Scottish Film Events: June 2023

The Folk Film Gathering (12-29 Jun) is back in Edinburgh with a sharply curated lineup celebrating community, place and people. Running through the programme you’ll find what the organisers call “a dialogue of solidarity” between Ukraine and Scotland, which draws connections across the rich cinematic heritage of both countries. One highlight speaking to this dialogue is a screening of Alexander Dovzhenko's blistering war film Arsenal, which plays with a newly minted soundtrack by Scottish electronic duo Dalhous. Elsewhere you’ll find a brace of docs exploring the phenomenon of second sight in the Outer Hebrides and several rarely-screened Scottish classics from the BBC’s Play for Today series. 

Still from Arsenal

Pack yourself some sandwiches, a two-litre bottle of Irn-Bru and a multipack of Haribo, because Cameo in Edinburgh has three all-nighters planned on 17 June. The pick of the bunch is Blockbuster Anime, which is serving up masterpieces Akira and Perfect Blue alongside recent anime faves Belle, Your Name and Promare. For the adventurous, there’s Pot Luck – five mystery films. And finally, there’s the frankly insane movie marathon 24 Hour Wes Fest, which lets you enjoy the whimsical world of Wes Anderson for a day, with all ten of his films playing in chronological order.

June is Pride month, and Glasgow Film Theatre have a couple of queer classics on its roster to celebrate. First up, on 3 June, is Jennifer’s Body, a razor-sharp feminist horror that was much misunderstood by critics on its 2009 release but has since been embraced, not least by the LGBTQ community, for Diablo Cody's deliciously camp script (“she’s, like, actually evil; not high school evil”) and the sapphic intensity of the teen friendship at its centre. That’s followed on 16 June by the cult 1969 feature Funeral Parade of Roses, an anarchic celebration of homosexuality and drag from avant-garde genius Toshio Matsumoto.

Also look out for Film Knight, a new dine-and-view night at Knight’s Kitchen, the ace, African-inspired neighbourhood bistro on Leith Walk, Edinburgh. This month they’re screening Somali film The Gravedigger's Wife, which was much acclaimed on its limited release last year. Other film highlights this month include Highlander on 35mm at DCA (10 Jun); a 4k screening of The Wicker Man: The Final Cut at Cameo (21 Jun) to mark the 50th anniversary of that classic horror; and a pay-what-you-can screening of the wonderful Limbo at GFT as part of Refugee Festival Scotland (17 Jun).