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Glasgow Film Festival · 2019

Glasgow Film Festival 2019

Local Heroes

Programme

19 films · 14 reviews

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The Aftermath

The wife of a colonel stationed in Hamburg after World War two falls for the German man whose home they are sharing.

(Country: UK, US, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: James Kent; Writer: James Kent, based on the book by Rhidian Brook; Stars: Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Jason Clarke)

Are You Proud?

Review preview for Are You Proud?

Although it's not comprehensive it packs a lot into its 95 minute running time.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary bringing together rare archive footage and interviews from across a spectrum of campaigners to celebrate the progress that has been achieved through campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Ashley Joiner)

Full review

Benjamin

A young filmmaker faces emotional turmoil of a prospective romance and the screening of his second film.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Simon Amstell; Writer: Simon Amstell; Stars: Colin Morgan, Anna Chancellor, Phénix Brossard, Joel Fry, Jack Rowan, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Michèle Belgrand, James Lailey, Ellie Kendrick, Kriss Dosanjh, Arnab Chanda, Joanne Howarth, Jessie Cave, Alex Lowe, Mariam Haque)

Connect

Review preview for Connect

There are things that ring very true in Connect - the way in which a family, particularly father and son, don't talk.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
A young man contemplates suicide after losing someone close to him. He never feels that it’s possible to share his feelings until a care home owner Jeff becomes a source of support and a flirtation with a single mother presents a reason to choose life.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Marilyn Edmond; Writer: Marilyn Edmond; Stars: Kevin Guthrie, Siobhan Reilly, Stephen McCole)

Full review

Dead Good

Review preview for Dead Good

The process of saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy and director Rehana Rose has secured impressive access to three families who let her observe it all.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about a group of Brighton women opposed to the secrecy and expense of the traditional funeral industry, they help the bereaved to be involved with the preparation of their loved one’s body and create bespoke funeral arrangements that are meaningful and personal to the deceased.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Rehana Rose) , Official site

Full review See: Interview with Rehana Rose about Dead Good

Dirty God

Review preview for Dirty God

Ever cursed to wear a half-sealed translucent franju-esque mask that makes her scars even more visible, Jade is a single mother and an acid attack survivor.

Georgiana Musat · 4 out of 5
Jade is a young mother in the prime of her life when an acid attack leaves her severely burned. While her face has been reconstructed, her beauty is lost beneath the scars. Descending a self-destructive path with relationships crumbling, Jade must take drastic action to reclaim her life.

(Country: Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Ireland; Year: 2019; Director: Sacha Polak; Writer: Susie Farrell, Sacha Polak; Stars: Katherine Kelly, Kerry Norton, Luke White, Tachia Newall, Frieda Thiel, Michael John Treanor, Wendy Albiston, Matthew Faucher, Karl Jackson, Melissa Hartzel, Rebecca Stone, Matt Tyzack, Alys Metcalf, Bluey Robinson, Vicky Knight)

Full review

Fighting With My Family

Review preview for Fighting With My Family

What comes across more than anything is how the American way dominates.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
Saraya is part of a tight-knit Norwich family who scrape a living on the local wrestling scene. Her dream is to become a bright new WWE star. When opportunity knocks, does she have what it takes to make the grade?

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2018; Director: Stephen Merchant; Writer: Stephen Merchant; Stars: Florence Pugh, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Dwayne Johnson)

Full review

Final Ascent (Final Ascent: The Legend Of Hamish MacInnes)

Review preview for Final Ascent

Hamish MacInnes is one of the last of the great adventurers. His story is wild, thrilling, poignant and true.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary about legendary mountaineer Hamish MacInnes and his struggle to recover from mental illness and reconnect with his past.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Robbie Fraser; Stars: Hamish MacInnes, Michael Palin)

Full review

Harry Birrell: Films Of Love And War

A documentary about the observational filmmaker whose 400 films and personal diaries to capture a vivid sense of wartime years spent in Bombay, the jungles of Burma and the mountains of Nepal.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Matt Pinder)

Last Breath

In 2012, diver Chris Lemons lay trapped under the North Sea. His umbilical cable was completely severed, leaving him without breathing gas or any connection to the dive bell. Alone in the dark waters without any means of communication, his chances of survival were slim. Docudrama Last Breath recreates his story,

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Richard da Costa, Alex Parkinson)

Mackintosh Redux

A a revised assessment of Mackintosh in the history of architecture, originally made to complement Andrew McLaren Young’s 1968 Charles Rennie Mackintosh Centenary exhibition..

(Country: UK; Year: 1968; Director: Murray Grigor)

Of Fish And Foe

Review preview for Of Fish And Foe

Whilst Heathcote's film doesn't always flatter, it does succeed in capturing a disappearing lifestyle at a critical point in history.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Study of one of Scotland's last salmon fishing families as they find themselves accused of welfare violations.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Heike Bachelier, Andy Heathcote)

Full review

Only You

Review preview for Only You

A seriously intelligent script.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
A couple who fall in love at first sight face problems when they try to conceive.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Harry Wootliff; Writer: Harry Wootliff, Harry Wootliff, Matthieu de Braconier; Stars: Laia Costa, Josh O'Connor, Stuart Martin, Lisa McGrillis, Peter Wight, Robin Laing, Orion Lee, Kirsty Strain, Bobby Rainsbury, Daniel Campbell, Tam Dean Burn, Gregor Firth, Anita Vettesse, Joe Cassidy, James McElvar)

Full review

Pond Life

Review preview for Pond Life

This is a film bursting with character and characters.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A giant carp is said to inhabit a pond outside Doncaster, inspiring its own Loch Ness Monster-style legend. One night, Trevor (Tom Varey) assembles friends, families and neighbours to embark on a fishing expedition that they will never forget.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Bill Buckhurst; Writer: Richard Cameron; Stars: Esmé Creed-Miles, Tom Varey, Angus Imrie)

Full review

Prophecy

Review preview for Prophecy

Paul has a way of finding angles that bring out different aspects of the process and the developing work.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary providing an insight into the mind of acclaimed artist Peter Howson as he works on his latest masterpiece.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Charlie Paul; Stars: Peter Howson)

Full review

Ray & Liz (Ray And Liz)

Review preview for Ray & Liz

Billingham's consideration calls for empathy rather than condemnation.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Drama about a dysfunctional family.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Richard Billingham; Writer: Richard Billingham; Stars: Michelle Bonnard, Tony Way, Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Sam Gittins, James Eeles, Andrew Jefferson-Tierney, James Hinton, Michelle Bonnard, Tony Way, Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Sam Gittins, James Eeles, Andrew Jefferson-Tierney)

Full review

Run Free

Review preview for Run Free

It's heartwarming, well constructed, affirming and inspiring.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A group of kids from the ghettos of Kingston undertake a Hero Journey, progressing through adversity to triumph with an international production of their own show.

(Country: UK, Jamaica; Year: 2018; Director: Simon Sharkey, Benjamin Zecher)

Full review

The White Crow

Review preview for The White Crow

Hare finds contrast between Nureyev's physical grace and his considerably more abrasive personality.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Dramatisation of the early life of Rudolf Nureyev and his defection to the West.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Ralph Fiennes; Writer: David Hare, inspired by the novel by Julie Kavanagh; Stars: Oleg Ivenko, Ralph Fiennes, Louis Hofmann, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Sergei Polunin, Olivier Rabourdin, Raphaël Personnaz, Chulpan Khamatova, Zach Avery, Mar Sodupe, Calypso Valois, Aleksey Morozov, Nebojsa Dugalic, Igor Filipovic, Yves Heck)

Full review See: Interview with Ilan Eshkeri about White Crow