Who We Are

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Who We Are

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Glasgow is home to one of the friendliest and vibrant film festivals in the world. Our wide-ranging programme celebrates the diversity of global filmmaking, offering a fantastic showcase for the best of Scottish cinema alongside films from every corner of the world.

The Festival has a long tradition of championing new talent and ensuring that the very best films from those submitted are given the spotlight they deserve in our programme.

Join us from 25 February – 8 March 2026 for our twenty-second edition, with world premieres, specials events, guest Q&As, and Industry events!




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GFF is everything a film festival should be.

Audience Member, 2024


A programme that skims the best of bubbling-underworld cinema while placing old classics into sparkling new context.

David Jenkins, Little White Lies


The atmosphere was amazing, felt like cinema was alive again.

Audience Member, 2024

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History


A highly regarded and anticipated event in the UK’s film calendar, Glasgow Film Festival has grown greatly in visibility and significance in recent years and has become the second largest film festival in the UK. From just 6,000 attendances at its first outing in 2005 to over 43,000 attendances in 2020, the most successful event in our history, GFF continues to grow and develop its international reputation.

GFF aims to become one of Europe’s top audience-focused film festivals, continuing to build a reputation for an international programme of the world’s best films alongside a dynamic fusion of cross-sector, screen-based events and commissions.

With the audience at the heart of GFF's ethos, the Festival is a result of like-minded people meeting to share ideas, always with the audience experience and response at the centre of the creative process. Proven innovators in cross-sectoral programming, GFF utilise the skills of Scottish artists and curators and the response from their distinctively critical audience to grow and develop the programme year on year.

GFF influences include: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and their partnership approach and as a 'festival of festivals' supporting grassroots organisations and with a focus on the audience; SXSW, arguably the coolest event in the music and film calendar, Austin’s cultural ‘outsider’ reputation and their rise to become the place in the world to do business in the film and music industry, has echoes of Glasgow.

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Proud members of the ICO's International Film Festival Network


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About GFF

About GFF

Founded in 2005, Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has built a world-class reputation for being vibrant, welcoming and bold. Growing from just 6,000 attendances in its first edition to more than 43,000 in recent years, GFF is now proudly one of the UK's most significant film festivals, and an unmissable moment in the international film calendar.

Each year we screen hundreds of titles spanning the spectrum of cinema, from all over the world. Our programme is packed with international premières and unmissable event cinema: see the latest films from modern cine-masters; classics in a fresh new light, and be introduced to the most exciting new voices in world film.

Festival guests celebrating the Muriel's Wedding screening

Join us from 25 February to 8 March 2026 for the twenty-second edition of Glasgow Film Festival – Scotland's flagship event for film.

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Every year we transform Glasgow into a citywide celebration of cinema, alive with pop-up events and parties, red-carpet glamour, inspiring filmmaker Q&As and opportunities to get lost in the world of film. Like every good movie, GFF is an engrossing, all-encompassing experience for film-lovers old and new to get lost in, together.

We're as passionate about nurturing the future of film as we are celebrating its present, and we're committed to championing emerging talent alongside the world's finest filmmakers. Our acclaimed Industry Focus conference attracts hundreds of delegates from across the UK and beyond, making GFF an internationally-recognised, vital hub for collaboration, talent development, creative exchange and discovery.

For two weeks each year, audiences and artists come together in a shared celebration of films the way they are meant to be seen. Lights down, screen bright, no distractions: a room full of strangers getting lost in film as one.

Our Mission & Vision

Our Mission

GFF is for people who love film. We're all about stories that entertain and inspire, shared in the best way possible: together in the cinema. With a warm, welcoming vibe and a love for fresh voices, we bring film lovers and filmmakers together across cultures and communities to share in the joy of film and celebrate what's new in global cinema.

We aim to become one of Europe's top audience-focused film festivals, continuing to build a reputation for an international programme of the world's best films alongside a dynamic fusion of cross-sector, screen-based events and commissions.

Our Vision

Glasgow Film Theatre is the film festival's north star; we share one organisational vison. Our vision for Glasgow Film is an inclusive, collaborative space where audiences and communities can nurture their passion for cinema and film and be empowered through participation in our programmes.

Everyone is welcome and everyone is included. This is 'Cinema For All'.

Our Message

Our Message

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The Screen is Just the Start

GFF is about more than just passively watching films – it’s an immersive experience to be pulled into, where the film is the gateway.

The sights and sounds of the screenings, the buzz of parties and pop-up events, rubbing shoulders with stars and cinema heroes, and debates over drinks make every visit unforgettable.

It’s an escape from the everyday and from passive cultural consumption. Visual noise is everywhere; a constant distraction. GFF is a chance to escape by leaning in and getting lost in film.


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The Bold and the Best

The GFF seal of approval: all-killer-no-filler films curated by our fully independent team of cinema fanatics.

Films from every corner of the globe: discover world culture, cutting-edge cinema and future classics, as they’re meant to be seen.

Be the first to like this: a chance to see premièring films and serve your freshly-baked takes before everyone else.

Blockbusters to curios; thrillers to rom-coms; eye-opening documentaries and jaw-dropping fictions. See what you love, or try something different!

Filmmaker panel discussing a film on stage

Scotland’s Premier Film Event

The film festival made for you – where the audience is the real star of the show.

Built on 20 years of ambitious programming and boundary-pushing events – we know what we’re doing and we love doing it.

Cinema from all sides: be inspired by our programme, and take part in industry events to help shape the future of cinema in Glasgow, Scotland, and across the UK.

Audience cheering inside a theatre

A City of Culture

Film, like Glasgow, melts culture and entertainment together like nothing else can. Music, movies, art, performance, nightlife – experience a city in love with cinema and alive with culture.

An audience unlike others: from the Barrowlands dancefloor to the terraces of Hampden to the GFT bar, Glasgow audiences are known the world over for their electricity. Be a part of it.

Cine-City: GFF can’t be contained by GFT; our expansive festival lights up cinemas and unexpected spaces all over Glasgow, turning the town into a haven for film fans.

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Building Film’s Future

No gatekeeping: our Industry Programme excludes no one. If you are, or want to be, part of film – you’re in.

Focus on film talent: our reputation for nurturing the next generation of filmmakers grows year-by-year. Develop your talent and have it seen by everyone who matters – industry insiders and audiences alike.

Discover, connect, grow: we collaborate with industry experts from around the globe, helping you take your films to the world and your talent to the next level.

An industry hub: welcoming over 700 delegates a year, our Industry Programme is a must-attend event for the international filmmaking community. Be part of it.

Filmmakers presenting during an industry talk

Cinema for All

Diverse and welcoming: GFF is a safe space to enjoy cinema whoever you are.

Affordable: free events open GFF to all, and our Q&As, discussions and extra events put added value on every ticket.

Eclectic – whatever films you love, whether you want to watch or make, dance or deliberate, GFF has something for you.

No one left out: our dedicated work on youth and community-led initiatives puts under-heard voices at the heart of the Festival, and always will.

Guests dancing at a Glasgow Film Festival party

For the Filmmakers

The best audiences in the world: our guests often tell us there’s no-one they’d rather show their film to first than a pumped-up Glasgow crowd.

Feel the energy: at GFF, we’re all film fans first; our audiences and guests meet on the red carpet, discuss programme picks in the GFT bar, and share in the celebration of film together.

A film nation: nothing warms a wet winter’s night in Glasgow like the glow of a cinema screen. Cinema is in Scotland’s soul – show your film at the country’s flagship film event.

We believe in you: we’re committed to supporting early-career filmmakers be seen alongside revered creative talents.

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