For the second year running the Glasgow Film Festival's Shorts Film Festival is being curated by the Magic Lantern.
The Magic Lantern, co-directed by Penny Bartlett and Rosie Crerar, is a programme designed to promote the work of independent film-makers. The organisation holds regular screenings across Scotland in venues with notable artistic links, from its base in Glasgow’s CCA (Centre of Contemporary Arts) to the Stills Gallery in Edinburgh and the Robert Burns Centre, Dumfries.
Their aim is to provide a forum for film-makers and visual artists who might otherwise be overlooked, acting as focal point for like-minded people who are keen to recognise short films as a distinct and entirely valid alternative to feature films.
The Magic Lantern, building on the success of last year’s programme, has scheduled a weekend of screening, opening on Friday February 13 with a retrospective of short films by the director, performance artist, and more recently writer, Miranda July.
Alongside work from established film-makers the Magic Lantern has been compiling a collection of shorts submitted through the Glasgow Film Festival website focusing on undiscovered film-making talent.
“I think for short film-makers to get their films into film festivals is key at this stage. Most of these people are at a quite early in their careers. And to have their films acknowledged and shown in festivals is a really good thing for them”. Explained Penny Bartlett outside Glasgow Film Theatre.
This relationship between the Glasgow Film Festival and the Magic Lantern provides a platform for these budding artists to have their work screened and premiered. This is vital for establishing contacts in the industry and a number of this year’s events are geared towards that very purpose.
“We have Shooting people, the networking organisation, hosting some networking events for people who want to come along and get more involved in the industry”.
So whether you are a budding film-maker looking to find kindred spirits or purely a spectator keen to see the latest independent films coming out of Scotland and abroad. If you want to attend any number of the satellite events surrounding this year’s film programme; including a David Lynch themed club night, then the Shorts Film Festival will be the highlight of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival.
The Glasgow Film Festival runs between 12 and 22 February. Tickets will go on sale from 21 January at midnight. Go to the Glasgow Film Festival homepage fo more information.
