As restrictions are easing once again, Glasgow Film Festival is back, this year with a hybrid model which of course includes its online portal as well as physical screenings across the UK! Opening with Graham Moore’s tailor-made thriller The Outfit and closing with Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s tense family drama Murina, the festival boasts an eclectic mix of premieres and retrospectives. I’ve perused the programme to pick out five that I’ve got my eye on…
Bird Atlas
Marketed as Czech Republic’s answer to HBO’s Succession, this sharp family business thriller is written and directed by Olmo Omerzu. Whilst struggling with heart difficulties, patriarchal figure Ivo (Miroslav Donutil) discovers a leak in his company’s finances. During the investigation into the cause of the discrepancies in the books, he fears that those closest to him are to blame.
Benediction
Scots actor Jack Lowden is fast becoming one of our most exciting and interesting local talents, having impressed in recent years with supporting roles in Dunkirk, Fighting with my Family, Mary Queen of Scots, and Mangrove. He stars in this historical biopic by Terence Davies, telling the story of war poet Siegfried Sassoon.
Nitram
His previous feature, True History of the Kelly Gang, premiered at Glasgow Film Festival two years ago, and now the prolific Australian director Justin Kurzel is back with his latest piece. Nitram centres around the shocking events of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, and features Caleb Landry Jones in the leading role.
Happening
French drama Happening was a huge hit at last year’s Venice Film Festival, winning the Golden Lion award, and the director Audrey Diwan has since been nominated for a BAFTA. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Annie Ernaux, and follows student Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) in 1960s Paris.
True Things
Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke star in Harry Wootliff’s drama True Things, following on from her Glasgow-based debut hit Only You. Adapted from the novel True Things About Me by Deborah Kay Davies, the story explores a toxic relationship between a lost, lonely soul and a mysterious yet charming stranger.
Glasgow Film Festival will run from 2nd to 13th March and tickets are available now! Why not check out the full programme at the official festival website?
Cinema Perspective 