The top 10 list for Glasgow Film Festival 2015

With the Festival year heating up tremendously, and being already on my way to Berlin, I had a look at Glasgow FF’s 2015 programme, which seems very exciting and will hopefully bring even more audiences that last year to Scotland’s biggest rising film event. 

Here is a list of 10 film you should definitely not miss if you make your way to Glasgow from February 18 to March 1: 

1. Rosewater, dir. Jon Stewart / US, 2014: One of London FF’s bog hits from last October, this political drama with Gael Gracia Bernal playing a Canadian-Iranian journalist who is kept hostage by the Iranian government will keep your back at the seat for sure. Reminding a lot of A mighty heart with Angelina Jolie and dan Futterman, Jon Stewart’s directorial debt might not be perfect, but is definitely noteworthy. 

2. A pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence, dir. Roy Anderson / Sweden, 2014: The final part of Swedish director’s Roy Aderson trilogy on human nature is delivering an exhaustive existential research, accompanied by the Golden Lion from last year’s Mostra. 

3. A second chance, dir. Susanne Bier / Denmark, 2014: Being a loyal Susanne Bier fan, her latest bucolic adventure Serena, with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence left me with a huge question mark and the impression that the talented danish director has given in to Hollywood glam. Setting the expectations higher this time, A second chance seems again out of her safe waters but surely more promising than Serena. 

4. The new girlfriend, dir. Francois Ozon / France, 2014: One of the most celebrated french directors of today, Ozon’s raw and simultaneously romantic approach in cinema is quite moving and fresh, poking issues of contemporary life. The new girlfriend may not be surpassing his previous success Young and Beautiful, but it’s an eye-catching cinematic affair. 

5. Bande de filles, dir. Céline Sciamma / France, 2014: In her third feature film, the French director carries on her teenage drama fascination, this time speaking about “girlhood”, just s the title suggests - a fresh, multi-award interpretation of real life adulthood, not only for young eyes. 

6. Mommy, Xavier Dolan / Canada, 2014: The Prix du Jury of last year’s Festival De Cannes, finally put the Canadian 25 year old wunderkind in the big game. His fifth feature is much more mature, a brighter sample of Dolan’s talent, which now reaches beyond the discoveries of early adulthood, establishing a solid, one of a kind character in world cinema. 

7. Wild tales, Damiaz Szifrón / Argentina, 2014: One of Cannes’ competition favourites, this hilarious black-humour drama is dazzling, original and surreal projection of six real-life stories, set in the contemporary urban jungle. No matter where you are, no matter how you feel, you will find at least one to match your state of mind. 

8. Still Alice, Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland / US, 2014: It is definitely Julianne Moore’s year. After winning the Best Actress prize at Festival De Cannes for Cronenberg’s Maps to the stars, Moore incarnates Alice Howland, a renowned linguist who is diagnosed at early age with Alzheimers. And seems like Uncle Oscar is coming her way… 

9. The Wonders, Alice Rohrwacher / Italy, 2014: Tender and sincere, this story of four children that live in the Italian countryside and make their father’s dream come true is utterly inspirational. Rohrwacher proves that Italy has a new generation of directors, and also a brand new wave of Italian cinema to talk about. 

10. Gente de bien, Franco Lolli / France, Colombia, 2014: This gentle story for a young boy and his father who struggle to ensure better living conditions and social recognition is one of last year’s most noticeable directorial debuts. Conventional at its core, Gente de bien shows good potential and a pure understanding of the world.