Scotland Film Event Highlights – September 2013

The Grosvenor Cinema in Glasgow is screening four films showcasing some of mainstream cult star Bill Murray's finest performances. The series starts with 80s golfing farce Caddyshack (18 Sep), featuring some of the decade's best known comedy actors. This is followed by Groundhog Day (22 Sep), the wonderfully poignant Lost in Translation (25 Sep) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (28 Sep). Screening chronologically, this is a great chance to see the progression of one of America's funniest actors.

Bad movie buffs should head to the Cameo in Edinburgh on 13 Sep for a screening of one of the most notorious contemporary bad films, The Room. Such is the infamy of writer-director-producer-actor Tommy Wiseau's debut that it poses a serious challenge to Plan 9 From Outer Space's ‘Worst Movie of All Time’ status. Whether Wiseau appreciates this dubious claim to fame is up for debate, but one thing's for sure – bring some friends and some plastic spoons, and a truly unforgettable cinematic experience is guaranteed.

Here's a fun fact: before he won an Academy Award for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond worked on the superbly titled (but utterly rubbish) The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies!!? in 1964. Sadly, this movie is not part of the Filmhouse's selection celebrating the work of the Oscar winner. Instead, three of his more critically acclaimed, newly restored works are being shown: Heaven's Gate (1 Sep), Deliverance (3 Sep), and Scarecrow (5 Sep) may have less interesting titles, but are undoubtedly far better examples of his cinemagraphic abilities.

The DCA asked their audience to vote for their favourite films about friendship, and The Breakfast Club won. Screening on 1 Sep, this John Hughes classic is a simple story of five students stuck in detention. Featuring some of the finest high school stereotypes (geek, weirdo, bad boy, jock, princess), don't let the clichés put you off – this is one of the quintessential 80s dramas, and is a perfect morning screening for anyone who ever felt like an outsider in school.

Punk folk rocker John Otway will be at the Cameo (2 Sep) for a special Q&A following a screening of Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure: Otway the Movie. Known for his self-deprecating humour and eccentric nature, this documentary was funded entirely by fans (who also donned Otway masks for the March of 100 Otways) and has garnered critical acclaim since it showed at Cannes. [Becky Bartlett]