The Glasgow Film Festival takes place between 17th and 27th February 2011.
Amongst the screenings of interest to readers of this website are:
Apnea (Greece)
Apnea is the breath control technique used by divers and swimmers to stay under water for minutes at a time. It can cause hallucinations. In the case of swimming champion Dimitris (Sotiris Pastras) it brings on guilt-ridden recollections of his relationship with Elsa (Youlika Skafida), a beautiful environmental activist. He had chosen to concentrate on his training rather than accompanying her on a Greenpeacestyle mission. Now she is missing and he waits anxiously for news, re-examining the past.
Nothing's All Bad (Denmark)
Acutely observed scenes of toe-curling embarrassment blend with the bleakest of black comedy as we meet the lonely Ingeborg who is retired and widowed on the same day, schoolteacher Anna who has had a mastectomy, impossibly handsome Jonas who sells sex to anyone willing to pay and his father Anders who seems ruled by unhealthy sexual urges. Their lives will cross in the most unexpected and poignant of ways.
Cell 211 (Spain)
Spanish regular Luis Tosar is on blistering form as Malamadre, the ruthless ringleader of a prison riot. Alberto Ammann matches his intensity with a sensitive performance as Juan, a young prison guard. Newcomer Juan is being shown around the high-security facility when the riot erupts. His only hope of survival is to trade on the fact that none of the inmates have previously seen him, and so he pretends to be one of the cons. What ensues is an intense, claustrophobic cat-and-mouse thriller.
When We Leave (Germany)
Sibel Kekilli gives an outstanding performance as Umay, a German-born Turkish woman who flees her abusive husband in Istanbul. She arrives at the family home in Berlin with her five-year-old son. Her family welcome her with love but it quickly becomes apparent that they cannot accept her rebellion or her refusal to submit to her fate. She has brought shame to the family, love turns to rejection and outright hostility as she is forced to defy them and make a new life as a free western woman.
Our Life (Italy/France)
Elio Germano is utterly compelling as a man whose strongest failing is his desire to do the best for the people he loves the most. Cocky building site foreman Claudio (Germano) is devoted to his wife Elena and their two young sons. When she dies in childbirth, the world comes crashing down around him. Determined to provide for his boys, he embarks on a career as a building contractor where the best of intentions soon lead to impossible dilemmas. An emotional tale worthy of comparison with the films of Ken Loach…
For more information on foreign screenings at the event, visit the festival’s official website by clicking here.
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