Today Glasgow Film Festival have announced their inaugural Critics’ Choice Winner and from a list of 10 films (see below) David Robert Mitchell‘s It Follows has won.
Out of the 40 journalists (Including our own writers Paul Devine, Andrew McArthur, Scott Clark) attending the festival were invited to submit their three favourite films from the whole programme, voting via twitter or email.It’s unique and great to see horror film win awards outside the annual genre awards. Its a fantastic film deserving of the award which shows it’s winning at Cannes in 2014 no fluke when it was up against Xavier Dolan’s Mommy and critically acclaimed A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.
It Follows Director David Robert Mitchell commented on the award…. ‘I’m really honored by this. Even though my visit to Glasgow for the film festival was short, it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the city and I look forward to coming back someday. And again, thank you!’
In addition to the first-ever Audience Award, which was announced at the Closing Gala on Sunday 1 March The Award was won by low-budget British film Radiator.
Below is the list of all the films that where voted, you can check out our review of It Follows and why not enter the competition to win a rather cool T-shirt. Our Coverage of Glasgow film Festival can be found here (more reviews to follow…)
Glasgow Film Festival Critics’ Choice 2015:
It Follows (US, dir. David Robert Mitchell) An intelligent take on the teen horror genre that works on a number of levels and has already enjoyed great success at Cannes Film Festival. Mitchell visited the festival this year.
Clouds of Sils Maria (France/Switzerland/Germany, dir. Olivier Assayas) Kristen Stewart became the first American actor in history to win a Cesar Awards for her role in this complex, compelling drama, which had its UK Premiere at the festival.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (US/Iran, dir. Ana Lily Amirpour), lushly shot in black and white, this unusual film follows a lonely, hijab-wearing vampire who stalks her prey around a fictional Iranian ghost town on a skateboard.
While We’re Young (US, dir. Noah Baumbach) Baumbach’s inter-generational hipster comedy, starring Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts and Adam Driver, had its European Premiere at the Festival, as the Opening Gala.
Girlhood (France, dir. Céline Sciamma) A beautiful coming of age story following a girl gang growing up in the Parisian banlieues. Lead actresses Assa Sylla and Karidja Toure took part in a Q&A following the festival screening.
Mommy (Canada 2014, dir. Xavier Dolan) Audacious, emotionally captivating and packed with brilliant performances, Xavier Dolan’s latest, Cannes prize-winning feature was also a big hit with the GFF audience on social media.
Theeb (Jordan/Qatar/UAE/UK 2014, dir. Naji Abu Nowar) A drama reflecting on colonialism from the point of view of a young Bedouin Arab boy, Naji Abu Nowar’s directorial debut was also nominated for the inaugural GFF Audience Award.
=JOINT: Eden (France 2014, dir. Mia Hansen-Løve) and Wild Tales(Argentina/Spain 2014, dir. Damián Szifrón). Charting the rise of the French electronic dance music scene in 1990s Paris, Hansen-Løve’s Daft Punk-inspired film Eden formed part of GFF15’s Sound & Vision strand. Wild Tales, Damián Szifrón’s biting black comedy built upon six short, masterfully interwoven tales, was shortlisted for the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Jodorowsky’s Dune (USA/France 2014, dir. Frank Pavich) Delving into the history behind Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision for an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic novel Dune, this fascinating documentary pays homage to one of the great lost projects of cinematic history.
We do hope the Critics Award as well as Audience Award will return for 2016 Glasgow Film Festival and from our time at the festival these awards will be around for a long long time. The 12th Edition of the festival will take place from 17th until 28th February 2016.
