Scottish Film Events: July 2026

With the weather finally taking a turn for the better, it’s the perfect time for some alfresco cinema at Queen's Park Arena. To be honest, their programming could do with a refresh. Do we really need another screening of Mamma Mia (10 Jul), The Dark Knight Rises (7 Jul) or Frozen (22 Jul)? For a more adventurous family pick, we suggest The Witches (7 Jul), Nic Roeg’s macabre take on Roald Dahl’s classic. The film bros should forget the Caped Crusader and opt for Kinji Fukasaku's dystopian belter Battle Royale (15 Jul). And for a sing-along to top ABBA, try Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense (12 Jul).

David Byrne is clearly in the air. Not only is the Dumbarton-born musician coming to Edinburgh for three shows at the Playhouse, but he’s also on cinema screens with a mini-season at Filmhouse. Demme’s film is screening, obvs (17-20 Jul), alongside Spike Lee’s similarly great Byrne concert flick American Utopia (5 Aug) and Byrne’s skew-whiff directorial debut, True Stories (17-18 Jul).

Filmhouse are also marking what would have been the 100th birthday of the great character actor Harry Dean Stanton with a brace of films in which he landed rare lead roles: Paris, Texas (14 Jul) and Repo Man (16 Jul), both from 1984. 

Have you heard of the Iceman, Anthony Irvine’s almost mythic alt-comedy act from the 80s and 90s, which involved him attempting to melt a block of ice in various creative ways? You can learn more about this one-off comedian in the fantastic documentary Melt It! The Film of the Iceman, which features contributions from fans such as Stewart Lee, Jo Brand and Mark Thomas. Director Mark Cartwright will be at DCA on 12 July and GFT on 13 July to present the film and take part in Q&As. 

DCA have some 50th anniversary screenings up their sleeve, with 1976 classics All the President's Men (5 & 8 Jul), Network (11 & 16 Jul), Taxi Driver (25 & 28 Jul) and Assault on Precinct 13 (10 Aug). The latter is presented by DCA’s horror festival Dundead, who have more treats in store for Dundee film fans: they’re screening Paul W.S. Anderson’s inventive video game adaptation Mortal Kombat (10 Jul) and Reflection in a Dead Diamond (29 Jul), the latest from Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. 

Over at GFT, Clio Barnard gets the CineMasters treatment, with four of her films screening (The Arbor, 5 & 8 Jul; The Selfish Giant, 12 & 14 Jul; Dark River, 19 & 22 Jul; and Ali & Ava, 26 & 29 Jul). And look out for No Strings on Me: Cinema's Living Puppets, a season celebrating puppetry in cinema. Think Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, Jan Švankmajer’s Alice and Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors, which screens as part of Queer Cinema Sundays. Full details at glasgowfilm.com

Oh, and there’s a wee film out called The Odyssey. Find it screening from film at GFT (70mm), Filmhouse (70mm), Cameo (35mm) and DCA (35mm) from 17 July.