Tickets are now on sale for the 17th edition of Glasgow Film Festival, which will run from 2-13 March in venues and online. Below are some of our highlights from this year’s programme – in line with Take One Action’s focus on global cinema that spotlights underrepresented stories and voices.
Asteroid (Sayarak)
Mehdi Hoseinivand Aalipour’s tender film captures the ties that bind in a beguiling tale of an Iranian family and their efforts to build a better life. When 12-year-old Ebrahim has become the breadwinner for his mother and five siblings, Asteroid celebrates a child who shoulders his responsibilities with unstinting grace and savours the simple pleasures of a family meal, a homemade kite, and what he can achieve for others.
5-6 March | More info & tickets
Burning an Illusion
The first feature film by the pioneering Menelik Shabazz and the second British feature film by a Black director, Burning An Illusion is an indisputable part of both Black British culture and British film history. A love story set against the backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, Pat (Cassie Mcfarlane) is a young, assertive Black British woman whose relationship with her partner serves as the catalyst for her political awakening.
12 March | More info & tickets
Catch the Fair One
Real-life US boxing world champion Kali Reis plays Kaylee, who faces up to the fight of her life when embarking on a search to find her missing sister. Embedding herself in a human trafficking ring is the only way to retrace her sister’s steps and lead her up the chain of command to find the man responsible for the whole operation.
11-12 March | More info & tickets
Hive
In March 1999, the Kosovan village of Krusha e Madhe was the site of a massacre that left 240 people dead or missing. Seven years later, the villagers live with not knowing the fate of their loved ones. Fahrije (Yllka Gashi) has become everything to her family – home maker, plumber and provider. She hopes to start a small business selling the relish ajvar. Her determination to move on inspires the other women but is also a source of bitter conflict in a deeply patriarchal community.
3-4 March | 4-7 March (online) | More info & tickets
Not Going Quietly
At the age of 32, Ady Barkan was a new father and rising star in US progressive politics. His life, however, was changed when he was diagnosed with ALS. With the threat of increasing health care costs due to tax reforms, Ady confronts Senator Jeff Flake on a plane over his support for the controversial reforms. This viral confrontation propels Ady into national fame which he uses to set off a powerful political movement that encourages people to demand health care justice from their elected representatives. Through interviews with some of the most powerful politicians in the US, Ady reveals the true power of community activism.
9-10 March | More info & tickets
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
This documentary gives an insight into the overlooked stories of mass incarceration in the USA and policing from outside the walls of its institutions. The experiences of people affected across various American states are explored through storytelling that connects each place together. From working behind the scenes to arrange packages for prisoners, to those trapped inside its system forced to queue to pay petty minor offence fees, we are confronted with the machine that is the prison industrial complex in America.
13 March | More info & tickets
Rebellion
From Extinction Rebellion’s formation in 2018, the lines of division have been there for all to see. Not just from outsiders looking in but also amongst those striving to work together. While some are hellbent on causing disruption, there are those who are keen to reimagine our relationships with one another.
First time directors Maia Kenworthy & Elena Sánchez Bellot masterfully examine the human drama that comes from social change with their compelling documentary following a group of people banding together to challenge the status quo.
10-11 March | More info & tickets
Sweet Sixteen
20 years ago, TOA patrons Ken Loach and Paul Laverty made one of their most urgent, haunting dramas. Sweet Sixteen tells the story of Liam (Martin Compston) and his dreams of a better life. He has a plan for the future, when his mother is released from prison and they can make a fresh start together. However, everything conspires against his sweet dreams in a film of raw emotion and biting humour.
13 March | More info & tickets