Five to see at GFF, 24 Feb: Surprise Film & More

Today's Glasgow Film Festival offers up the thrill of Speed Sisters, the chill of The Clan and the mystery of what will be this year's Surprise Film...

Speed Sisters

GFT, 1.15pm

This lively and subtly subversive doc focuses on Palestine's first all-female race driving team. Our reviewer said that "What makes Speed Sisters such a joy is that it's both political and playful; social commentary unspools quietly in the background while the focus is the on- and off-track dramas. The tear gas in the streets, roadblocks and lack of any space for them to drive have become daily inconveniences, so commonplace they’ve become humdrum. Palestine still has the power to shock them, however."

Read our full Speed Sisters review

The Clan

GFT, 6pm

This Argentinian thriller centres on a seemingly average suburban family who just happen to kidnap then murder the country’s rich and elite. If that sounds a bit far-fetched, you’ll be pleased to know this is based on a true story. The film is screening as part of the Roads to the South strand, which has proved rich pickings. Add to this Chilean films The Pearl Button and The Club, Venezuelan knockout From Afar, and Land and Shade from Columbia, and it's proving to be a vintage year for South American cinema.

Man vs. Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler

Drygate, 7.45pm

Fans of The King of Kong will dig this empathetic doc following several gaming misfits as they try to score one billion points on an obscure arcade game. The Nerdvana team are making this UK premiere screening extra special with a retro arcade (complete with Nibbler game), a customised Nerdvana menu and special craft beer brewed especially for GFF.

Read our Man vs. Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler review

Weepah Way for Now

CCA, 6.30pm

A five star gem buried in the programme, we urge you to make it along to check out this delightful, full-of-life drama about two sisters, played by real life siblings AJ and Aly Michalka. Our reviewer wrote that "Stephen Ringer’s debut feature lays out a kind of romantic realism similar in style to Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy – it skims off the most perfect level of real life, the moments when reality seems most movie-like."

Read our full Weepah Way for Now review

The Surprise Film

GFT, 8.45pm

This event can be a lucky dip – last year’s was stinker The Voices – but you can’t beat the excitement of not having a clue what’s about to come on screen. As ever, it's a closely guarded secret, but going by the chatter around the festival by critics and film-fans, here are some rough odds.

Eddie the Eagle (2/1) – this British comedy seems to be favourite among Film Twitter, but our feeling is that this is too vanilla a choice for GFF co-director Allison Gardner, who in the past has tended to challenge her audience with spikier films like Calvary and Spring Breakers. 

Son of Saul (5/2) – this is more like it: a film full of shock and awe that will have audience members arguing its ethical and artistic merits long into the night. On second thought, though, maybe good taste will prevent a holocaust film being Surprise Movie.

Midnight Special (5/1) – this would please many in the crowd, but reports from its Berlin premiere suggest Jeff Nichols' sci-fi road movie is pretty low wattage, so maybe it doesn't quite have the punch Gardner and team go for with their Surprise Movie picks.

Love and Friendship (20/1) – this would delight our Film Editor, but Whit Stillman is an acquired taste, as London Film Festival discovered when a surprise screening of Damsels in Distress prompted mass walkouts. Would GFF take the same risk?

Batman v Superman (1000/1) – I'll eat my bat cape wrapped in kryptonite if this happens.

Other??? (evens) – we've never correctly guessed the Surprise Film yet, so more than likely we'll be blindsided again.