Scottish Film Events: February 2025

The film world was rocked last month by the death of David Lynch, the most original and influential American filmmaker to emerge after the New Hollywood era. He leaves a huge hole in film culture, but thankfully his wonderful work lives on and there are a couple of chances to see two of his greatest films on the big screen this month, with more tributes sure to follow. Cameo in Edinburgh screen his 1989 lovers on the run story/Wizard of Oz homage Wild at Heart (15 Feb), Braw Cinema Club screens the same film five days later at Banshee Labyrinth in Edinburgh (20 Feb), while Dundee Contemporary Arts have opted for his dreamy 1986 fantasy Blue Velvet (27 Feb). If you’re new to Lynch’s genius, these feverish films are great entry points. 

It’s been 16 years since Australian animator Adam Elliot released his wry and emotionally devastating claymation feature Mary & Max. With Elliot back this month with his sophomore feature Memoir of a Snail, a similarly whimsical and singular stop-motion marvel (Pick up the February issue for our full review), Glasgow Film Theatre is bringing Mary & Max back to the big screen, with an introduction by programmer Heather Bradshaw (15 Feb).

The Moving Image Archive, situated in Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, holds a treasure trove of Scottish film, from work by Margaret Tait, Norman McLaren and Bill Forsyth to home movies, amateur films and other sundry clips, reels and rarities. They also host screenings, and to mark LGBTQ history month they’ve programmed the little-seen 1983 Scottish documentary Coming Out, which will be followed by a conversation with Sigrid Nielsen, co-founder of Lavender Menace, Scotland’s first lesbian and gay bookshop (5 Feb).

All films are better on the big screen, but some demand the big screen treatment, and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is one of those films. It’s currently screening widely across Scotland, but if you want to view it in the most detailed and vibrant formats possible, make it to one of GFT’s 70mm screenings, which run 14 to 25 February. And for an immersive screening, how about watching The Brutalist in one of Glasgow’s Brutalist gems? It screens at The Pyramid at Anderston on 23 February, where there's currently an exhibition on Brutalist architecture in Glasgow, and the screening is preceded by a talk from the exhibition’s curator, Rachel Loughran.

The mighty Japan Touring Programme returns this month too, with screenings at Inverness’s Eden Court (16 Feb-31 Mar), Dundee Contemporary Arts (22 Feb-23 Mar) and Edinburgh’s Cameo (6-31 Mar). It’s a varied lineup, mixing anime (Ghost Cat Anzu), classics (1951’s Carmen Comes Home) and mint-fresh works of contemporary Japanese cinema. For full listings, head to jpf-film.org.uk