Christina Ricci and Alan Cumming movies to feature in Glasgow Film Festival

Premieres featuring the likes of Christina Ricci and Alan Cumming and an exclusive preview of a new Outlander episode will feature at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival, organisers have announced.

The 18th edition of the annual celebration of film will host 10 World premieres, four European premieres, 65 UK premieres and 13 Scottish premieres

Audiences will be returning to the cinema for this year’s event from March 2 to 13 after last year’s festival took place online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival will open with the UK premiere of The Outfit, a “gripping and masterful” thriller starring Mark Rylance and will close with the UK premiere of the Camera D’or-winning Murina, a family drama directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic and executive-produced by Martin Scorsese.

GFF Co-director, Allan Hunter, said: “Welcoming audiences old and new to the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival is a source of great joy and not a little relief. ”

He added: “The team have watched more films than ever to compile a programme rich in its diversity and wonders. There are so many great films to recommend from around the world and I am especially excited by the abundance of Scottish stories and productions that showcase the country’s many shining talents. I can’t wait for people to pick their own favourites.”

World premieres at GFF include Christina Ricci fleeing an abusive husband only to encounter more otherworldly horrors in Monstrous, and Skint, a series of monologues about living in poverty from a creative team led by Peter Mullan, Jenni Fagan, Cora Bissett and Derry Girls creator, Lisa McGee.

European premieres include Alan Cumming in the true story of the 30-something Scot who enrolled in class under a new identity in My Old School and a look at photo-journalist Stephen McCurry in McCurry: The Pursuit of Colour.

GFF will also host a preview screening of the first episode of season six of Starzplay’s series Outlander and will welcome Glasgow-born Armando Iannucci with a live “In Conversation” event, looking back over his wide-ranging career.

Scottish films include one from young Glasgow-based filmmaker, Paul Morris, who presents the world premiere of his debut feature the comedy Angry Young Men, filmed in Hamilton on a “micro-budget”.

Other strands of the festival include African Stories, a collection of nine contemporary films celebrating the people, history and culture in some of the continent’s countries, while the festival is also celebrating female filmmaking talent from around the world.

GFF Co-director Allison Gardner said: “I can’t begin to describe our joy at being able to have our loyal, committed and fun audiences back to the festival.

“We have all undergone different and difficult times over the last two years and nothing helps us to heal and connect like film.”

The festival will run at GFT and Cineworld Renfrew Street, as well as at partner cinemas across the UK, while a selection of films from across the programme will also be streamed online for a limited time during the festival, via the Glasgow Film At Home digital player.

Tickets go on sale from 10am on Monday January 31 at the Glasgow Film Festival box office and online at glasgowfilm.org/festival.