GLASGOW FILM THEATRE UNVEILS RE-OPENING PROGRAMME
GLASGOW FILM THEATRE UNVEILS RE-OPENING PROGRAMME
Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) has announced the line-up of films that audiences will be able to enjoy on the big screen when the cinema re-opens on Monday 31 August.
GFT is operated by Glasgow Film, an educational charity which also runs the award-winning Glasgow Film Festival and Glasgow Youth Film Festival. GFT is the city’s original independent arthouse cinema and the home of film in Glasgow.
The titles announced for the re-opening programme include Tenet, the long awaited sci-fi action spectacle from director Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception) with some screenings on 35mm. Alice Winocour’s Proxima, starring Eva Green, will return to GFT which screened its UK premiere in February as the Opening Gala of Glasgow Film Festival.
Film lovers have come to rely on GFT as the place to see the hottest new indie cinema releases and the re-opening programme will not disappoint. Claire Oakley’s debut feature, Make Up, is already being touted by critics as the best British film of the year and will play at GFT from Monday 31 August until Thursday 3 September.
Ladj Ly’s powerful debut Les Misérables, inspired by the riots that ripped through France in 2005, received the Prix du Jury at 2019’s Cannes Film Festival and was Oscar-nominated for this year’s Best International Feature Film. It will play at GFT from Friday 4 until Tuesday 10 September.
Fans of animation will want to catch Away, the impressive debut from one-man animation studio Gints Zilbalodis showing at GFT on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September. The 26-year old Latvian wrote, directed, animated, edited and composed the music for the film – which is a wordless tale of a boy on the run in a strange land, who discovers a motorbike and a map.
On Tuesday 8 September, GFT will host a preview screening of Max Richter’s Sleep, a documentary studying the universal experience of sleep that unites us all. The film follows acclaimed composer and musician Max Richter, and artist and filmmaker Yulia Mahr as they navigate an ambitious performance of his celebrated eight-hour opus Sleep. Mahr’s personal archive is weaved with performance footage from Berlin, Sydney and Paris to create a rich portrait of a shared artistic process, along with contributions that illuminate both the science and story behind the work. The screening will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with Max Richter and Yulia Mahr.
Tickets will go on sale on Monday 24 August at 12pm (noon) from glasgowfilm.org
GFT’s Programme Manager, Paul Gallagher, said: “I have been watching lots of films at home during lockdown, and I imagine the same is true of many GFT-goers. With our re-opening programme, I want to remind everyone that cinema can do what no home viewing experience can get close to. You will find it in the immersive haunting images and sounds of Claire Oakley’s Make Up; in Eva Green’s intensely intimate performance in Proxima; in the knuckle-gnawing tension of Ladj Ly’s explosive Les Misérables; and in the head-spinning blockbuster thrills of Tenet, presented on Christopher Nolan’s preferred medium of 35mm film. And if what you really want is soothing respite, you will find this at GFT as well, in two very different films – Max Richter’s Sleep, a documentary that’s a treat for hearts and ears, and Gints Zilbalodis’ breathtaking animation Away, a marvel of sensory delights.”
GFT will re-open on Monday 31 August after being closed for more than five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the cinema doors being closed, Glasgow Film has continued to deliver a digital programme of activity and provide both free and paid-for content for film-lovers of all ages, under the banner of ‘At Home With GFT.’ These included weekly film discussions with the cinema’s audience via social media, live Q&A’s with industry experts, and virtual screenings of new releases.
Glasgow Film also recently announced plans for Glasgow Film Festival 2021, which will run from 24 February to 7 March 2021, and will combine live cinema and online streaming for the first time in the festival’s history. Glasgow Film Festival has continued to deliver its lauded Industry programme digitally throughout lockdown including the Talent Mentorship scheme, which provides mentoring from industry professionals to people from under-represented groups.
Short Circuit – the new talent development programme for Scotland, delivered by Film City Futures in partnership with Glasgow Film, and supported by Screen Scotland and BFI Network (using funds from the National Lottery) – was also launched during this time.
Film Hub Scotland, which is based at and led by Glasgow Film, has provided much-needed support and resources to the independent cinema sector across Scotland throughout the COVID-19 crisis, including providing emergency funding for eight organisations through the BFI FAN Resilience Fund.
The GFT building has also been undergoing improvements behind closed doors, with a new lift installation improving accessibility throughout the building. GFT was recently awarded support from the National Lottery through Screen Scotland’s Cinema Equipment Fund to complete a 4K upgrade to Cinema 3, GFT’s newest screen. All three screens will now have 4K capability, allowing GFT to remain at the forefront of customer experience and present filmmakers’ work as they intend it to be seen.
GFT will follow all Scottish Government health and safety regulations relating to COVID-19. This means reduced seating capacity in the cinema with seats kept vacant to allow safe social distancing of customers, social distancing measures such as one-way systems throughout the building, and longer breaks between screenings to allow extra time for cleaning.
Allison Gardner, CEO of Glasgow Film, said: “We have been looking forward to re-opening ever since March when we took the decision to temporarily close. The past five months have been a hard time for many people and we know so many of our loyal customers can’t wait to return to GFT; every effort has been made to make sure they will have a safe and enjoyable visit when they do.
“We want to thank everyone who took part in ‘At Home With GFT’, made a donation or bought a CineCard membership while we were closed. As an educational charity, we need that support more than ever. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back and we’re delighted to be re-opening with such a strong programme of films.”
Film Screening Schedule:
Tenet – Monday 31 August – Sunday 13 September
Proxima – Monday 31 August – Thursday 3 September
Make Up – Monday 31 August – Thursday 3 September
Les Misérables – Friday 4 – Thursday 10 September
Away – Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September
Preview: Max Richter’s Sleep + Recorded Q&A – Tuesday 8 September