Glasgow Film Festival celebrates a bumper 20th edition

"What's not to love about Glasgow?" asks Jonas Chernick

by Jennie Kermode

The Home game team learn that they've won the Audience Award
The Home game team learn that they've won the Audience Award Photo: Eoin Carey

The Glasgow Film Festival enjoyed a highly successful 20th anniversary edition, with 34,817 tickets sold and opening film Love Lies Bleeding selling out in a record-breaking six minutes, it has been revealed. With a total of 241 screenings, including free retrospectives in the mornings, it also saw 3,000 admissions to its industry focus events.

Lauren LaVera and Jonathan Dylan King, stars of The Well
Lauren LaVera and Jonathan Dylan King, stars of The Well Photo: Erika Stevenson

The 2024 Audience Award was won - by a hefty margin - by Icelandic underdog football documentary The Home Game, while Viggo Mortensen received the festival's inaugural Cinema City Honorary Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cinema. he was also present to support his new film The Dead Don't Hurt. "It was the best place I’ve seen my movie and the best place I’ve heard it. I’ve learned that Glasgow is not only a film loving place but a cinema loving place so I’m very happy to have come here," he said.

"Myself and the whole team at the festival are thrilled with how GFF24 went," said festival director Allison Gardner. "From our critically and publicly acclaimed programme highlighting emerging talent to the friendly and warm reception by our wonderful audiences to the talented guests that came to Glasgow from across the world, our 20th edition was a perfect reflection of everything Glasgow Film Festival stands for: Cinema For All."

Festival guests included Emily Hampshire, George MacKay, Maxine Peake, Ben Wheatley and Rose Glass. Jonas Chernick, there with his film The Burning Season, said "I’ve been to festivals all over the world for many, many years and this is my favourite."

Next year's edition will run from 26 February to 9 March.

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