Glasgow Film Festival 2027 Dates Announced

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GFF Celebrates a Record-Breaking Year as GFF27 Dates are Announced


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This year at GFF26 we brought film talent and audiences together in a celebration of cinema, earlier this year. Guests included James McAvoy, Alice Winocour, George Mackay, Peter Mullan, Felipe Bustos Sierra and Lynne Ramsay.


Cinema admissions increased by 5% with more sold-out film screenings at the festival's largest capacity screening venue, Cinema 1 at Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), plus the addition of Odeon LUXE at the Quay, giving audiences more screens to watch across the 12 days of the festival. 

As well as GFT and Odeon, 11 venues in Glasgow took part including Berlinky’s on Sauchiehall Street, the festival’s new after-hours home, The Pyramid at Anderston and  Glasgow University Union, who both hosted GFF’s special events, anniversary screenings of Carrie and Moulin Rouge. Audiences at the latter were treated to a surprise video message from Ewan McGregor on location in New York. 22 hotels, restaurants and bars also partnered with GFF to welcome audiences and filmmakers from across the UK and beyond, boosting the city’s crucial hospitality and leisure sector.

We are excited to announce that Glasgow Film Festival 2027 will return from 24 February - 7 March 2027, with submissions opening in July this year.


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Director Felipe Bustos Sierra introducing his film Everybody To Kenmure Street at the Opening Gala of GFF26.
Director Felipe Bustos Sierra introducing his film Everybody To Kenmure Street at the Opening Gala of GFF26. The film has its UK Premiere at the festival. Photography by Amy Muir.

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Showcasing Emerging Talent at Industry Focus

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The festival’s Industry Focus programme returned to The Social Hub in Merchant City for a second year and welcomed 745 press and industry delegates. Admissions for the Industry Focus conference also increased to 4,155 across the five-day programme, which included panel discussions, live pitches and networking, designed to cover topics critical to the screen sector, whilst also serving as a vital hub for film professionals across the UK. 

The festival’s new strand for the conference this year, ‘Made in Glasgow’, showcased the strength of the filmmaking sector in Scotland’s biggest city, with the full day sponsored by Blazing Griffin. Award-winning  filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, whose celebrated career began in Glasgow, was this year’s recipient of the Cinema City Honorary Award, receiving the accolade at a sold out in-conversation event during the festival.


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Viggo Mortensen at Glasgow Film Festival.
Audience watches on during the Industry Focus Animatic Shorts Live Pitch. Photography by Ingrid Mur.

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We welcomed international delegations from France and Austria, who attended the festival’s Talent Dinner Awards Ceremony to celebrate the work of the 50 writers, directors and producers taking part in festival talent labs: Animatic, Funny Features, and the New Talent Mentorship Scheme. This year’s cohort brings the total number of filmmakers supported by the festival across all three initiatives to 117. This year’s labs have delivered rapid progress with several projects advancing into further development. Across Funny Features, multiple projects have already secured finance, sales agents and executive producers. Through Animatic a number of projects have attached producers, and this year's winner will attend the world’s most prestigious platform for animation professionals, Annecy’s MIFA, to find additional development and financing. 

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A Programme That Championed Cinema For All

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Our 2026 programme contained 127 titles hailing from 45 countries, featuring 43 languages including Gaelic, Arabic, Icelandic, Swedish, Afrikaans, Tagalog, Welsh, Japanese and Korean. Audiences were also treated to 10 world premieres, giving them the opportunity to be at the films’ first ever screenings, plus 66 UK premieres, 3 European and 18 Scottish premieres. Programme highlights this year included Gaelic-language documentary Sailm nan Daoine (Psalms of the People) directed by Glasgow-based Jack Archer, and Effi o Blaenau, a Welsh drama directed by BAFTA Cymru-winning Marc Evans. We also secured the European premiere of the instant cult classic Nirvana - the Band the Show the Movie, with two sold out shows in the festival’s largest venue.


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Dacre Montgomery and Bill Skaarsgard in Dead Man's Wire. The film had its Scottish Premiere at GFF26.
Dacre Montgomery and Bill Skaarsgard in Dead Man's Wire. The film had its Scottish Premiere at GFF26. Imagery Provided by Vertigo Releasing.

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This year's Audience Award was presented to French director Mélisa Godet for her debut feature, A Place For Her. Based on La Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis, a women’s shelter outside of Paris and inspired by the centre’s founder Dr Ghada Hatem, the film has been sold for release in Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Hungry and Austria following it’s UK premiere at GFF. 

Cinemas participating in our UK-wide screenings enjoyed an exclusive preview of Dead Man’s Wire, starring Bill Skaarsgard, Dacre Montgomery and Al Pacino, bringing the festival to audiences in Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Edinburgh, Fort William, Bo'ness, Birmingham, London, Dumfries, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol and Cardiff.

Chair of Glasgow Life, Baillie Annette Christie, said: “Glasgow Film Festival’s continued growth is a powerful reflection of its energy, ambition, and enduring appeal. This year’s increase in attendance, alongside rising cinema admissions, and packed screenings across the city, shows just how strongly audiences connected with the festival’s world-class programme. From major premieres and international guests to community initiatives and industry activity, the festival continues to bring people together in celebration of cinema.

“Once again the festival demonstrated a unique ability to showcase an extraordinary breadth of storytelling from across the globe, while championing homegrown talent and strengthening Glasgow’s reputation as a leading screen city. The expansion of venues and partnerships across the city highlights the festival’s growing impact not only culturally, but economically.

“Building on a remarkable legacy, the refreshed team have delivered an outstanding edition, ensuring Glasgow Film Festival continues to thrive as one of the world’s most welcoming and respected film festivals, and a vital part of the city’s cultural calendar.” 


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Glasgow Film Festival 2026 took place from 25 February to 8 March 2026. Our festival hosted 126 films across 12 days, including 16 World, European and International premieres, 68 UK premieres, and 18 Scottish premieres, with titles from 44 countries and six continents. GFF26 highlights included the UK premiere of Glasgow-shot documentary Everybody To Kenmure Street and renowned Glasgow director Lynne Ramsay receiving the festival’s Cinema City Award. 

At Glasgow Film, we are a charity that runs GFF, Scotland’s flagship film festival, and also operates Glasgow Film Theatre. The festival is made possible by support from Screen Scotland and the BFI Audience Projects Fund, both awarding National Lottery funding, and Glasgow Life, the charity which delivers culture, events and active living in Glasgow.


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