Skip to main content

Glasgow Film Festival · 2021

Glasgow Film Festival 2021

Documentaries

Programme

7 films · 7 reviews

Jump to a film

Big Vs Small

Review preview for Big Vs Small

Where other films might emphasise skill and natural ability, it's patience and persistence that are shown to pay off here.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Profile of big-wave surfer Joana Andrade.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2020; Director: Minna Dufton; Writer: Minna Dufton)

Castro's Spies

Review preview for Castro's Spies

Alongside fascinating details of what their acts of espionage actually involved and how they went about them, this film explores the way that the Cuban skies built up their cover and the challenges they faced in maintaining it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Castro's Spies tells the thrilling story of an elite group of Cuban intelligence agents sent undercover to the US in the 1990s.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2020; Director: Ollie Aslin, Gary Lennon; Writer: Ollie Aslin, Gary Lennon)

City Hall

Review preview for City Hall

Wiseman has stuck around to the point where people forget that he's there, so we see people as they habitually present themselves to one another, rather than more self-conscious performances.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A look at Boston's city government, covering racial justice, housing, climate action, and more.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Frederick Wiseman; Stars: Marty Walsh)

Gunda

Review preview for Gunda

The language captured here speaks volumes. The animals’ faces, their reactions and movements, remind doubters of their sentient nature in every shot.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Pigs, cows and chickens. Intimate portraits of living beings who wind up dead on a plate every day.

(Country: Norway, US; Year: 2020; Director: Victor Kossakovsky)

My Favorite War (My Favourite War)

Review preview for My Favorite War

Thoughtful and intriguing, while suitable for all ages.

Mladen Pechevski · 4 out of 5
The director recalls the impact of Soviet propaganda on her childhood.

(Country: Norway, Latvia; Year: 2020; Director: Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen; Writer: Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen) , Official site

Tina

Review preview for Tina

Right from the outset, this film zeroes in on Tina's natural charisma.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary celebration of Tina Turner.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin; Writer: Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin; Stars: Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Tina Turner, Katori Hall, Kurt Loder)

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (Truman And Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation)

Review preview for Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

A remarkably candid and intimate look at two men who lived a good part of their lives in public.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The work, lives and personal journeys of two iconic American artists coalesce with creative combustion in this innovative dual-portrait documentary.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Lisa Immordino Vreeland; Stars: Dick Cavett, David Frost)