November Film Highlights

The highlights from November's cinema calendar

Preview by Becky Bartlett | 01 Nov 2011

Bored of simply watching films? Head to the GFT in Glasgow on 11 Nov for a special 30th anniversary screening of John Waters' classic Polyesterwhich is a feast for much more than sight and sound. Not only has Waters filmed a special introduction for the screening, but all audience members will be provided with scratch 'n' sniff cards, as they were in 1981 when the film first aired in 'Odorama'. A trashy, bad taste/smells comedy, Polyester is sure to delight and disgust in equal measure.

Between 2-6 Nov the Filmhouse in Edinburgh is hosting twelve films from the Africa in Motion 2011 programme. The festival, now in its sixth year, is focusing its attentions on youth and is providing audiences with a wide range of styles and themes to choose from. Included in the programme are Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (2 Nov), a visually stunning tale of Sufism and belief set in the Tunisian and Iranian deserts, and the AiM Short Film Competition (4 Nov), now a staple part of the festival's line up. For full details, check the AiM website.

Fans of Japanese animé should go to the Belmont in Aberdeen on 26 Nov for three films screening in its We Love Animé season. The puzzle-solving professor is back in Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, while the secrets of eternal youth have been lost along with a student in Tekken Blood Vengence. Finally Mardock Scramble Parts 1 & 2 is showing in the evening. This 18-rated film tells the story of Balot, a former prostitute-turned-cyborg seeking justice for her treatment at the hands of a cruel gambler. The film is billed as a pulse-pounding cyberpunk noir adventure – surely worth a watch.

Adrenaline junkies will be pleased to hear that several cinemas across Scotland are hosts for the Adventure Film Festival. Cinemas in Dundee (DCA, 13 Nov), Aberdeen (The Belmont, 3-17 Nov), Edinburgh (The Dominion, 8 & 15 Nov), Inverness (Eden Court, 24 Oct - 7 Nov) and Stirling (McRobert, 7 Nov) are all participating, providing audiences with extreme films about extreme sports. Testing the limits of human endurance, the diverse selection includes Breathe, a documentary about one of the most dangerous sports around, freediving, and Extreme Frontiers: Canada, following Charley Boorman as he travels across the second largest country in the world. For full details, check out www.adventurefest.co.uk

Finally, there's a chance to see two classic book-to-film adaptations at the Filmhouse. Nineteen Eighty-Four, based on George Orwell's classic, is screening on 7 Nov, and Last Orders, starring Michael Caine and Helen Mirren, is showing on 28 Nov. Both films will be introduced.