Saturday, January 28, 2012

Glasgow Film Festival Coming Up in Scotland

By Aaron Ogilvy


Perhaps the Scottish city of Glasgow isn't necessarily the first place you'd associate with a film festival, however from the 16th - 26th February Glasgow will be a-buzz with world premieres, interactive events and special guests from the world of international cinema. The annual Glasgow Film Festival 2012 offers a packed programme that will please even the most die-hard film buffs, spreading itself across the city with 16 different venues hosting a variety of exciting events. There is even an offering for the young with the Glasgow Youth Film Festival from the 5th - 15th February and a dedicated Short Film Festival from the 9th - 12th. With a film festival that extends for a month, you could even combine some cultural film-watching with a holiday stay in one of the serviced apartments in Edinburgh offers.

The precedent is being set for the Festival's fabulous selection of films and events with the UK premier of Your Sister's Sister. This premier is the festival's opening event and made all the more auspicious as it is the latest film from none less than Lynn Shelton, one of Variety's top ten directors to watch in the coming year. Maintaining this high standard, the festival is closing with an equally impressive offering; Le Havre. Along with an enviable selection of awards from across the globe, Le Havre famously won the much-coveted French Prix Louis Delluc, making it a suitably accoladed film to close this festival.

As well as lots of film-themed talks and interactive events, the festival will screen a staggering 239 films over the course of its duration. To help film enthusiasts decide which films it is they want to watch, festival organisers have divided these films up into 19 different thematic categories. One such category is entitled 'Best of British' and includes some of the greatest achievements in recent British cinema.

Being located in Scotland the festival is also keen to celebrate Scottish cinema, the best of which can be found in the aptly named category 'Great Scots'. On the other hand there is also a category for those who prefer reality to fiction, which will be screening a selection of documentaries examining the human condition with no holds barred.

This year's Glasgow Film Festival is the perfect opportunity to delve into world cinema, as there are films being screened from all corners of the globe. The films found in the 'It's a Wonderful World' catagory are obviously a good place to start, whereas the films in the 'The State of Independents' category give a great insight into specifically American films. 'European Cinema', on the other hand, is where to go for the best films from our own continent.

The country to which the festival pays particular attention this year is Germany. This culturally rich and historically fascinating nation had provided some of the best cinema ever to come out of Europe and the films shown as part of the 'Welcome to Germany' group are an example of some of Germany's greatest cinema in the last year. Similarly the 'Weimarvellous' films and events offer a fun, interactive introduction into what is arguable Germany's most interesting cinematic period.

For those lucky enough to already have apartments in Glasgow there is no need to worry about accommodation, however visiting film enthusiasts will need to consider this. While some like hotels, renting apartments in Glasgow short-term is actually an inexpensive way of immersing yourself in the city and the festival.

If, on the other hand, you don't quite want to be in the middle of the action, perhaps the serviced apartments Edinburgh offers would be a better choice than apartments in Glasgow. You could always combine a holiday in Scotland's notoriously beautiful capital city with a day or weekend visit to the festival in Glasgow. The serviced apartments Edinburgh has also give you the luxury of a fully-furnished and maintained apartment, with the advantage of feeling at home in this fantastic city. However whether you opt for a stay in Glasgow or the serviced apartments Edinburgh area has to offer, you will have a great time!




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