With such a variety of films to choose from, we've asked our top tier programming team for their picks for the best of GFF23.
Take a look at our programme and discover your own picks.
This beautifully shot film is the story of finding love in your later years. Starring our own lovely James Cosmo and the fabulous Brid Brennan it quietly, yet powerfully, examines family dynamics and tensions. When a parent doesn’t act in the way you expect, or are used to, then it can cause families to change.
Friday 3 March, 18:00 - Saturday 4 March, 16:00
La Syndicaliste
Isabelle Hubbert stars in this tense thriller about whistleblowing in the French nuclear energy industry. Based on a true story the film has twists and turns aplenty and it holds your attention as the protagonist is painted as a suspect.
Tuesday 7 March, 20:30 - Wednesday 8 March, 15:15
Rye Lane
I loved this funny, smart, totally convincing rom-com. Raine Allen Miller has masterfully directed a film where you are totally invested in the two main characters and whether they will, or won’t, get together. David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah are just wonderful as Dom and Yas.
Sunday 12 March, 16:00
Sophie Linnenbaum’s debut film is just so witty, inventive and unpredictable that I can’t wait for audiences to experience it for themselves. Set in a parallel world where life is a movie and everyone knows their place, it is a dazzling combination of bright ideas and savvy cinematic virtuosity. A complete treat.
Thursday 2 March, 17:45 - Friday 3 March, 12:45
Lav Diaz films are like the Himalayas of arthouse cinema - demanding, challenging to tackle but so worthwhile when you conquer them. When The Waves Are Gone is one of his most accessible. It is an epic tale of good and evil between a guilt-ridden police officer and his corrupt superior. Violent, febrile, unsettling and unforgettable.
Thursday 2 March, 19:00 - Friday 3 March, 14:50
The Beasts grabs your nerve ends and stretches them to breaking point. It is a thriller that keeps escalating the tension and leaves you in a perpetual state of knowing something awful is about to happen. Denis Menochet was at the Festival with Custody in 2018 and is brilliant as one half of a French couple who buy a property in Galicia to find themselves in conflict with a local family who bitterly resent any incomers.
Friday 3 March, 17:45 - Saturday 4 March, 15:05
GFF BFF, Jonas Chernick, returns with his latest film which he wrote and stars in alongside Emily Hampshire as middle age parents who in a rare window of freedom from their kids, embark on a series of sexual adventures in a bid to reignite the passion in their relationship. The End of Sex is not only very funny but also a really sweet and tender look at relationships and how getting older doesn’t mean that you have to say goodbye to having a bit of fun.
Thursday 2 March, 20:30 - Friday 3 March, 13:15
Its hard to remember a time before smartphones dominated our life but Matt Johnson’s latest film is here to transport us back to a time when Blackberry phones became all the rage. Johnson stars alongside an all-star cast including Glen Howerton of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame and the rise and fall of a once great tech company is profiled in a tremendously witty and cutting fashion that at its heart is an ode to the nerd in all of us.
Friday 3 March, 20:30 - Saturday 4 March, 18:00
I was blown away by this pre-historic horror/thriller about a group of early humans searching for a place to call home only to realise they are not alone. Filmed during the pandemic, the Scottish Highlands provides the perfect backdrop for this brooding and intense film that is sure to grip you from the first scene until its last. Also, huge kudos to the incredible cast who speak in an entirely fictitious language that was created specifically for the film and just adds to the genius of what director Andrew Cumming has created.
Sunday 5 March, 20:45 & Tuesday 7 March, 15:30
Band is a film about finding the fun in failure. It's so charming, it's been hard not to put at the top of every recommendation list for GFF23. Very excited to be hosting the Q&A for the film on International Womens Day and to be welcoming all 3 members of the Post-Performance Blues Band to Glasgow for an exclusive live show on Thursday 8 March too! I literally won't shut up about it...
Wednesday 8 March, 16:00 - Thursday 9 March, 19:30
Victim is an amalgamation of moral panic and confliction which resonates long after its runtime. It's a film which demands a lot of care and attention from an audience, but it's decidedly worth it.
Sunday 5 March 20:45 - Monday 6 March 15:45
Despite some deceivingly morbid subject matter, Pink Moon is a touching family Dramedy with bags of heart. For a film about death, there's a sense of hope and mournful glee to it which will have you smiling through the tears - I promise!
Wednesday 8 March 20:30 - Thursday 9 March 15:45