Glasgow Film Festival 2026

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to host the press launch of this year's Glasgow Film Festival, with new Head of Programme Paul Gallagher and Programme Manager Chris Kumar, at the GFT. We sat down afterwards to chat about some of the brilliant movies they're screening, and some of the myriad reasons that GFF remains a world-class festival, while also being deeply rooted in Scotland, and in its own city - as you'll hear. 

The festival opens in a matter of hours - on Wednesday February 25th - and it runs until the 8th of March. We touched on global premieres, Glasgow body-snatchers, two very different movies called Hen, and a retrospective of Marilyn Monroe - via Gaelic psalm singing, Caledonia Schemin', Carrie, Everybody To Kenmure Street - and special guests like James McAvoy, Bernard MacLaverty, and Lynne Ramsay who'll receive the festival's prestigious Cinema City Honorary Award.

The Maryhill-born film-maker, whose outstanding work includes Ratcatcher, Die My Love, Morvern Callar and You Were Never Really Here, will lead a special In Conversation event, From Page To Pulse, on March the 6th. 

You can also delve into Moulin Rouge, a feminist film club, and the Scottish premiere of Broken English - Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s richly-layered portrait of pop cultural icon Marianne Faithfull, with contributions from, among others, Tilda Swinton, Courtney Love, and their regular collaborator and kindred spirit, Nick Cave. 

I’ll be hosting the Q&A with Iain and Jane after the screening - we go back decades - when Iain and I sat next to each other at Mute records in London - so I’m really looking forward to seeing their latest film, and to chatting with them. That’s this coming Thursday, February 26th.

For now though, to a quiet but excited morning with Paul Gallagher and Chris Kumar, talking all things GFF - at the GFT…

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