UK premieres of Populaire, Much Ado About Nothing to bookend Glasgow Film Festival

Régis Roinsard’s romantic comedy Populaire [pictured] will receive its UK premiere as the opening film of the the 2013 Glasgow Film Festival (GFF), held in venues across the city from Feb 14-24.

This year’s festival will close with the UK premiere of Joss Whedon’s black-and-white take on Shakespeare’s classic Much Ado About Nothing.

Populaire and Much Ado About Nothing are among the 57 films receiving their UK premieres at this year’s edition. Others include Park Chan-wook’s first English-language feature Stoker, Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond The Pines, Michael Winterbottom’s Paul Raymond biopic The Look of Love, Andrés Muschietti’s horror Mama, Lee Daniels’ controversial Cannes entry The Paperboy and Eran Creevy’s action thriller Welcome to the Punch, starring James McAvoy and Mark Strong.

The festival will also host the first public UK screening of Tom Tykwer, Lana & Andy Wachowski’s ambitious adaptation Cloud Atlas, which was partially shot in Glasgow.

World premieres at this year’s edition include Kevin Cameron’s Alasdair Gray: A Life in Progress, Yasmin Fedda’s A Tale of Two Syrias and Stephen Sutcliffe’s Outwork, as well as Staande! Debout! (created especially for GFF with CCA and Stills Gallery) which examines the aftermath of struggle and solidarity on a formerly striking workforce.

“Glasgow Film Festival has grown into a massive celebration of every aspect of the moving image,” commented Allan Hunter, co-director of GFF. “We are extremely proud of an ambitious 2013 programme that promises unforgettable moments in venues all across the city.”

Alongside the new strands announced in November [see separate story here], Best of British (celebrating the best of British cinema), Eurovisions (showcasing films from across Europe), Kapow!@GFF (focussing on superhero films and comic book crossovers) and Stranger than Fiction (showcasing new documentary filmmaking) are among the various strands at this year’s festival.

As with previous years, the GFF will also host festivals within the festival: Glasgow Short Film Festival (Feb 7-10), Glasgow Youth Film Festival (Feb 3-13), Glasgow Music and Film Festival (Feb 14-24) and Film4 FrightFest (Feb 22-23) [see separate story here].

Special events set to take place at this year’s edition include the first ever film screening in Glasgow Cathedral which will be The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) with brand new live score, actor John Cosmo in conversation about his career, a secret film screening in a hidden location in the depths of Glasgow Subway, screenings of the likes of Jaws and Dead Calm on board The Tall Ship and a Cosplay Gala where the audience is encouraged to dress up like their favourite cult character.

Among the non-film related events, a panel of actors from HBO’s Game of Thrones will also be in attendance to host an episode screening and launch series three, while computer game experts will compare upcoming game Aliens: Colonial Marines to the original 70mm Aliens on the big screen.

GFF is supported by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Creative Scotland and EventScotland. Tickets are on sale now, priced at £8.50 (£6.50), although special events may have different prices. For more information, visit GFF’s website.