Strictly Ballroom, Paul Merton and British Sea Power

Strictly Ballroom

Paul Merton paying live tribute to Buster Keaton. British Sea Power taking the O2 ABC back to its former cinematic history. Atmospheric new scorings of classic silent movies, a festival of internet cat videos, and a glitter-strewn homage to Baz Luhrmann in the grandiose surroundings of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.... sounds like February in Glasgow.

Glasgow Film Festival is delighted to announce that tickets are now available for the first six events from its 2015 programme. The festival has grown a reputation for unique screenings in unusual venues – pop-up cinema events that bring the film into 3D. Previous events include a mystery potholing expedition to watch The Descent in a cavern under Central Station, screenings of Jaws and Peter Pan on board Glasgow’s Tall Ship, and Tron screened in a mocked-up 1980s video game arcade.

In their 2015 programme, GFF will return to Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery for a very special live dance show and screening of Strictly Ballroom, and also take over the atmospheric, Gothic surroundings of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, as composer Irene Buckley premieres a brand new soundtrack to 1928 classic The Fall of the House of Usher on the Hall’s original Wurlitzer Cinema Organ. Comedy legend Paul Merton and award-winning silent film pianist Neil Brand have teamed up to pay tribute to another legend, Buster Keaton, with a hilarious live show. GFF is delighted to host the Scottish premiere of British Sea Power’s hugely acclaimed film/live score project From The Sea To The Land Beyond.  The band headline a night of supercool audio/visual treats, celebrating the O2 ABC’s origins as one of Glasgow’s oldest cinemas. The phenomenal French bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and his live band create an Eastern-Western fusion score to Lotte Reiniger’s magical 1926 animation The Adventures of Prince Achmed, while GFF brings Walker Art Center’s famous Internet Cat Video Festival (purretty much does what it says on the tin) to the UK with a premiere at GoMA  

Allan Hunter, co-Director of Glasgow Film Festival, said:

“Our special events are a large part of what makes Glasgow Film Festival distinctive: people love to experience cinema in new ways, and we’re lucky to have such a wealth of exciting venues available in the city. This is only the tip of the iceberg, too: we’re going to announce a different pop-up event for every night of the festival at our programme launch in January. The programming team have really let their imaginations run riot this year, so we think audiences will be pretty excited by what’s in store.”

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Strictly Ballroom at Kelvin-Groove!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Friday 20 February | 18.30 – 22.00 | £12/£10 | Tickets available from GFT Box Office

 “Well of course, you can dance any steps you like! But that doesn’t mean you’ll...WIN!”

Following the success of 2014’s Monster Mash costume party and screening of Young Frankenstein, Glasgow Film Festival brings the glitz to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum’s grand hall. As part of GFF’s Strewth! programme strand celebrating new and classic Australian cinema, audiences are encouraged to get their (Tina) sparkles on for a night of ritzy Aussie camp, wonderful dance and heart-thumping rhythm. Baz Luhrmann’s breakthrough feature, and the first of his Red Curtain Trilogy, Strictly Ballroom takes a tongue in cheek look inside the pressure-cooker world of competitive ballroom dancing, gleaming with fake tans and very real moves. The event combines a great film with a sequin-studded spectacular, as reigning Scottish Ballroom and Latin Dance Champions Tibor Poc and Hilary Mouat take to the floor ahead of the screening.  And remember, a bit of musicality, please!

Part of the Strewth! strand celebrating Australian cinema 

A Night at the Regal: Lost Map, Joe McAlinden, British Sea Power

O2 ABC

Thursday 19 February, 18.00 (doors) | £16/£14.50 | Tickets available from O2 ABC

In May 1896, Glasgow’s ABC venue (then an ice-rink called Hubner’s Palace) was site of the first-ever public film screening in the city. It opened as a fully-fledged cinema in 1929, under the name The ABC Regal, as one of the most prominent picture-houses in town. It has since become one of Glasgow’s biggest and most exciting music venues.

The festival will take over the O2 ABC for one night, as a joint venture between the new Cinema City and Sound & Vision programme strands, celebrating the venue’s history with film and music. Lost Map Records artists eagleowl and Monoganon investigate the relationship between sound and the moving image; Jarman Award nominees Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, directors of the recent Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth (winner: Directing Award, Sundance Film Festival 2014/ BIFA 2014 Best Newcomer winners) bring a live performance of their new film EDIT, live scored by Joe McAlinden (formerly of the band Superstar). Headlining the event are those pioneers of the esoteric rock soundscape, British Sea Power, who will perform the Scottish premiere of their hugely acclaimed live score created around Penny Woolcock’s powerful documentary From the Sea to the Land Beyond, with screening. This perfect synchronicity of film and music, sound and vision, has won awards and acclaim at rare screenings since its 2012 premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest; GFF is delighted to bring it to Scotland.  Part of the Cinema City and Sound & Vision strands.   

The Fall of the House of Usher: a silent classic with live organ score

Pollokshaws Burgh Hall

Sunday 22 February | 20.00 - 22.00 | £12/£10 | Tickets available from GFT Box Office

“Some silent films hold you outside: You admire them, but are aware of them as a phenomenon. With The Fall of the House of Usher, I barely stirred. A tone, an atmosphere, was created that actually worked...less a fiction than the realization of some phantasmagoric alternative reality.” – Roger Ebert

Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s jet-black short story, this 1928 film by French silent master Jean Epstein is the first true Gothic horror and an iconic visual masterpiece exploring the beauty and tension of life, love, and death. An ethereal new live score by composer Irene Buckley, featuring organ, electronics and live vocals, will be performed using the original Wurlitzer Cinema Organ in the historic, appropriate setting of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall to immerse the audience in a compelling meditation on the macabre. Buckley created the live soprano soundtrack to The Passion of Joan of Arc, which Glasgow Film Festival screened inside Glasgow Cathedral in 2013; the festival is delighted to welcome her back.

 Part of the Pop-Up Events strand

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Buster Keaton Night with Paul Merton and Neil Brand

In partnership with Fruitmarket Nights: Classic Silent Movies

Old Fruitmarket

Monday 23 February, 19.30 | £14 (£12); £5 for under-26s | Tickets available from Glasgow Concert Halls and GFT Box Office

Paul Merton might never have become a comedian were it not for the influence of Buster Keaton: fabulous clown, unbelievably dauntless stunt man, matchless player/director. Merton and renowned silent film pianist Neil Brand are two of the most engaging and knowledgeable silent comedy buffs around, and together they present a fantastic evening of classic comedy, fascinating insights and facts and live music to celebrate one of the greatest funny men of all time.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed

In partnership with Fruitmarket Nights: Classic Silent Movies

Old Fruitmarket

Sunday 1 March, 18.30 | £14 (£12); £5 for under-26s | Tickets available from Glasgow Concert Halls and GFT Box Office

Lotte Reiniger’s classic silent film The Adventures of Prince Achmed inspires a remarkable East-West fusion from the phenomenal French bass player Renaud Garcia-Fons.  Reiniger’s gorgeous silhouette animation tells stories from Arabian Nights, a world full of enchantments and danger, wizards, flying horses, evil genies, princes and princesses. Garcia-Fons and his live band draw on the musical traditions of the Mediterranean, taking sounds and ideas from Spain, Turkey, Morocco and Southern France, fusing them into an amazing new crossover score led by his own astounding playing. This event is suitable for all the family, but a special treat for lovers of silent film, fantasy, and brilliant world jazz.

Part of the Sound & Vision and Modern Families strands

Cat Video Festival

GoMA

Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 February, 13.00­–16.00| FREE (advance booking on EventBrite)

GoMA and Glasgow Film Festival are delighted to present the UK premiere of the Internet Cat Video Festival, brainchild of the prestigious Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. As the first offline, social celebration of online cat videos, the Internet Cat Video Festival has proved to be a massive hit with audiences of all ages, and is now coming to Scotland following its roaring (or should that be purring?) success across the pond. The festival is a free live event, featuring a programme specially curated by Will Braden, creator of the Henri Le Chat Noir videos and recipient of the first Golden Kitty (People’s Choice) Award. Accompanied with some extra feline-themed activities, the videos in the programme range from clips dating back to 1901, to brilliant animations and shorts featuring some more familiar feline faces, and everything in-between. Part of the Modern Families strand

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The eleventh annual Glasgow Film Festival will run from 18 February – 1 March. The full programme will be launched on the evening of Wednesday 21 January and will be online from Thursday 22 January, with tickets on sale from Monday 26 of January at 10am. Passes for FrightFest go on sale from 10am on Thursday 22 January.  

Early Bird tickets, which offer vouchers for bundles of discounted tickets, and an opportunity to book tickets early on Friday 23 January, are available now until 4 January, priced at 10 films for £50, 20 films for £90 and 40 films for £160. See www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/earlybird for full information.

Notable guests visiting the festival in recent years have included Joss Whedon, Terry Gilliam, Richard Dreyfuss, Saoirse Ronan, Jonathan Glazer, Gemma Arterton, John C Reilly, Jason Priestley, Neil Jordan, agnés b., Jack O’Connell, Dexter Fletcher, Peter Mullan, George Sluizier, Ty West, Richard Ayoade, Eli Roth and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The tenth annual festival, in 2014, opened with the UK premiere of Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. Over 40,000 admissions were logged for GFF14, making it the third-biggest film festival in the UK.

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TICKETS

GFT Box Office | 0141 332 6535 | www.glasgowfilm.org

O2 ABC Box Office | 0141 332 2232 | www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk

Glasgow Royal Concert Halls Box Office | 0141 353 8000 | www.glasgowconcerthalls.com

Cat Video Festival tickets | _{catvideofestivalsaturday.eventbrite.co.uk   catvideofestivalsunday.eventbrite.co.uk}

Glasgow Film Festival would like to thank its major partners:

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) is the official destination marketing organisation (DMO) for the city of Glasgow. As custodian of the PEOPLE MAKE GLASGOW brand, GCMB works with partners, stakeholders and businesses to position and promote Glasgow across national and international markets as one of Europe’s most vibrant, dynamic and diverse cities in which to live, work, study, invest and visit. For more information, visit: www.peoplemakeglasgow.com.

EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. EventScotland is part of VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland. www.EventScotland.org

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here.  We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life.  We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. 

The BFI is the lead organisation for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by: connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema; preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world; championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK; promoting British film and talent to the world; growing the next generation of film makers and audiences. www.bfi.org.uk