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Glasgow Film Festival · 2017

Glasgow Film Festival 2017

Stranger Than Fiction

Programme

19 films · 13 reviews

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All These Sleepless Nights

What does it mean to be truly awake in a world that seems satisfied to be asleep? Kris and Michal push their experiences of life and love to a breaking point as they restlessly roam the streets of Warsaw in search for answers.

(Country: UK, Poland; Year: 2015; Director: Michal Marczak)

All This Panic

Review preview for All This Panic

For many viewers, the film will require taking a step back, ditching assumptions and making a conscious effort to listen. It's worth it. These girls have a lot to say.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
What is it like to come of age in New York City? First-time director Jenny Gage follows vivacious sisters, Ginger and Dusty, and their high school friends over the course of their crucial teen years.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jenny Gage; Stars: Dusty Rose Ryan, Delia Cunningham, Lena M, Ginger Leigh Ryan, Olivia Cucinotta, Sage Adams, Nichole R. Thompson-Adams, Kevin Ryan, Tanya Ryan, Ivy Blackshire, Gabriel Sommer, Tess Neau)

Full review

Check It

Review preview for Check It

A mixture of tragedy, laughter and wildly clashing perspectives makes Check It a compelling subject.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about a Washington DC gang made up of young LGBT people.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Dana Flor, Toby Oppenheimer)

Full review

The Chocolate Case (Tony)

A documentary about people fighting child slavery in the cocoa industry.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2016; Director: Benthe Forrer; Writer: Benthe Forrer; Stars: Maurice Dekkers, Roland Duong, Teun van de Keuken)

David Lynch: The Art Life

Review preview for David Lynch: The Art Life

We get to watch Lynch work on a sculpture, sit and smoke, or interact with his toddler daughter Lula in the present. Family photos and home movies light up the past.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary about the American filmmaker.

(Country: US, Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm; Stars: David Lynch)

Full review See: Jon Nguyen in conversation on Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Lost Highway and David Lynch - The Art Life , Jon Nguyen in conversation on David Lynch - The Art Life

George Best: All By Himself

Portrait of the Manchester United and Northern Irish footballer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Daniel Gordon)

Gleason

At the age of 34, Steve Gleason, former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero, was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Doctors gave him two to five years to live. So that is what Steve chose to do: Live — both for his wife and newborn son and to help others with this disease.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Clay Tweel)

The Good Postman

Review preview for The Good Postman

Hristov stands back and silently observes as the election campaign plays out, showing rather than telling, how much economic circumstances can drive both word and deed.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
In a small Bulgarian village troubled by the ongoing refugee crisis, a local postman runs for mayor — and learns that even minor deeds can outweigh good intentions.

(Country: Finland, Bulgaria; Year: 2016; Director: Tonislav Hristov; Writer: Tonislav Hristov, Lubomir Tsvetkov)

Full review

I Am Not Your Negro

Review preview for I Am Not Your Negro

The full use of what film can do is eye-opening - the juxtapositions jolt awareness of what is important and remains necessary.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Essay film based on James Baldwin's writing about the story of race in modern America.

(Country: US, France, Belgium, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Raoul Peck; Writer: James Baldwin)

Full review See: Interview with Gay Talese about James Baldwin and I Am Not Your Negro , Gay Talese in conversation on James Baldwin and I Am Not Your Negro , Article about the 89th Academy Awards Oscar Best Documentary Feature Film nominees

Liberation Day

Review preview for Liberation Day

There’s a strange voyeurism to the film, especially given the isolated nature of North Korea.

Luke Shaw · 4 out of 5
The story of Laibach's visit to North Korea.

(Country: Latvia, Norway, North Korea, Slovenia; Year: 2016; Director: Ugis Olte, Morten Traavik; Writer: Morten Traavik; Stars: Boris Benko, Tomaz Cubej, Milan Fras)

Full review

The Lost City Of Cecil B DeMille

In 1982 Peter Brosnan heard a story about an ancient Egyptian City buried in California. For 30 years he has been fighting to dig it up.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Peter Brosnan; Writer: Peter Brosnan; Stars: Peter Brosnan, Agnes de Mille, Cecil B DeMille, Charlton Heston)

The Lure

Review preview for The Lure

The Lure is overlong and could do with some tightening up, but there's plenty to enjoy about it.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The story of an eccentric millionaire's buried treasure and those who are searching for it.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Tomas Leach)

Full review See: Interview with Tomas Leach about The Lure

Remembering The Man

The true story of two boys who fell in love at a prestigious Catholic boarding school and retained their passion through all the tumultuous years that followed.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2015; Director: Nickolas Bird, Eleanor Sharpe; Writer: Nickolas Bird, Dennis K Smith; Stars: George Banders, Reece Manning, Richard Bligh, Denis Moore, Lisa Rodgers)

Small Town Rage (Small Town Rage: Fighting Back In The Deep South)

Review preview for Small Town Rage

David Hylan and Raydra Hall's gently paced documentary is very much a small town story, part local history lesson, part memorial to those who didn't make it.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary examining the work and influence of ACT UP Shreveport in the conservative Deep South.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: David Hylan, Raydra Hall; Writer: David Hylan; Stars: Lance Bass, Robert Darrow, Deborah Allen)

Full review

Spectres Are Haunting Europe

Review preview for Spectres Are Haunting Europe

Spectres Are Haunting Europe plunges us into the thick of the action and leaves us to try and make sense of it for ourselves - just as the migrants have to.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A documentary portrait of life in the Idomeni refugee camp.

(Country: France, Greece; Year: 2016; Director: Maria Kourkouta, Nick Giannari)

Full review

#sugarwater

Review preview for #sugarwater

The subjects are all articulate and engaging and there's a good deal of interesting content.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A documentary about the first ever performance by pioneering Deaf and disabled theatre company Graeae.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Jo Lewis)

Full review

Swim Team

Review preview for Swim Team

Its real achievement is the skill with which it balances its inspirational message with an honest portrait of day to day life and what it means to be an athlete.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The Jersey Hammerheads is a competitive swim team made up of a diverse group of teens on the autism spectrum.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Lara Stolman)

Full review

Tickling Giants

Review preview for Tickling Giants

The humour itself is as light as a feather – a symbol used by Andeel in his animation to good effect – but the reaction from the regime(s) is about as subtle as a brick

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Charting Bassem Youssef’s rise as Egypt’s foremost on-screen satirist.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Sara Taksler; Writer: Sara Taksler; Stars: Bassem Youssef, Jon Stewart)

Full review

Where To, Miss?

Review preview for Where To, Miss?

Bastian's film is an intriguing portrait of a society in flux.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young Indian woman battle to escape her traditional role and fulfil her dream of becoming a taxi driver.

(Country: Germany, India; Year: 2016; Director: Manuela Bastian)

Full review