Glasgow Film Festival 2022 came to a close on Sunday evening following 12 packed days of premieres, guests and industry events. Celebrating its return to cinemas in Glasgow after last year's online edition, Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) also screened exclusive gala premieres in selected cinemas across the UK - from London to Lewis - for the first time in its 18-year history.
Guests on the final day included Gracija Filipovic, lead actress of the Closing Gala, the UK Premiere of Croatian drama Murina, and Martin Compston who took part in a special 20th anniversary screening of Sweet Sixteen, the Ken Loach film which set him on the road to stardom. The winner of the prestigious Audience Award, sponsored by Caledonian MacBrayne and voted for by audiences during the festival, was announced as crowd-pleasing. heart-warming documentary, The Hermit of Treig, from first-time director Lizzie MacKenzie.
This year’s festival saw sell-out audiences attend a programme of 10 World premieres, 4 European premieres, 65 UK premieres, and 13 Scottish premieres. GFF continued to champion international female talent behind the camera, with 40% of new films screening at the festival and 5 of the 7 films nominated for the Audience Award directed by women.
The festival welcomed a host of guests onto the red carpet, including Alan Cumming, Jack Lowden, Don Letts, Armando Iannucci, Amanda Brugel, Icíar Bollaín, Ruth Paxton, Lulu, Alfred Enoch, Jacqueline Lentzou and welcomed 565 delegates from around the world to the dedicated Industry Focus programme, which covered everything from pitching workshops to creating equal access to a career in filmmaking.
For the first time in its history, the festival's Opening and Closing Galas, The Outfit and Murina, along with International Women's Day Gala Happening, screened simultaneously at partner cinemas across the UK, taking GFF's distinct festival experience and key premieres from the programme far and wide . Audiences across the UK also enjoyed a selection of GFF films from the comfort of their own homes via the online platform, Glasgow Film At Home. These included all seven of the nominated Audience Award titles which were available to watch in cinema and online.
The festival closed with the announcement of the Audience Award winner, Lizzie MacKenzie's debut feature documentary The Hermit of Treig. The film follows a year in the life of Ken Smith, who has spent the past 40 years living in a log cabin near Loch Treig with no electricity or running water. Lizzie learned how to make films in order to tell Ken's tale and GFF were delighted to welcome Ken himself to the festival for the film's World Premiere, his first trip away from the Highlands in four decades. The Hermit of Treig is released in cinemas on 25 March and is produced by Aruna Productions.
