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| Glasgow Film Festival co-directors Allison Gardner and Allan Hunter Photo: Eoin Carey |
The full line-up for the 17th edition of the Glasgow Film Festival was revealed today, opening on 24 February with Minari and closing on 7 March with Spring Blossom. As it takes place during lockdown, this year's festival has been forced to abandon plans for a hybrid edition and will now be held entirely online, but will still feature several world premières. There will be Q&A events with directors and stars, and a chance for film fans to mingle and discuss what they've watched in dedicated online rooms.
"We realised early on that things are going to be different," festival co-director Allison Gardner told Eye For Film, explaining that some popular parts of the festival just couldn't be replicated online, but she stressed her determination to keep the community spirit that regular attendees love. "I love hearing what people have to say about the movies. I think that the most interesting part of the festival - I'm always in the foyer, and I like talking to people. And I think it's really important."
She explained that partnerships with the London Film Festival and the Shanghai Film Festival have helped with this year's programming, and also spoke about this year's country focus on South Korea. "I think that South Korea is punching above its weight. And I think it's something we could aspire to, alongside Denmark, which is another country that we should look at. In fact we have a couple of films from there this year, including Riders Of Justice, which is one of our Audience Award nominees."
Gardner explained that the online format unfortunately means that there are fewer screenings overall this year, with no free ones, but the programme still extends to 62 films. Though it's halved in size, there will still be a Frightfest strand, plus a chance to see several films made in Scotland. Reflecting on the festival more widely, she expressed her love of Lawrence Michael Levine's Black Bear, while co-director Allan Hunter enthused about Sweetheart, City Hall and Shorta.
As usual, we'll be bringing you full coverage of the festival throughout, here at Eye For Film.
