09 Apr 2025
Following the huge success of its 50th Anniversary programme in May 2024, Scotland’s leading independent cinema has announced plans to make its birthday programme of films an annual celebration. This year, a special season of classics throughout the month of May will showcase films that have been hugely popular with audiences and have played a unique role in the history of Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) over the past five decades.
Glasgow’s original independent cinema, GFT first opened its doors as the Cosmo 86 years ago, on 18 May 1939, and became Glasgow Film Theatre as we know it today, 51 years ago, on 2 May 1974.
Highlights of the Birthday Programme include:
The headline event in the cinema’s Birthday Programme is a week-long run of the brand new 70mm print of North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock’s irresistibly fun and spectacularly cinematic espionage adventure, screening from Friday 2 – Thursday 8 May. The greatest romantic Hollywood musical Singin’ in the Rain will screen on Saturday 3 and Monday 5 May, taking us back to The Roaring Twenties when the ‘talkies’ started to sing. Classic cinema fans can also celebrate the 80th Anniversary of David Lean’s romantic drama Brief Encounter, in a new 4K restoration, on Friday 16 and Sunday 18 May. Lean's powerhouse of restrained emotion has had a profound influence both on filmmakers and audiences through successive generations.
The Birthday Programme will also present special screenings of two enduring and unmatched French classics from the 1990s. Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine and Claire Denis’s Beau Travail both represent powerful statements of cinematic vision from their trailblazing directors. La Haine will screen in 4K on Sunday 11 and Monday 12 May, and Beau Travail will screen from a stunning 35mm print on Wednesday 21 May.
GFT is one of the few Scottish cinemas still equipped to project 35mm and 70mm film. As the perfect showcase for this expertise, audiences can enjoy Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds in 35mm on Saturday 17 May. Tarantino's passion for cinema shines through in all his works, but in Inglourious Basterds it is stepped up a level with key elements of the action revolving around a cinema and its projection box.
GFT also has a reputation as a place of discovery for film fans, presenting endless opportunities to come across examples of cinematic excellence from off the beaten path. The Birthday Programme will include a chance to see the new 4K restoration of Nine Queens, a minor classic from the early 2000s and an essential addition to the 'con man' genre. The film is a favourite of the cinema’s departing CEO, Allison Gardner, who will celebrate her last GFT anniversary before her retirement in October, after more than 30 years with the organisation.
The cinema will also present a tribute to one of Glasgow’s favourite directors, David Lynch, who visited GFT in person in 2007 and whose films never fail to fill the cinema’s seats. The Birthday Programme will include screenings of four of Lynch’s greatest films: Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man in 4K, and The Straight Story, which will be projected on 35mm.
GFT’s iconic special event screenings will include the return of cult hit The Room, one of the cinema’s most popular crowd pleasers, on Friday 30 May, followed by a post-film Q&A and signing event with actor Greg Sestero. Always a riotous, spoon-throwing event, GFT’s screenings of The Room are a cinema experience like no other. Cult cinema fans will also appreciate the return of the Late Night slot, which has been a key element of GFT’s programme since the week it first opened in 1974. On Friday 23 May, the cinema has programmed a special birthday edition of its Coen Brothers of the Month programme, with a Late Night screening of The Big Lebowski.
May will also see the relaunch of GFT’s CineCard membership scheme, alongside the introduction of three new tailor-made membership and supporter schemes. Designed to deliver great value and exclusive benefits for regular cinemagoers, members will enjoy fantastic perks while joining a vibrant community of fellow film enthusiasts and supporting the charitable work of Glasgow Film.
Paul Gallagher, GFT Programme Manager, said: ‘Cinema is so strongly tied up with memories, both for our audiences and our staff team, and GFT's birthday gives us an opportunity to reflect on our programming over the years and bring back some of the films that have created unforgettable experiences. This year it was obvious to all of us that David Lynch had to be central, following his passing in January, as his incomparable visions have shaped so many Glaswegians' understanding of cinema through numerous screenings at GFT. The other must-have for me was the brand new 70mm print of North by Northwest, which I cannot wait to see projected on our big screen - that will be a cinema experience to remember for sure. Around these headliners is a programme bursting with the kind of bold, entertaining and unique filmmaking from across the world that GFT specialises in showcasing. Come and celebrate with us!’
Allison Gardner, Glasgow Film’s CEO, said: ‘The excellent film programme celebrating GFT’s birthday is a testament to the brilliant team we have at GFT. I’m sad that this will be my last year celebrating our important and beautiful cinema as a staff member, but I look forward to coming back to watch films as an audience member next year. This organisation is driven by a dedicated staff who are passionate about ‘Cinema For All’ and I am extremely proud to have worked here for over 30 years. Happy Birthday GFT.’
Tickets for most of the screenings in GFT’s Birthday Programme go on sale at 12pm (noon) on Wednesday 9 April from glasgowfilm.org and the GFT Box Office. Tickets for Inglourious Basterds will go on sale later in April.
GFT is operated by Glasgow Film, an educational charity which also runs the award-winning Glasgow Film Festival and Glasgow Youth Film Festival, and is the lead organisation for Film Hub Scotland. GFT is the city’s original independent arthouse cinema and the home of film in Glasgow. Glasgow Film is funded by Creative Scotland, Screen Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
