Scotland Film Event Highlights – January 2014
A new year, a new set of film events, with gothic screenings at GFT, a children's cult classic at Cameo and Filmhouse celebrates Scotland on screen
The GFT in Glasgow continues its Gothic strand this month, focusing on the theme ‘love is the devil.’ Seven films are screening in January, including camp cult favourite What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (5 Jan), starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, whose off-screen feud helped to create an unforgettably friction-filled on-screen pairing. Also showing is Roger Corman’s The Tomb of Ligeia (14 Jan), featuring Vincent Price, and quintessentially 80s doomed vampire romance The Hunger (21 Jan), starring David Bowie. All films are introduced by David Melville Wingrove; see www.glasgowfilm.org for the full line-up.
The Cameo in Edinburgh is offering a rare chance to see The 5000 Fingers of Dr T (5 Jan), conceived and written by Dr Seuss. This strange children's movie about a boy attempting to escape from the villainous piano teacher Dr T, who wants to force five hundred boys to play a giant piano in unison, opened to poor reviews when released in 1953. It’s since become a nostalgic cult classic, making this the perfect afternoon viewing for fans of Dr Seuss’ inimitable, surreal style.
Two specially programmed films are showing at the GFT as part of Afrika Eye Film Festival's tour – now in its seventh year, the festival continues to expand, bringing African movies to UK audiences. Nairobi Half Life (9 Jan) and Something Necessary (16 Jan) are screening as part of New Visions from Kenya: Celebrating 50 Years of Independence, a special strand developed through workshops encouraging African filmmakers to consider their art on an international level.
With the referendum just around the corner, why not start the year with some of the finest Scottish-set movies, both old and new? The Filmhouse in Edinburgh is screening eight films (until 5 Jan) that celebrate the country in a season named Scotland Galore!; included are the delicately animated The Illusionist (28 Dec-3 Jan), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (30 Dec-2 Jan), and the wonderfully Americanised Brigadoon (2-4 Jan). The season concludes with a special screening, From the Archive: Scotland on Film, which compiles various shorts depicting life throughout the years.
Fans of French cinema should head to the Institut Francais d'Ecosse in Edinburgh, where two films are showing this month. Versailles (7-8 Jan), starring the late Guillaume Depardieu, was selected in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes in 2008, while Le Nom des Gens (21-22 Jan) is a light-hearted romantic comedy that won two Cesar awards in 2011. Admission is free, so make sure you arrive early.