Scottish Film Events: July 2022

Wim Wenders is celebrated across Scotland in July, plus Christopher Nolan and Céline Sciamma retrospectives, and a showcase of Arab cinema comes to Glasgow

Article by Jamie Dunn | 01 Jul 2022
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Many of New German Cinema auteur Wim Wenders' best films trade in existential cool and a weary malaise, and some of them are screening at Glasgow Film Theatre, Dundee Contemporary Arts and Filmhouse in Edinburgh this month. Catch his compelling adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's GameThe American Friend (12-14 Jul, Filmhouse; 23-28 Jul, GFT); his dreamy love-letter to the romance of Berlin, Wings of Desire (7 Jul, DCA); and two brilliant, bittersweet road movies, Alice in the Cities (5-6 Jul, Filmhouse; 18 Jul, DCA) and Kings of the Road (9-11 Jul, Filmhouse; 10-13 Jul, GFT; 28 Jul, DCA). His masterpiece, Paris, Texas, is on general release from 29 July.

GFT crown Christoper Nolan their latest CineMaster this month – The Prestige (5 Jul) and Inception (17-19 Jul) both screen on 35mm while his epic sci-fi Interstellar (24-26 Jul) gets the full 70mm treatment. There’s also a triple bill of his Dark Knight Trilogy on 9 July.

Less bombastic are the exquisitely tender films of Céline Sciamma, which are screening at Filmhouse as part of Over the Rainbow, their regular strand celebrating queer cinema. It’s a complete retrospective of Sciamma’s directorial features, including sweet coming-of-age film Tomboy (9-10 Jul), the powerful teen friendship drama Girlhood (16-17 Jul) and her sweeping lesbian romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire (23-24 Jul).

Arab cinema gets a compelling showcase at SAFAR Film Festival. The London-based event has been around for ten years, and marks this anniversary by going on tour across the UK. One of the stops is the CCA in Glasgow, where a trio of films screen: Farha (15 Jul), Our Memory Belongs to Us (16 Jul) and Shall I Compare You to a Summer's Day? (16 Jul) – the latter a wild sounding queer musical inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights folktales.

If al fresco cinema that doesn’t break the bank is more up your street, head to Glasgow Queen’s Park, which continues its season of free outdoor screenings. Among the lively lineup we recommend The Rocky Horror Picture Show (10 Jul), Pulp Fiction (11 Jul), The Warriors (13 Jul), ​​Withnail and I (14 Jul) and Purple Rain (22 Jul).