pair of graffiti artists attempt to pull off a daring tagging mission

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Adam Leon; Writer: Adam Leon; Stars: Tysheeb Hickson, Zoë Lescaze, Joshua Rivera, Tashiana R. Washington) , Official site

Full review

The Gruffalo

A mouse survives a walk in the woods using its wits.

(Country: UK, Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Max Lang, Jakob Schuh; Stars: James Corden, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, Robbie Coltrane, John Hurt)

The Gruffalo's Child

A brave little gruffalo goes looking for the big, bad mouse.

(Country: UK, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Uwe Heidschötter, Johannes Weiland; Stars: James Corden, Helena Bonham Carter, Shirley Henderson, Robbie Coltrane, John Hurt)

I Wish (Kiseki)

Review preview for I Wish

Hirokazu Koreeda's childhood adventure is a sweet and subtle tale of friendship, generosity of spirit and the triumph of hope over expectation.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Two brothers hatch a plot to make their reunion wish come true.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2011; Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda; Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda; Stars: Koki Maeda, Ohshirô Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Cara Uchida, Kanna Hashimoto, Rento Isobe, Hoshinosuke Yoshinaga, Hiroshi Abe, Yoshio Harada, Isao Hashizume, Kirin Kiki, Masami Nagasawa, Yui Natsukawa, Jô Odagiri, Nene Ohtsuka)

Full review

Kaddish For A Friend

A refugee family risks deportation after the teenage son gets in trouble, so he sets out to make things right, making surprising discoveries in the process.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Leo Khasin; Stars: Neil Belakhdar, Ryszard Ronczewski, Neil Malik Abdullah)

Kauwboy

Review preview for Kauwboy

There's a real sense of being there, not only in the same physical spaces but in the same emotional ones.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A boy with a difficult home life befriends an injured jackdaw.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2012; Director: Boudewijn Koole; Stars: Rick Lens, Loek Peters, Susan Radder, Hüseyin Cahit Ölmez)

Full review

Lena

A young woman tired of being written off because of her size tentatively embarks on a new relationship.

(Country: Netherlands, Belgium; Year: 2011; Director: Christophe Van Rompaey; Stars: Emma Levie, Niels Gomperts, Jeroen Willems)

Otelo Burning

Review preview for Otelo Burning

Otelo Burning presents us with a world where a great deal depends on trust and goodwill, making its hero vulnerable.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Three friends discover surfing as an escape from the violence of late-apartheid South Africa.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2011; Director: Sara Blecher; Writer: James Whyle, Sara Blecher; Stars: Jafta Mamabolo, Thomas Gumede, Sihle Xaba, Tshepang Mohlomi)

Full review

Sammy's Great Escape

When a turtle explorer and his friend are kidnapped and taken to an aquarium, their children set out to rescue them.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2012; Director: Ben Stassen; Stars: Wesley Johnny, Cinda Adams)

The We And The I

A chance to get to know a diverse group of schoolkids on their bus home through the Bronx after the last day of school.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Michel Gondry; Writer: Michel Gondry, Jeff Grimshaw, Paul Proch; Stars: Michael Brodie, Teresa Lynn, Raymond Delgado)

Wickie And The Treasure Of The Gods (Wickie auf großer Fahrt)

When will little Wickie finally become a real Viking? This question is giving his father Halvar sleepless nights. But when Sven the Terrible kidnaps Halvar, Wickie unexpectedly gets his big chance.

(Country: Germany / Malta; Year: 2011; Director: Christian Ditter; Writer: Christian Ditter, Runer Jonsson, Neil Ennever; Stars: Jonas Hämmerle, Waldemar Kobus, Valeria Eisenbart, Günther Kaufmann)

Wolf Children (Ookami Kodomo No Ame To Yuki)

Review preview for Wolf Children

This as an enchanting film and perfect for family viewing.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After falling in love with a werewolf she meets at university, a young woman is left alone to raise two half-wolf children who must be hidden from prying eyes.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Mamoru Hosoda; Writer: Mamoru Hosoda, Satoko Okudera; Stars: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Huru Kuroki)

Full review

Wreck-It Ralph (Wreck-It Ralph 3D, Wreck It Ralph)

Review preview for Wreck-It Ralph

The beauty of Wreck-It Ralph is that it makes no difference if you spot any of the references or love videogames, such is the vibrancy of the animation and the humour of the screenplay.

Neil Mitchell · 4 out of 5
Tired of being a video game bad guy, Ralph sets off through all the games in the arcade where he lives, hoping to make a name for himself.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Rich Moore; Writer: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon, Jennifer Lee, John C. Reilly, Sam J. Levine, Jared Stern; Stars: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Ed O'Neill, Dennis Haysbert, Edie McClurg, Raymond S. Persi, Jess Harnell, Rachael Harris, Skylar Astin, Adam Carolla)

Full review See: Quvenzhané Wallis, Jessica Chastain, Benh Zeitlin, Rich Moore, Famke Janssen and Daniel Craig on the National Board of Awards red carpet