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Glasgow Film Festival 2020

View other Glasgow Film Festival Films by strand: Are We There Yet? A Retrospective of the Future, Beyond the Screen, CineMasters, Country Focus: Iceland, Crossing the Line, Frightfest, Future Cult, Galas, Local Heroes, Neo-Glasgow, Sound And Vision, Special Events, Stranger than Fiction, Window on the World, Women Make Film

Stories From The Chestnut Woods Stories From The Chestnut Woods
Stories From The Chestnut Woods and Running To The Sky
Arracht (Monster) (Country: Ireland; Year: 2019; Director: Tom Sullivan; Writer: Tom Sullivan; Stars: Dónall Ó Héalai, Saise Ní Chuinn, Dara Devaney, Eoin O'Dubhghaill, Dudura O'Gionnáin, Michael O'Chonfhlaola, Siobhán O'Kelly, Eimear Ní Mháille, Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Conal O'Céidigh, Michael McElhatton, Elaine O'Dwyer, Elise Brennan, Paraic Breathnach, Peter Coonan)
In 1845, a fisherman ends up on the run for crimes he didn't commit.
Full Review See: Tom Sullivan on his debut feature Arracht (Monster)
, Tom Sullivan and Dathai Keane talk about the Cine4 Development Scheme for Irish language film
The Audition (Das Vorspiel) (Country: Germany, France; Year: 2019; Director: Ina Weisse; Writer: Daphne Charizani; Stars: Nina Hoss, Simon Abkarian, Jens Albinus, Sophie Rois, Thomas Thieme, Winnie Böwe, Serafin Mishiev, Oliver Wille, William Coleman, Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, Ilja Monti, Jana Kuss, Stephan Taubert, Nina Hoss, Simon Abkarian)
A rivalry develops between a violin teacher's son and her star pupil.
Blow The Man Down (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy; Writer: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy; Stars: Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, Margo Martindale, June Squibb, Annette O'Toole, Marceline Hugot)
While grieving for the loss of their mother, the Connolly Sisters suddenly find they have a crime to cover up, leading them deep into the underbelly of their salty Maine fishing village.
Bombay Rose (Country: India, UK, France, Qatar; Year: 2019; Director: Gitanjali Rao; Writer: Gitanjali Rao; Stars: Anurag Kashyap, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Shishir Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Amardeep Jha, Cyli Khare, Amit Deondi, Rajeev Raj, Gargi Shitole, Anurag Kashyap, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Shishir Sharma, Virendra Saxena)
Animation tracks romance on the streets of Mumbai.
A Bump Along The Way (Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Shelly Love; Writer: Tess McGowan; Stars: Bronagh Gallagher, Lola Petticrew, Mary Moulds, Dan Gordon, Andy Doherty, Zara Devlin, Gerard Jordan, Paddy C. Courtney, Brendan Farrell, Aimee McGoldrick, Meghan Reid, Dylan Reid, Conor Torbitt, Peter Young, Gerard Bell)
A teenager's party-loving mum falls pregnant after a one-night stand.
Vivarium Vivarium
Vivarium and Standing Up, Falling Down
Calm With Horses (Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Nick Rowland; Writer: Joe Murtagh; Stars: Barry Keoghan, Ned Dennehy, Niamh Algar, Anthony Welsh, David Wilmot, Cosmo Jarvis, Simone Kirby, Toni O'Rourke, Ryan McParland, Hazel Doupe, Roisin O'Neill, Lee Byford, John Paul O'Driscoll, Matt Tyzack, Stephen McGowan)
Thriller about a crime enforcer for a clan of drug dealers, while also trying to be a good father to his autistic son.
Full Review
County Lines (Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Henry Blake; Writer: Henry Blake; Stars: Harris Dickinson, Marcus Rutherford, Ashley Madekwe, Clay Milner Russell, Conrad Khan, Chizzy Akudolu, Shauna Shim, Carlyss Peer, Johanna Stanton, Mika Wingate, Stephen Leask, Fen Wilson, Anthony Adjekum, Michael Oku, Sean Berry)
Drama about a boy, 14, who is used as a drugs mule by traffickers.
The Death Of Dick Long (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Daniel Scheinert; Writer: Billy Chew; Stars: Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland, Sarah Baker, Jess Weixler)
Dick died last night, and Zeke and Earl don't want anybody finding out how. That's too bad though, cause news travels fast in small-town Alabama.
Driveways (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Andrew Ahn; Writer: Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen; Stars: Jack Caleb, Stan Carp, Hong Chau, Jennifer Delora, Brian Dennehy, James DiGiacomo, Sophia DiStefano, Christine Ebersole, Lucas Jaye, Samantha Jones, Anastasia Veronica Lee, Raymond Lee, Fernando Mateo Jr., Robyn Payne, Wayne Pyle)
Eight-year-old Cody is spending the summer in an unfamiliar setting with his mom Kathy. Though he can’t relate to the neighbourhood kids, things take an unexpected turn when he develops an unusual friendship with grouchy old Del from next door.
Full Review
Finky (Country: Ireland; Year: 2019; Director: Dathaí Keane; Writer: Dathaí Keane, Diarmuid de Faoite; Stars: Dara Devaney, Ned Dennehy, Diarmuid de Faoite, Fionnuala Gygax, Eoin Geoghegan, Caitríona Ní Threasaigh, Dolina MacLennan, Mary Ryan, Michael Glenn Murphy, Diona Doherty, George Blue, Paul Ellard, Niall Mac Eachmharcaigh, Micil MacDonncha, Anthony Morris)
A musician and puppeteer seeking to escape steals an envelope full of cash and escapes to Scotland with his childhood friend Tom to start a new life.. but things don't go as planned.
Full Review See: Dathaí Keane talks about his feature debut Finky
, Tom Sullivan and Dathai Keane talk about the Cine4 Development Scheme for Irish language film
Son-Mother Son-Mother
Son-Mother and Calm With Horses
The Garden Left Behind (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Flavio Alves; Writer: Flavio Alves, John Rotondo; Stars: Michael Madsen, Edward Asner, Carlie Guevara)
A story about the relationship between a young trans woman and her grandmother as they navigate transition and struggle to build a life for themselves as undocumented immigrants in New York City.
Full Review See: Interview with Flavio Alves about The Garden Left Behind, part two
, Interview with Flavio Alves about The Garden Left Behind, part one
Gutterbee (Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Ulrich Thomsen; Writer: Ulrich Thomsen, Dan Hoffmann; Stars: Holly Adams, Ewen Bremner, W. Earl Brown, Samantha Conrad, Trudy Cordova, LynNita Ellis, Christopher Hagen, Joshua Harto, Adam Lewis Harvey, David Hight, Stephanie Hill, Chance Kelly, Bonita King, Brad Lund, Lucinda Marker)
Two hopeless cowboys join forces in a quest to serve delicious German sausages as a special dish in newly opened restaurant.
Hava, Maryam, Aleysha (Country: Afghanistan; Year: 2019; Director: Sahraa Karimi; Stars: Arezoo Ariapoor, Fereshta Afshar, Hasiba Ebrahim)
Heavily pregnant Hava is little more than a servant in her husband’s house. A night of soul-searching leaves television anchor Maryam determined to end a marriage marked by lies and deceit. Teenager Aleysha has agreed to a marriage with her kindly cousin.
Heavy Load (Selvhenter) (Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Magnus Milang; Writer: Emil Milang, Magnus Milang; Stars: Magnus Millang, Emil Millang, Amalie Lindegård, Elisabeth Bonjour)
Two estranged brothers embark on a road trip through Southern Europe in order to bring the body of their late father back to Denmark.
Invisible (Nematoma) (Country: Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia; Year: 2019; Director: Ignas Jonynas; Writer: Kristupas Sabolius, Ignas Jonynas; Stars: Dainius Kazlauskas, Darius Bagdziunas, Paulina Taujanskaité, Dmitrijus Denisiukas, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Kipras Garla, Igoris Reklaitis, Alina Zaliukaite-Ramanauskiene, Milda Vysniauskaite, Danguole Ragazinskaite, Indre Jaraite, Giedrius Savickas, Rimantas Pelakauskas, Aleksandr Ignatusha, Ema Cielyte)
Jonas pretends to be blind and enters a TV dance contest where he meets his attractive dance partner, Saulé. They soon become the show’s most popular contestants. Meanwhile, Vytas, an old acquaintance of Jonas, is released from jail thirsty for revenge...
Full Review
Papicha Papicha
Papicha and Finky
In The Name Of The Land (Au Nom De La Terre) (Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Edouard Bergeon; Writer: Edouard Bergeon, Emmanuel Courcol; Stars: Guillaume Canet, Veerle Baetens, Anthony Bajon, Rufus)
A farmer in a once idyllic situation find himself falling to pieces under the burden of debt.
Isaac (Izaokas) (Country: Lithuania; Year: 2019; Director: Jurgis Matulevicius; Writer: Jurgis Matulevicius, Saule Bliuvaite, Nerijus Milerius, Antanas Skema; Stars: Aleksas Kazanavicius, Severija Janusauskaite, Dainius Gavenonis, Dainius Kazlauskas, Martynas Nedzinskas, Ainis Storpirstis, Salvijus Trepulis, Eugenijus Jankelaitis, Arunas Vozbutas, Rytis Saladzius, Mindaugas Ancevicius, Andrius Alesiunas, Jonas Baltakis, Kestutis Cicenas, Arvydas Dapsys)
Skeletons rattle in the closet of a film director and his friends, 20 years after an infamous massacre.
Full Review See: Jurgis Matulevicius on his debut film Isaac
Lost Transmissions (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Katharine O'Brien; Writer: Katharine O'Brien; Stars: Juno Temple, Alexandra Daddario, Simon Pegg, Rosanna Arquette, Bria Vinaite, Tao Okamoto, Robert Schwartzman, Rebecca Hazlewood, Grant Harvey, Jamie Harris, Danny Ramirez, Nana Ghana, Jacob Loeb, Jonathan Ohye, Corey Mendell Parker)
After famed record producer Theo Ross goes off his schizophrenia meds, introverted songwriter Hannah dedicates herself to getting him the help he needs, perhaps at the cost of her own dreams.
Measure For Measure (Country: Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Paul Ireland; Stars: Hugo Weaving, Mark Leonard Winter, Megan Hajjar)
A worldweary crime boss has for his kingdom an estate whose residents reflect the city’s multicultural population. It is a world filled with violence, drugs, betrayal and also star-crossed lovers in a Muslim immigrant and an aspiring musician.
Les Misérables (Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Ladj Ly; Writer: Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Menenti; Stars: Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga)
A man joins an anti-crime brigade and rapidly discovers the tensions between the various neighbourhood groups.
Full Review See: Interview with Djebril Zonga, Alexis Manenti and Damien Bonnard about Les Misérables
Driveways Driveways
Driveways and Les Misérables
Miss & Mrs Cops (Country: South Korea; Year: 2019; Director: Jung Da-Won; Writer: Jung Da-Won; Stars: Song-Kyoung Lee, Jack Lyons, Mi-ran Ra, Sooyoung, Sang-Hyun Yoon)
The badass lady cops of Seoul are all ready to prove their worth and kick some scumbag ass.
Over The Sea (Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Sun Aoqian; Writer: Jier An, Aoqian Sun; Stars: Yu Kunjie, Rebecca Li, Sun Xinfu)
A cheeky, irrepressible 11-year-old racing through life with boundless energy is confronted by the harsh realities of the adult world and the tragedies that lie locked in his family history.
Full Review
Pacarrete (Country: Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Allan Deberton; Stars: Marcelia Cartaxo, João Miguel, Zezita Matos)
A former ballet dancer who lives in northeast Brazil has decided to dust off her tutu, slip on her ballet slippers and perform a classic dance for her city’s 200th anniversary celebrations - whether the locals want it or not.
Papicha (Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Mounia Meddour; Writer: Fadette Drouard, Mounia Meddour; Stars: Lyna Khoudri, Shirine Boutella, Amira Hilda Douaouda, Yasin Houicha, Zahra Manel Doumandji, Marwan Zeghbib, Aida Ghechoud, Meriem Medjkrane, Samir El Hakim, Amine Mentseur, Khaled Benaïssa, Abderrahmane Boudia, Malek Ghellamat, Lina Boudraa, Slimane Bourdous)
A student becomes determined to stage a fashion show despite religious opposition.
Full Review See: Interview with Lyna Khoudri about Papicha and The French Dispatch
Paradise (Paradise - Una nuova vita) (Country: Italy, Slovenia; Year: 2019; Director: Davide Del Degan; Writer: Del Degan, Andrea Magnani; Stars: Vincenzo Nemolato, Giovanni Calcagno, Katarina CasDavide)
A Sicilian slushie vendor is enrolled in a witness protection programme after observing a Mafia killing
Full Review
The Translators The Translators
The Translators and Isaac
Patrick (De Patrick) (Country: Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Tim Mielants; Writer: Tim Mielants, Benjamin Sprengers; Stars: Jemaine Clement, Kevin Janssens, Hannah Hoekstra, Jan Bijvoet, Bouli Lanners, Pierre Bokma, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Frank Vercruyssen, Katelijne Damen, Peter Gorissen, Tine Van den Wyngaert, Josse De Pauw, Janne Desmet, Ariane Van Vliet, Louis van der Waal)
Patrick lives with his parents on a naturist campsite. When his dad dies and he finds himself in charge he has other things on his mind... namely a quest for his lost hammer.
Full Review
Resin (Harpiks) (Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Daniel Joseph Borgman; Writer: Bo Hr Hansen, Ane Riel; Stars: Peter Plaugborg, Vivelill Søgaard Holm, Sofie Gråbø)
A girl is hidden from view, confined from modern society by her family. Yet as Liv’s curiosity to an existence outside her confinement comes to the fore, she starts to question her parents’ worldview.
Full Review
Running To The Sky (Jo Kuluk) (Country: Kyrgyzstan; Year: 2019; Director: Mirlan Abdykalykov; Writer: Ernest Abdyjaparov, Mirlan Abdykalykov; Stars: Temirlan Asankadyrov, Ruslan Orozakunov, Meerim Atantaeva)
In a beautiful mountain village in Kyrgyzstan, a 12-year-old is fiercely loyal to a father brought low by drink and divorce. The kid can run faster than anyone else in school and his ability might be the key to the family’s salvation, especially given the prizes in some local races
Full Review
Simple Women (Country: Italy, Romania; Year: 2019; Director: Chiara Malta; Stars: Jasmine Trinca, Elina Löwensohn, Francesco Acquaroli)
A film director obsessed with Hal Hartley’s Simple Men and its star Elina Löwensohn is thrilled when she gets the chance to make a film with the actress. As she discovers that her hero might not be as idyllic as once thought, however, the line begins to blur between art and reality.
Song Without A Name (Canción Sin Nombre) (Country: Peru, United States; Year: 2019; Director: Melina León; Writer: Melina León, Michael J White; Stars: Pamela Mendoza, Tommy Párraga, Lucio Rojas, Maykol Hernández, Ruth Armas, Pamela Mendoza, Tommy Párraga, Lucio Rojas, Maykol Hernández, Ruth Armas)
Peru, at the height of the political crisis of the 1980s. Georgina is a young woman from the Andes whose newborn daughter is stolen at a fake health clinic. Her desperate search for the child leads her to the headquarters of a major newspaper, where she meets Pedro Campos, a lonely journalist who takes on the investigation.
Full Review See: Interview with Melina León about Song Without A Name (Canción Sin Nombre)
Resin Resin
Resin and The Garden Left Behind
Son-Mother (Country: Iran, Czech Republic; Year: 2019; Director: Mahnaz Mohammadi; Writer: Mohammad Rasoulof; Stars: Raha Khodayari, Mahan Nasiri, Reza Behboodi)
Hard working widow, Leila, is tirelessly trying to provide for her infant daughter and 12 year-old-son, Amir. A marriage proposal from kind hearted Kazem could be the solution to all of her financial troubles. Unfortunately, as Kazem has a young daughter of his own, tradition dicates that Amir will be unable to live with them.
Full Review
Standing Up, Falling Down (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Matt Ratner; Writer: Peter Hoare; Stars: Billy Crystal, Ben Schwartz, Eloise Mumford, Grace Gummer, Nate Corddry, Jill Hennessy, Caitlin McGee, David Castañeda, Leonard Ouzts, John Behlmann, Debra Monk, Kevin Dunn, Wade Allain-Marcus, Kate Arrington, Mike Carlsen)
An unlikely friendship between a failed comedian and a charming, alcoholic dermatologist helps both confront long-simmering regrets in this warm-hearted buddy comedy.
Full Review
Stories From The Chestnut Woods (Country: Slovenia; Year: 2019; Director: Gregor Bozic; Writer: Gregor Bozic, Marina Gumzi; Stars: Massimo De Francovich, Ivana Roscic, Renzo Gariup, Tomi Janezic, Natasa Keser, Anita Kravos, Giusi Merli, Janez Skof, Massimo De Francovich, Ivana Roscic, Renzo Gariup, Tomi Janezic, Natasa Keser, Anita Kravos, Giusi Merli)
In a decaying forest on the Yugoslav-Italian border in the years after World War II, a stingy, old carpenter and a lonely, young chestnut seller share imaginative memories of the past.
Full Review
Supernova (Country: Poland; Year: 2019; Director: Bartosz Kruhlik; Writer: Bartosz Kruhlik; Stars: Marek Braun, Marcin Hycnar, Marcin Zarzeczny, Agnieszka Skibicka, Anna Mrozowska, Michal Pawlik, Pawel Koslik, Dariusz Dluzewski, Malgorzata Witkowska, Jerzy Janeczek, Hubert Podgórski, Wiktor Korzeniowski, Mateusz Korsak, Tomasz Zaród, Tomira Kowalik)
Three men, one place, and one event that will change each of their lives.
Full Review
The Translators (Les Traducteurs) (Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Régis Roinsard; Writer: Romain Compingt, Daniel Presley, Régis Roinsard; Stars: Alex Lawther, Olga Kurylenko, Riccardo Scamarcio)
To ensure absolute secrecy for the global publication of a bestseller, nine skilled translators are invited to a remote location. They are given a number of pages to translate each day. There is no contact with the outside world. Then the publisher receives a blackmail demand, threatening to release the manuscript online.
Full Review
Two Of Us Two Of Us
Two Of Us and Arracht
Two Of Us (Country: France, Luxembourg, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Filippo Meneghetti; Writer: Filippo Meneghetti, Malysone Bovorasmy, Florence Vignon; Stars: Barbara Sukowa, Martine Chevallier, Léa Drucker, Jérôme Varanfrain, Muriel Bénazéraf, Augustin Reynes)
Two retired women, who have been in a secret relationship for decades, find their relationship turned upside down when the truth begins to come out.
Full Review See: Filippo Meneghetti in conversation on Two Of Us (Deux)
Vivarium (Country: Ireland, Belgium, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Lorcan Finnegan; Writer: Lorcan Finnegan, Garret Shanley, Garret Shanley; Stars: Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings, Molly McCann, Eanna Hardwicke, Shana Hart, Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings)
In search of a starter home, a young couple follow a mysterious estate agent and get trapped in a strange housing development.
Full Review
You Will Die At Twenty (You Will Die At 20) (Country: Sudan, France, Egypt, Germany, Norway, Qatar; Year: 2019; Director: Amjad Abu Alala; Writer: Amjad Abu Alala, Yousef Ibrahim; Stars: Islam Mubarak, Mustafa Shehata, Moatasem Rashed, Mahmoud Alsarraj, Bonna Khalid, Talal Afifi, Mazin Ahmed, Hassan Ali, Mohamed Khalil, Asjad Mohamed, Amal Mustafa, Islam Mubarak, Mustafa Shehata, Moatasem Rashed, Mahmoud Alsarraj)
A boy struggles to cope with a prediction in childhood that he will die at 20.
Full Review
Zana (Country: Kosovo; Year: 2019; Director: Antoneta Kastrati; Stars: Adriana Matoshi, Astrit Kabashi, Fatmire Sahiti)
Driven by night-terrors and unable to conceive, Lume is not living up to her family’s expectations. She is forced to visit healers to treat her infertility against her will - that is until she miraculously falls pregnant. However, as her night terrors intensify, her family resort to extreme measures in protecting the unborn child from supposedly evil forces.
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