Glasgow Film Annual Review 2011-12

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GFT occupies a warm place in the history of the city, not only as a romantic rendezvous, but as the place where generations of the city’s artists, filmmakers, musicians, actors and writers (including myself) have been introduced to the magic of film in all its forms. It is a cultural oasis. An educational powerhouse. And a great night out. It belongs to Glasgow. And should always be there.


Welcome from our CEO

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Glasgow Film Theatre

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Glasgow Film Festival

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Glasgow Short Film Festival

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Glasgow Youth Film Festival

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Glasgow Film Learning

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Current developments

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Sponsorship opportunities

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Our audiences

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Our funders, board members and staff

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GFT is one of my favourite places in Glasgow. The building is in itself a major part of the city's history in terms of design and architecture, but above all else it has a team of people dedicated to bringing us the best that the world of cinema has to offer, it doesn’t get any better than GFT.

Over the past few years, Glasgow Film Festival has quietly become one of the highlights of the film-going calendar, its success predicated in a large part on its determination to offer a film-for-all policy without condescension or pretension.


Glasgow Film is the West of Scotland’s space for cultural exchange, promoting engagement, enjoyment, education, diversity and participation in film and moving image media. Comprising Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) and Glasgow Film Festival, Glasgow Film has had a hugely successful year. Our cinema, GFT, hit an all-time high in audience attendance as we welcomed over 200,000 film-lovers of all ages during 2011–12, more than double the screen average for UK cinemas. We screened over 530 films during this period: a wide variety of international cinema, classics and documentaries, and have worked collaboratively with local and national organisations and community groups on programmes unique to GFT. With Glasgow Film Festival, the fastest growing international-standard Festival in the UK, we had our most successful year, reaching admissions of over 35,000 from Glaswegian, Scottish, UK and international audiences. While GFT is the hub of the Festival, we also reach out across the city to engage with a diverse range of venues. A programme of 334 screenings and events in 2012, celebrating the Year of Creative Scotland, included UK and world premieres, live music events, workshops and guest appearances, and took place in 18 venues throughout Glasgow. In the autumn of 2011, Glasgow Film Festival won the Best Large Event at the Scottish Event Awards, the second time our Festival has won this accolade. GFF12 has also been shortlisted as a regional finalist in the Best Cultural Event category in the Scottish Thistle Awards. We continue to enjoy success with Glasgow Film Learning, engaging over 35,000 participants of all ages in school screenings, filmmaking competitions, discussion groups and courses. Glasgow Film Learning was instrumental in forming the Young Cinema Audiences Network Scotland, which advocates for cinema education and developing young audiences throughout the country. In November, alongside our YCANS partners Dundee Contemporary Arts and Filmhouse (Edinburgh), we were jointly awarded the prestigious Europa Cinemas Award for Best Young Audience Activities. We place our audience at the heart of everything we do, and consider our patrons, partners and guests to be an integral part of our ongoing success story. With such a wonderful year behind us, we are looking forward to the future and hope to welcome you to Glasgow Film in the coming year. Jaki McDougall Chief Executive of Glasgow Film


I have come to the conclusion that any film seems better when seen at GFT. The atmosphere is perfect: sophisticated, educated, yet light-hearted and fun.

From April 2011 – March 2012, GFT welcomed 201,629 admissions, a 6.9% increase on 2010/11. 533 films from 39 countries were screened in GFT in 2011–12. Our most popular new releases this year have been The Artist (9,462 admissions), Potiche (4,539 admissions) and The Descendants (3,494 admissions). The annual Italian Film Festival came to GFT in April with a diverse line-up of new and classic Italian cinema. Admissions of 1,130 were nearly double the previous year and films that caught the audiences’ imaginations included Checco Zalone’s outrageous comedy What a Beautiful Day and the genre-defying The Four Times. In May 2011, GFT took part in the first UK Green Film Festival, showcasing films centred on environmental issues. We also held a vibrant fringe programme of free workshops and activities, including the chance to have your bike MOT-ed and get behind the wheel of an eco-driving simulator.

‘Dylan at the Movies’ coincided with the celebrations for the singer’s 70th birthday. This season looked at Bob Dylan as performer, director and subject and comprised five films, including a rare screening of the Dylan-directed, Renaldo and Clara. Lock Up Your Daughters, a magazine celebrating all things glorious and queer, started a monthly film club at GFT in May. LUYD screenings are introduced by a special guest and have included My Own Private Idaho, Heavenly Creatures and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? GFT collaborated with Refugee Week on ‘Journeys of Courage’ in June. This six-film series looked at the portrayal of refugees on film and included a range of panel discussions involving film academics, filmmakers, human rights activists and representatives from the Scottish Refugee Council. July saw the launch of our Cinema City screenings – celebrating films shot in Glasgow – with a special preview of David Mackenzie’s sci-fi love story Perfect Sense.


We went 3D in July: with the installation of the Panavision 3D System we were able to screen Wim Wenders’ Pina and Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams as the directors originally intended.

Monorail music host a monthly film night, curated and introduced by a special guest. Eclectic choices this year have included Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? and I Start Counting.

September’s Take One Action! Film Festival explored compelling global issues through screenings of hard-hitting documentaries, backed up by discussions with leading campaigners.

Glasgay!, Scotland’s annual celebration of queer culture, returned to GFT in October. Programme highlights were break-out hit Weekend and a scratch ‘n’ sniff late night screening of John Waters’ cult classic Polyester.

We teamed up with Social Media Week in September to host FilmCamp – an afternoon of free talks offering a film-centric slant on current debates in social media. GFT participated in the celebrations organised by the British Film Institute marking Ken Loach’s 75th birthday in September. We screened all four of the director’s Scottish films, with introductions from actors Peter Mullan, David McKay and Atta Yaqub. Cutting-edge Japanese anime burst from our screens in October during the immensely popular Scotland Loves Anime Festival. 1,121 anime fanatics lapped up the latest releases. Geek Film Night was born in October. Each month GFF Ambassador Mark Millar invites a well-known personality to choose their favourite geeky classic: Greg Hemphill, Muriel Gray and Frankie Boyle are among those who have selected and introduced a film for this fun night. Programmed to coincide with the October release of Melancholia by cinema’s reigning enfant terrible Lars von Trier, ‘Shocktober’ looked at films that have been both controversial and critically acclaimed. Audiences were shocked by the likes of Gaspar Noé’s Seul contre tous and Todd Solondz’s Happiness.

2,006 Francophiles enjoyed the best of contemporary and classic French cinema in November when 27 films screened as part of the French Film Festival UK. Timed to coincide with the release of Wuthering Heights, Tabloid and The Deep Blue Sea, our ‘Mad Love’ season in December celebrated cinema’s greatest heedless, self-destructive affairs. Perennial Christmas favourite It’s a Wonderful Life brought seasonal joy to audiences of 9,601 – an increase of 29.7% on 2010. Live broadcasts from NT Live, the Bolshoi Ballet and Glyndebourne Opera beamed classics such as She Stoops to Conquer, Sleeping Beauty and Don Giovanni into GFT. Audiences of 715 were drawn to the ethereal beauty of the world’s coldest places featured in our ‘Frozen Landscapes’ season in January. To mark the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole, we screened the BFI’s beautifully restored The Great White Silence.


Intimate and international at the same time. Plenty for serious film-lovers to get their teeth into.

Glasgow Film Festival celebrates the entire spectrum of cinema-going experiences from star-studded, mainstream crowd-pleasers to groundbreaking arthouse experimentation. In 2012 the Festival saw audience admissions rise for the sixth successive year to exceed 35,000 for the first time, a heartening endorsement of the event in a time of personal and global economic uncertainty. The Festival further refined its ethos of presenting a Festival of Festivals as it welcomed back firm favourites like FrightFest and Glasgow Music and Film Festival and also embarked on new collaborations with a range of venues including The Glue Factory, St Andrew's in the Square and Pollokshaws Burgh Hall. Glasgow Short Film Festival and Glasgow Youth Film Festival flourished as they claimed their unique moments in the limelight. The Festival also added an exciting new strand Crossing the Line as a space to explore the crossover between cinema and visual art. The Festival remains committed to showing the very best films in the most convivial of surroundings and in a way that is accessible and welcoming to audiences from Glasgow and from around the world. We are also acutely aware of the responsibility to seek out and showcase Scottish talent as it shines in homegrown productions and all its manifestations in global cinema. These are guiding principles that continue to define the Festival as it grows and develops in preparation for 2013, when the Festival will be held from 14–24 February. Allison Gardner and Allan Hunter, Co-directors of Glasgow Film Festival

There were 35,015 admissions in 2012, an increase of 584% since the Festival launched in 2005. 334 screenings of 239 films, events and shorts programmes were hosted in 2012. 97% of attendees rated the Festival as ‘very good’ or ‘good’. 54 screenings and events sold 90% or more of their tickets. Screenings and events took place in 18 different venues across Glasgow, including GFT, CCA: Centre for Contemporary Arts, Cineworld, Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, Gallery of Modern Art, Tramway and The Tall Ship, ensuring that events were accessible to a wide audience. 258 feature films and over 1,000 short films were submitted by filmmakers from around the world for our consideration – more than double the number submitted last year.

Our programme included films from 46 different countries as diverse as South Korea, Indonesia, Ukraine, Iceland, New Zealand, Iran, Brazil and Egypt. There were 27 free screenings and events and in addition, 27 of our 29 schools events were free to Glasgow schools. Glasgow Youth Film Festival’s dynamic programme of 69 public and schools events was attended by 9,161 people. 78 accredited journalists attended our events. A total of 295 printed articles about GFF12 appeared in 67 different newspapers and magazines. While broadcast coverage amounted to 47 items on radio and TV, an 18% increase on the previous year. We booked 243 nights in seven Glasgow hotels for our 231 industry guests (who included filmmakers, producers, actors, distributors and other leading industry figures). 187,325 visits from 138 countries / territories were made to our website during January and February 2012.

50% of all ticket sales were made online. 29 specially-commissioned video pieces (consisting of guest interviews, our Festival trailers and a Gene Kelly flashmob!) have had nearly 25,000 views on YouTube to date. A 30-second cinema trailer was screened in 30 cinema screens across the UK to over 163,800 cinema-goers. The trailer was also screened throughout Glasgow Airport. 10,600 copies of the Festival daily paper, The CineSkinny, produced in conjunction with The Skinny magazine, were distributed at Festival venues and key locations across the city. The Festival generated net additional expenditure at the Glasgow level of £1.27m and Scotland level of £1.23m. Return on Investment (ROI) was high – £1:£7.60 at the Scotland level.


I’ve never felt so comfortable at a festival or discovered so many great movies. I’ll be back, with or without a movie of my own.

The 2012 Glasgow Film Festival was one of the first major events in the Year of Creative Scotland and the Festival programme featured a particularly strong line-up of Scottish talent from the world premiere of documentary No One But Me about jazz legend Annie Ross to UK premieres for Simon Arthur's Silver Tongues and Zam Salim’s Up There, a tribute to David Peat that included a rare screening of Big Banana Feet, an appearance from actor John Cairney to discuss A Night to Remember and a vastly entertaining BAFTA in Scotland interview with actor Brian Cox. The Festival acknowledges the essential support of major partners Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Creative Scotland and EventScotland in creating a Festival of international scope and stature. The Festival continued fruitful relationships with many UK distributors, including StudioCanal who provided the popular opening night gala of Your Sister’s Sister, a UK premiere attended by the film’s writer/director Lynn Shelton. A notable roster of special guests included Bertrand Tavernier who presented the world premiere of the restoration of his Glasgow-shot classic Death Watch, Dexter Fletcher who screened his directorial debut Wild Bill, director Gareth Evans who received a standing ovation for his breathtaking The Raid, director Andreas Dresen for Stopped on Track and Irvine Welsh who attended with cast and crew for the screening of Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy. Other guests included actors Reece Ritchie and Amara Karan from All in Good Time, directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod for Bel Ami, director Thom Fitzgerald for Cloudburst and director Patrick Wang for In the Family. Graphic novel guru Mark Millar once again proved to be an excellent ambassador and advisor for the Festival's Kapow! strand, sponsored by Glasgow City Council and the Hugh Fraser Foundation, whilst the generous support and enthusiasm of the Goethe Institut proved invaluable to this year's country focus on German cinema. A retrospective celebrating the centenary of the birth of Gene Kelly included a sold out screening of Singin' in the Rain, a well-attended Gene Kelly Ceilidh and the staging of a flashmob at Glasgow Airport. An ambitious programme aimed to present something for all tastes from Glasgow Music and Film Festival to the Fashion in Film strand, the massively successful FrightFest to Crossing the Line, a new home for work on the borderline between film and visual art. Anne-Marie Copestake’s And Under That proved a worthy winner of the Margaret Tait Award, supported by Creative Scotland and in partnership with LUX. The strength and diversity of the Festival programme is a testimony to the hard work of everyone involved and the willingness to go that extra mile in developing fresh partnerships, such as with BAFTA in Scotland and art collective 85A, and exploring new venues like The Tall Ship or St Andrew’s in the Square. The overwhelmingly positive public response to the programme is an incentive to strive tirelessly towards making Glasgow Film Festival an even more exciting and unmissable event in 2013’s Year of Natural Scotland and as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.


The fifth Glasgow Short Film Festival was the biggest yet, four days of screenings, discussions and social events, taking place for the first time a week before the main Glasgow Film Festival. GSFF12 was staged primarily at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, with additional events at GFT, The Berkeley Suite and The Shed in Glasgow’s South Side. 150 films from 24 different countries were screened in 54 programmes and events. Total attendance was 1,990, representing an increase of 24% on 2011. 79 filmmaker guests and industry delegates attended the Festival, travelling from USA, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Our core competition showcased 43 new international films, all competing for the inaugural Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film. An international jury of writers, producers and curators gave the award to the Danish film Fini, directed by Jacob Secher Schulsinger. A second competition dedicated to new Scottish film was introduced this year, presenting 31 films by Scottish or Scotland-based filmmakers. The inaugural Scottish Short Film Award, sponsored by local restaurant The Wee Curry Shop, was given to The Making of Longbird by Will Anderson. Alongside the competition programmes GSFF staged several unique retrospectives, amongst them a showcase of recent Icelandic film and a programme of music videos by former The Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart. GSFF collaborated with Glasgow Youth Film Festival to present a series of short film screenings for families and young people, and amongst our industry events, a free one-day symposium titled Enter the Archive explored various aspects of working with moving image archive, attracting a large audience of artists, curators and academics. This year GSFF consolidated its position as Scotland’s premiere showcase for emerging filmmaking talent. The Festival has since been invited to take touring programmes of Scottish short film to China, Denmark and Switzerland. And thanks to local start-up Distrify, GSFF pioneered selling short films through Facebook, with the lion’s share of revenue going direct to the filmmakers. Glasgow Short Film Festival 2013 will take place from 7–10 February.

GSFF was one of the best short film festivals I have been to. The scope and sensitivity of the programming was really impressive, the quality of films and the cinematic debate which could therefore follow that was really high.

It’s a festival wanting to expand the concept of what short film is and could or should be.

What I liked most was the sense that the Festival was there for the aspiring talent, both local and international, and that they were being supported but also exposed to a wide range of exciting work which can do nothing but strengthen their work.


Since its inception in 2006, Glasgow Youth Film Festival (GYFF) has established a reputation for its unique approach involving young people at all stages of festival organisation and delivery. The Festival celebrates work made by and starring young people, chosen by the GYFF Youth Team (a group of 15 –18 year-olds), who work with Glasgow Film over several months to select films, and co-ordinate and publicise Festival events. School screenings took place at venues across Glasgow, including Platform in Easterhouse, The Pearce Institute in Govan and Cineworld Parkhead, among others. Thanks to title sponsorship by Muvizu, 70 schools across the West Coast of Scotland were able to access free and subsidised buses at GYFF 2012. Many schools have commented that they would have been unable to attend the Festival without transport support. The GYFF 2012 public programme included the UK premieres of feature films such as Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, A Boy and His Samurai and Lessons of a Dream, alongside a workshop on film poster design, a live documentary pitching event to win a trip to Europe, and a special GYFF Youth Team restaurant makeover at The Arches. Glasgow Youth Film Festival welcomed 9,161 admissions to its school and public programmes in 2012. The next edition will take place from 3 –13 February 2013.

Creative Identities: Film Weekend at GYFF 2012 After a successful application to Creative Scotland’s Creative Identities Programme, GYFF 2012 was able to welcome 27 teenagers from across Scotland for an exclusive three-day filmmaking retreat. The successful applicants came from areas of social and economic need, identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Participants spent the weekend watching festival films, attending workshops and making short films with professional filmmakers. Their travel, food and accommodation were covered by the Festival, with their completed films presented at a special Focus Left: Youth Edition screening at The Arches.

A real insider into the Glasgow film scene, and a chance to get some proper experience with event organising. Not to mention everyone there is lovely – a wonderful way to make friends.

Taking part in GYFF’s Creative Identities: Film Weekend has meant a lot to me. It changed the way I used to feel about myself. I am normally shy with a low self-esteem with no confidence at all, so taking part in this changed everything.


GFT is accessible to all – for families with children with additional support needs, who can trust they are welcome and catered for – to the film buff who likes to imagine they know it all until GFT offers something different to challenge their knowledge and senses.

Learning is central to the work of Glasgow Film. Activity is both formal and informal, encompassing a philosophy of life-long learning. 2011–12 has seen consolidation and growth of existing activity, and the introduction of new learning initiatives, as detailed below. In recognition of its innovative work with children, families and schools, Glasgow Film was this year the recipient of the prestigious Europa Cinemas Award for Young Audiences, together with Dundee Contemporary Arts and Filmhouse (Edinburgh). This was the first time the award was received in the UK, and the winners beat off competition from another 1,057 cinemas across Europe. We are hugely grateful to The Robertson Trust and Glasgow City Council for their continued support of our learning programme for children and young people.

Developing Adult Audiences Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) has always been committed to growing our general audience’s interest and enthusiasm for film. In 2011–12, GFT commissioned 33 programme notes from local film critics and academics; extended pieces of film criticism, these are made available to audiences online and in cinemas. We also hosted a total of 106 introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers, writers and academics. High-profile visitors included screenwriter Paul Laverty for Even the Rain; director Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk About Kevin; and film critic Mark Cousins, for the DVD release of his TV series The Story of Film. By satellite link-up, GFT was further able to present Q&As with artist-filmmakers Gillian Wearing (Self-Made) and Steve McQueen (Shame). In 2011–12 we ran three cycles of our ever-popular ten-week Contemporary Cinema course, all sell-outs. A beginners-level evening class in film studies, led by academics from Glasgow University, the course attracted a total of 48 participants. In the same period, we responded to feedback from past course attendees to provide a single-subject intermediate-level class: The Films of Pedro Almodóvar, a six-week course led by an Almodóvar specialist, attracted 15 participants. Further Level 2 courses are planned for 2012–13, starting with Brain Food: George A Romero. Finally, in September 2011 GFT launched a new, bi-monthly informal learning initiative: Screen Salons. Designed for people interested to expand and explore their interest in film, salons are run along the lines of a reading group, but for film. A speaker introduces a selected screening from the main programme and stays on afterwards to lead a discussion in Café Cosmo. Key to Glasgow Film Festival’s ethos is the creation of a programme rich in opportunities for deeper engagement. 51 GFF12 screenings were followed by a Q&A session or panel discussion with visiting filmmakers and experts, ranging from a humorous chat with author Irvine Welsh to an absorbing examination of racial inequality following David. As part of the popular Kapow!@GFF strand we held seven panel and ‘in conversation’ events in which leading comics figures such as Charlie Adlard, Bryan Hitch and Mark Millar revealed what it was like to work in their industry and offered advice to budding comickers. Four lively panel discussions also took place as part of Glasgow Short Film Festival: filmmakers debated hot topics such as crowdfunding and the role of film in a new age of political activism.


Engaging Children and Families Glasgow Film believes the cinema experience can provide pleasure and insight, and enrich the lives of young audiences. Year round we offer children, young people and their families affordable opportunities to experience and learn about world cinema. Through our activities, young people in Glasgow can watch a variety of thought-provoking and culturally diverse films that reflect contemporary youth perspectives, and get involved themselves in filmmaking. > Take 2 – Free Screenings for Families Take 2 is Glasgow Film’s free, family-friendly Saturday morning screening series at GFT and Cineworld Parkhead. Screenings are free to Glasgow Young Scot and Kidz Card holders and an accompanying adult. Over 100,000 children have accessed Take 2 screenings since its inception in 2004. In 2011–12, admissions stood at 17,574. “Take 2 is a true godsend for my family. The selections are excellent and without Take 2 I’m not sure if we would be able to afford such outings.” Take 2 audience member > Access Take 2 As a monthly addition to Take 2, in September 2008 GFT launched Access Take 2, the first autism-friendly screenings for children and their families to take place in a Scottish cinema. In 2011–12 admissions were 548 and during this year Access Take 2 was sponsored by The Wee Curry Shop in association with a New Arts Sponsorship Grant supported by the Scottish Government in conjunction with Arts & Business Scotland. “These autism screenings are great. There are very few places I can take my son where everyone understands that he is unable to sit still and quietly for very long. We absolutely love coming every month.” Access Take 2 audience member > Wee Movies Filmmaking Competition In association with Muvizu and Arts & Business Scotland, through a Scottish Government New Arts Sponsorship Grant, Glasgow Film ran four filmmaking competitions based on Glasgow’s city crest. The competitions were split into two sections, under-12s and 12–18 years. Winning entries were screened at GYFF 2012, with overall winners taking home Jessops vouchers, courtesy of Muvizu.

Reaching Schools and Education Professionals > Schools Screenings Glasgow Film is a leader in Scotland for developing work with schools in a cinema context. We work closely with teachers and educational partners to ensure that our school events are affordable, tied into the Curriculum for Excellence, and relevant to young people’s concerns. Teachers appreciate that we actively engage pupils through discussion, workshops or follow-up activities at our events. Thanks to core funding from Glasgow City Council Educational Service, the majority of our events are free for Glasgow Local Authority schools. In 2011– 12, Glasgow Film attracted 12,708 school pupils and teachers to the cinema despite increasing pressures on teachers to reduce time and money spent out of school. > Teachers CPD Throughout the school year, Glasgow Film organises Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training events for teachers who want to learn more about moving image education. In 2011– 12 we offered five CPDs for 100 teachers in Glasgow. > This Sucks: The Movie! In association with Starcatchers, Platform and Toad’s Caravan, Glasgow Film produced a short film starring hundreds of nursery children from the East End of Glasgow. Using animation and green screen techniques, the children were able to act out the story of a lonely hoover called Hetty, who falls in love. Two red carpet gala screenings were held for participating schools and children’s family members. You can watch the film online at http://is.gd/thissucks. “This Sucks: The Movie illustrates so clearly the skills and talents that 3–5-year-olds have inside themselves itching to come out. Our actors and their buddies have derived such a ‘feel good’ factor out of the GFT premiere screening.” Participating teacher from Westercraigs Nursery

Please see page 8 for the lowdown on Glasgow Youth Film Festival 2012.


Long before Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) opened, Glasgow was leading the way in cultural cinema. The Film Society of Glasgow (the first in Scotland) was established in 1929 and the UK’s first purpose-built cultural cinema outside London, The Cosmo, was built on the site of GFT ten years later. Since opening in 1974, we have continued to be at the forefront of Glasgow and the UK’s cinema-going scene, and as we enter our 39th year we’re inspiring, challenging and entertaining our diverse audiences more successfully than ever. Here are a few of the projects planned for 2012–13:

Cinema City Launched in 2011, Cinema City is an online cultural resource set up to explore and celebrate our city’s moving image history. The site includes maps of forgotten, eccentric and landmark cinemas, local film news, interviews and audio walking tours. Central to the project is the opportunity for audiences to share and engage with movie-going memories. Memories we have already gathered online cover a vast period: from 1941 to 2011, telling stories about a whole host of long-lost and contemporary film venues. Cinema City also extends into the programming of GFT and the Festival with regular screenings of celebrated films which have been made in Glasgow. With further developments planned, 2012 will be an exciting year in Cinema City.

Video-on-demand Glasgow Film aims to play an important role as a digital cinema hub. Today’s multi-platform digital environment provides the opportunity to widen access to film and diversify audiences, extending the depth and richness of their cultural experience. In partnership with the shareable video-on-demand player inventors Distrify, a selection of short films from this year's Glasgow Short Film Festival Scottish Competition programme was featured in an online collection in February. Utilising Distrify's shareable VOD player, a selected film was also featured daily, and available to buy, on both Glasgow Film Festival and Glasgow Short Film Festival's Facebook pages. In 2012 we will step up research and development of film viewing on online platforms.

CAV Network CAV (Cross Art-form Venues) Network, a consortium of well-established film and digital arts centres, is currently forming a wider UK partnership for a high-speed digital network to explore innovative ways of creating and exhibiting film, multi-platform media and live interactive events. Glasgow Film’s membership of CAV Network will bring a broader range of culturally diverse films and alternative content to Glasgow.

Greening the Screen Glasgow Film is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. Environmental matters are fundamental to our practice and we’re working to extend these principles to our creative partners, staff, suppliers and patrons. With the appointment of an Environmental Coordinator, and in accordance with the targets and objectives set out in our Environmental Policy, we are tackling energy consumption, waste management, supplier buy-in and staff engagement, including ongoing training. The screen industry presents a valuable platform from which to raise awareness and showcase green ideas and innovations. GFT’s year-round programme reflects our vision, including annual involvement in the UK-wide Green Film Festival. A fringe festival of films, activities and workshops has enabled us to tailor the Festival to the GFT audience, creating an opportunity to reach out to the local community; it’s not just about reducing our impact on the environment but also sharing experiences and bringing people together. Our Environmental Policy, carbon footprint analysis, Green Blog and quarterly green enewsletter sign-up can be found on the Going Green section of our website: www.glasgowfilm.org/goinggreen. The above practices will assist GFT in attaining the BS 8909 standard, a new sustainability standard for the British film industry endorsed by the BFI. GFT hope to become the Scottish figureheads for the standard in 2012.


I’ve got a real soft spot for GFT and the people who run it. So I was really proud when The Wee Curry Shop was given the chance to support new Scottish work through the inaugural Scottish Short Film Award at Glasgow Short Film Festival. I would recommend that other businesses sponsor GFT and its Festivals. It’s a rewarding and exciting experience.

We specialise in screening the best in local, national and international cinema, bringing quality films to the city which audiences would be unable to experience without GFT and Glasgow Film Festival. We provide the only dedicated cultural cinema in Glasgow and welcomed audiences of over 200,000 to GFT in 2011–12 and over 35,000 admissions at Glasgow Film Festival 2012. In addition, 25,000 people a year enjoy using GFT for private hires and conferences, while audiences of over 35,000 participated in our learning activities. Our ethos as an organisation is firmly rooted in our belief in cinema for all and we place the audience at the very heart of everything we do. As a not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity, we depend on public funding, sponsorship, and support from trusts and individuals. Our learning department involves participants of all ages from nursery school children to adults attending courses and discussion groups. We aim to give as many people as possible the chance to engage with film in an inspiring way. Our varied programme is complemented by activities with diverse audience appeal. We work with local and national organisations, community groups and individual practitioners to create fresh, quality events that augment our regular activities. In an age where the visual and digital universe are impacting on society, Glasgow Film is dedicated to encouraging both children and adults to explore film in all its diversity and discover more about the role of moving image in our world. We believe that using the medium of film can help inspire and improve people’s lives and aspirations. We have plans to create a third screen in our existing premises. This will help us increase the number of programming, educational and community events at GFT. This third screen also offers a home for Glasgow Youth Film Festival and its development of young talent. Through the hire of our facilities at GFT, we generate income by providing our venue, facilities and expertise to cultural, community and commercial organisations. GFT is also available for hire by individuals for a range of purposes including birthday celebrations, memorials and weddings. There are many opportunities for individuals, organisations and businesses to make a difference and become a part of Glasgow Film including private donations, capital donations and sponsorship. You can also remember GFT in your will. If you would like to be involved in the future of Glasgow Film, please contact Liana Marletta on 0141 352 8604 or liana.marletta@glasgowfilm.org for more information on how to give your financial support to our charity. For information on hiring GFT, please contact Angela Freeman, Senior Front of House Manager at angela.freeman@glasgowfilm.org.


Whenever I go to GFT, the place somehow makes me feel that they put the film on for ME, and that film is all.

We believe in cinema for all. Our audiences are all ages, and come from across the city, Scotland and beyond. We engage with our audiences: >

through our monthly GFT brochure (270,000 printed per year) and our GFF brochure (60,000 copies).

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via Twitter to promote, discuss and connect our audience with film. Our combined followers on Twitter (@glasgowfilm @glasgowfilmfest @GlasgowSFF and @glasgowyouth) total 21,853.

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through GFF, GFT, green and schools enewsletters to a total of 21,400 subscribers.

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via GFT, Glasgow Film Festival, Glasgow Youth Film Festival and Glasgow Short Film Festival Facebook pages which have a combined total of 16,147 likes. We share images, film screenings, behind-the-scenes information and promote competitions on our Facebook pages.

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on our blog throughout the year to share highlights about the Festival, GFT, Glasgow Film Learning and industry news.

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through our website www.glasgowfilm.org which received 680,840 visits and 2,530,111 page views between April 2011 and March 2012.

Glasgow Film Theatre admissions:

Glasgow Film Festival admissions: 40,000

250,000 35,000 200,000

30,000 25,000

150,000 20,000 100,000

15,000 137,363

162,665

170,500

175,716

188,613

201,619

10,000

15,000

20,509

28,619

30,180

34,180

35,015

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

50,000 5,000 0

0 2006 / 07

2007 / 08

2008 / 09

2009 / 10

2010 / 11

2011 / 12


Key Funders

Board of Directors Neil Baxter, Colin Beattie, Bailie Liz Cameron (Chair), Cllr Frank Docherty, David Gordon, Steve Inch, Andrew Leitch, Nosheena Mobarik, Sue Robinson, Jackie Shearer, Celia Stevenson, Susan Stewart, Eleanor Yule, Paul Zealey

Year-round Staff Tamara Anderson Learning & Events Manager, Michael Benjamin Finance Assistant, Malcolm Brown Deputy Technical Manager, Julie Cathcart Head of Communications & Marketing, Andi Denny Marketing Assistant, Marisol Erdman Door & Bar Staff, Angela Freeman Senior Front of House Manager, Kevin Frew Bar Staff, Grant Fullerton Bar Staff, Allison Gardner Head of Cinemas & Festival Co-director, Mirren Green Bar Staff, Janice Halkett Cleaner, Debbie Hannan Box Office Staff, Allan Hunter Festival Co-director, Sam Kenyon Bar Staff, Sean Kerr Bar & Kitchen Staff, Matt Lloyd GSFF Director, Rachael Loughlan Front of House Manager & Environmental Coordinator, Margaret Lynch Head Cleaner & Bar Staff, Barney McCue Technical Manager, Sadie McCue Bar & Kitchen Staff, Mairi McCuish Cleaner & Usher, Jaki McDougall Chief Executive, Erin McGrath Door & Box Office Staff, Paul Macgregor Learning Projects Coordinator, Alex Mackenzie Bar Staff, Chris MacMillan Head Chef, Liana Marletta Festival Development Executive, Nick Milligan Door & Bar Staff, Carolyn Mills Marketing Coordinator, Marion Morrison Cleaner, William Nation Cleaner, Corinne Orton Festival Coordinator, Marion Pearson Head of Finance, Daniel Pryde Box Office Staff, Jenny Reburn Box Office Staff, Fiona Shaw Front of House & Box Office Manager, John Skivington Cleaner & Bar Staff, Johny Thompson Door & Bar Staff, Gail Tolley GFF & GSFF Programmer, Katrine Turner Bar Staff, Bryan Wilson Front of House Manager, Louise Wilson Bar Staff, David Wylie Projectionist Core staff currently on maternity leave: Seonaid Daly (Festival Producer) and Emily Munro (Head of Learning) Core staff who have left this year: Jen Davies (Head of Communications & Marketing) and John Cunningham (Projectionist)

Long-Term Temporary Staff Claire Blackwood Festival Press & Marketing Assistant, Heather Brotton GYFF Assistant, John Carson Festival Programme & Events Assistant, Alba Cruells Roger GSFF Assistant, Rebecca Davies Festival Guest Assistant, Toyah Gemmill Digital Assistant, Jane Hartshorn Press Desk Assistant, Rosie Kew Press Desk Assistant, Sinead McGinley Events Assistant, Lauren Mair GMFF Assistant & Press Desk Assistant, Christopher Martin Festival Volunteer Coordinator, Kyle Palmer Festival Print Traffic Coordinator, Claire Stuart Festival Events Assistant & Fashion Programmer, Kristi Wylie Festival Sponsorship Assistant, Alison Young Festival Press Coordinator

GFT Volunteers Moira Aherne, Laura Aitchison, Angela-Mariana Aranghelovici, Sandra Ardao, Bicola Barratt-Crane, Elara Brooks, Avril Cadden, John Davie Calder, Iain Campbell, Caroline Carlisle, Josie Carter, Stephanie Cattigan, Damien Chalmers, Celaen Chapman, Susan Christie, Thomas Joseph Crawford, Paul Devine, Fiona Dunn, Jim Dutch, Sarah Emery, Amy Eusebi, Emma Forbes, Stuart Graham, Ellie Harrison, Maxine Hawthorn, Sarah Henderson, Gary Higgins, Sara Hughes-Parry, Aileen Jardine, Nikki Kane, Stuart Little, Danny McFadden, Bridget McGeechan, John McGreevy, Margaret McInnes, Margaret McLaughlin, Margaret McMahon, Sara Macgregor, Louise Mackie, Kenny Macleod, Mary Mason, Katherine Matthews, Melissa Merkle, Andrea Murray, Calum Nielsen, Stuart Paterson Lowson, Tom Rigg, Caroline Robertson, Sheila Robertson, Raymond Scanlan, Emily Shepherd, Margaret Simpson, Joshua Slater-Williams, Kirsty Somerville, Michael Stewart, Omiros Vazos, Frederick Weedon, Gordon Whitelaw, Jamie Wood, Silvia Yanko


Glaswegian warmth and down-to-earth openness are key selling points for the Festival.

2013 Festival dates: Glasgow Film Festival 14 –24 February Glasgow Youth Film Festival 3 –13 February Glasgow Short Film Festival 7–10 February

Glasgow Film 12 Rose Street Glasgow G3 6RB +44 (0)141 332 6535 www.glasgowfilm.org Glasgow Film is an operating name of Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT). A company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland No. 97369 with its registered office at 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB. GFT is registered as a charity (No SC005932) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.


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