The Glasgow Film Festival is returning for its 15th year, bringing a sparkling line-up of documentaries, fiction films, events, talks and industry events to Glasgow from the 26th February to the 8th March.
In case the sheer amount of events and screenings to choose from feels overwhelming, here are some of the titles that embody Take One Action’s focus on international cinema that shines a light on issues of global concern and celebrates the people and stories that are changing the world.
Our eclectic selection includes the new film by Wadjda director and pioneering Saudi female filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, a rousing tribute to Toni Morrison, an exploration of Afghanistan by Herald foreign correspondent David Pratt and a new documentary by You’ve Been Trumped director Anthony Baxter.
Links below the synopsis will redirect to the ticket booking page.
See you at the cinema…
Balloon
Wed 4 March | 18:15 | Cineworld
Thu 5 March | 13:15 | Cineworld
Pema Tseden’s magnificently shot drama focuses on a Tibetan family living far from the big city. Dargye (Jinpa), and his wife Drolkar (Sonam Wangmo) have three sons and live with his elderly father. A further pregnancy would leave them facing a ruinous fine under the One-Child Policy. Droklar’s sister Ani (Yangshik Tso) became a nun after a doomed love affair. Neither woman can determine her own future in this traditional patriarchal society. Buffeted by changing times and conflicting demands of faith and state, family ties threaten to unravel in this poignant tale.
BECAUSE WE ARE GIRLS
Wed 4 March | 20:15 | CCA
Thu 5 March | 13:45 | CCA
Three sisters, Jeeti, Kira and Salakshana, have been fighting for more than eight years to finally gain some form of justice against a male cousin who abused them as children. For years they stayed silent for fear of blame and punishment. As the final verdict draws near, the sisters reflect on why they stayed quiet for so long. Deciding to focus more on the family dynamics that are prevalent in Punjabi culture rather than the grisly details of abuse, this is an important documentary that shines a light on the importance of support from the people that are closest to you.
FLINT
Sun 1 March | 17:30 | GFT
In 2014, the authorities in Flint, Michigan chose to cut costs and change the city’s domestic water supply from the great Lakes to the Flint River. Soon tap water was running brown, people were falling ill and it was clear that something was seriously wrong. Anthony Baxter (You’ve Been Trumped) has followed the situation over six years of denial, evasion, betrayal and hypocrisy in which the city’s poorest residents have suffered the most. The result is shocking and sad as it illuminates the inequalities of the modern world and celebrates the solidarity of ordinary people.
GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH
Tue 3 March | 20:15 | CCA
Wed 4 March | 13:00 | CCA
Follow The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as they bus their way though a concert tour of the deep south, in response to the resurgence of faith-based anti-LGBTQ laws brought about in the Trump era. Joined by the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, they sing a message of music, love and acceptance to communities who have been exposed to the weight of American intolerance. A joyous and life-affirming musical exploration of LGBTQ issues, which also challenges our preconceptions that linger around Southern States. A heart-warming tale, with just a drop of drag for good measure.
HAVA, MARYAM, ALEYSHA
Sat 7 March | 19:00 | CCA
Sun 8 March | 13:30 | CCA
The first independent Afghan film shot entirely in Kabul, Hava, Maryam, Aleysha uses the experiences of three Afghan women to illustrate a generation trying to escape the grip of a suffocating patriarchy. The heavily pregnant Hava is little more than a servant in her husband’s house. A night of soul-searching leaves television anchor Maryam determined to end a marriage marked by lies and deceit. Teenager Aleysha has agreed to a marriage with her kindly cousin. A poignant reflection on the plight of women with no control over their bodies or their destinies.
THE PERFECT CANDIDATE
Sat 7 March | 18:00 | GFT
Sun 8 March | 13:15 | GFT
Reforming a whole society begins with individual acts of courage in The Perfect Candidate, the latest film from Wadjda director Haifaa Al-Mansour. Maryam (Mila Alzahrani) is a dedicated small town doctor in Saudi Arabia constantly faced with the sexist attitudes of colleagues and patients. Her trip to a medical conference in Dubai is threatened by irregularities in travel papers that require male permission. Frustration inspires Maryam to stand for election to her local council. It is the first step in a campaign to win hearts, minds and make the changes that she longs to see.
PICTURES FROM AFGHANISTAN
Sun 1 March | 13:15 | GFT
Photojournalist David Pratt has spent almost forty years capturing indelible images of global conflicts. His career has taken him from Somalia and Syria to Colombia and Croatia. He has retained a special affection for Afghanistan, a country he has visited through decades of changing fortunes stretching from the height of the Soviet invasion in the 1980s through the years of the mujahideen and the rise of the Taliban. Now, he returns to the places and people that have meant so much to him, providing a uniquely personal then and now document of Afghanistan life.
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM
Thu 27 Feb | 12:45 | GFT
Sat 29 Feb | 15:30 | GFT
The late, lauded Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was inspired to write because no one took a ‘little black girl’ seriously. This astute, wide-ranging documentary pays tribute to the pieces of a remarkable life that stretched from a childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to book tours with Muhammad Ali, activism with Angela Davis and a Nobel Prize for ‘novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import’. Morrison is a warm, inspirational presence in a film that reflects on race, American history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her writing.