Scottish Film Events: November 2021

French cinema is having a bit of a moment. If you need any evidence, just take a peek at this year’s stacked French Film Festival (3 Nov-15 Dec) programme. This annual snapshot of contemporary Francophone filmmaking features new work from – deep breath – Jacques Audiard (Paris, 13th District), Arnaud Desplechin (Deception), Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman), Bruno Dumont (On a Half Clear Morning aka France), Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Lingui), Emmanuelle Bercot (Peaceful) and Joachim Lafosse (The Restless).

Add to that hefty list the latest in the ridiculously goofy Jean Dujardin-starring Bond spoof series OSS 117 (this one’s titled, probably problematically, From Africa with Love); Kaamelott: The First Chapter, a new retelling of the King Arthur legend; and two hits from Cannes: Playground, which depicts the tinderbox atmosphere of a kids' schoolyard with the kind of intensity usually reserved for a prison movie, and the wildly provocative psychothriller Titane, which walked off with the Palme d’Or.

The festival kicks off in Scotland on 5 November at Filmhouse with Emmanuel Courcol’s The Big Hit, a comedy following a has-been actor as he tries to stage a version of Waiting for Godot in a prison, and you’ll find other screenings throughout Scotland, including at Aberdeen’s Belmont, the Bo’ness Hippodrome, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Glasgow Film Theatre, Inverness Eden Court, and the Dominion, the French Institute and Summerhall in Edinburgh. Full details at frenchfilmfestival.org.uk

FFFUK isn’t the only show in town, however. Ace music documentary festival Doc'n Roll also returns this month, with a quartet of film screenings at Glasgow Film Theatre and Cameo in Edinburgh. Highlights look to be The War Is Never Over, a cinematic portrait of No Wave icon Lydia Lunch and the extremely meta Nowhere Inn, which stars real-life pals Annie Clark (aka St Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia) as they attempt to collaborate on a doc about Clark’s touring life and on-stage persona. Screening details at docnrollfestival.com

Short film fans should be psyched for the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, which this year celebrates its tenth edition. Taking place 5-21 November at Summerhall Cinema, the programme is a typically varied affair, taking in award-winning shorts from all over the world. If you’re looking for a local gem, however, we reckon you should catch Scuzz, Alia Ghafar's vivid Glasgow-set drama following the unlikely friendship that forms between an art school hipster and a music-obsessed ne'er-do-well after the latter steals a guitar off of the former’s bandmate. Find it in the programme titled Lost and Found on 14 November. Full programme at edinburghshortfilmfestival.com