FIVE Oscar-nominated films are heading for Glasgow, and its film festival taking place next month.
The films – Letters From Iwo Jima, After The Wedding, Days of Glory, Half Nelson and The Lives of Others – are to be part of what will be a 90-film programme at this, the third Glasgow Film Festival.
Said festival co-directors, Allison Gardner and Allan Hunter: “The intention was to compile the best programme we could to help the festival grow and really become an indispensable part of the annual arts calendar in Scotland. It’s thrilling that so many of the films in the programme have been selected for recognition in the Oscar race and that we can provide Glasgow and Scottish audiences with the very first chance to see them at their local cinemas.”
Letters From Iwo Jima is Clint Eastwood’s companion film to the recent Flags of Our Fathers and has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. It screens on the 17th and 18th of next month.
Half Nelson has earned a Best Actor nomination for actor, Ryan Gosling, who plays a self-destructive Brooklyn history teacher. It screens on the 23rd.
Curse of The Golden Flower is the latest period drama from director, Zhang Yimou, and has earned a nomination for Best Costume Design. It receives its UK premiere as the closing gala of the festival – on the 25th.
The Good Shepherd is directed by Robert De Niro and offers a sweeping history of the CIA as idealism turns to disillusion. It has been nominated for Best Art Direction and has its UK premiere at the festival on the 19th.
After The Wedding is the latest film from Open Hearts director, Susanne Bier, and stars Mads Mikkelsen. It has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and screens on the 23rd and 25th.
Days of Glory is a war film in the tradition of All Quiet on The Western Front and Saving Private Ryan and tells of the North African troops who fought for France during the Second World War. It has also been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and screens on the 22nd.
The Lives of Others won Film of the Year at the European Film Awards and offers an insight into the ‘Kafka-like’ realities of life in the former East Germany. It has also been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and screens on the 19th and 20th.
Visit www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk
