Glasgow Film Festival reveals first titles for 2026
Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has announced the first films for its 2026 edition, taking place from 25 February to 8 March. Scotland’s biggest film festival has confirmed its highly anticipated Retrospective Programme, which gives audiences the chance to catch classic films back on the big screen for free, as well as its Country Focus theme.
GFF26’s retrospective theme is ‘Truth to Power’, featuring 10 classics from the 1930s to the present day that stand as cinematic statements of resistance, or feature characters that rise against the machines of power. Highlights from the programme include Kubrick-directed satire Dr Strangelove (1964), where military blunders push the world towards nuclear annihilation, featuring comic genius Peter Sellers; Oscar-nominated civil rights epic Selma (2014) from director Ava DuVernay, which chronicles Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s 1965 marches to secure equal voting rights; and the 50th anniversary of major political thriller All the President’s Men(1976), following the journalists who famously broke the Watergate scandal, starring and produced by the late great Robert Redford.
The line-up will also include biographical drama In the Name of the Father (1993), starring Daniel Day-Lewis as an Irishman wrongfully convicted of terrorism who fights to clear his name and free his family; Steven Soderbergh’s dynamic crowd-pleaser Erin Brockovich(2000), which stars Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning roleasa law assistant fighting for justice for a small town devastated by industrial pollution; and Italian-Algerian war film The Battle of Algiers (1966), a recreation of Algeria’s 1950s battle for independence from the French government.
To attend the free retrospective screenings, there is no need to pre-book; simply come along to GFT for 10.30am each day during the festival, pick up a free ticket and enjoy the film! Films shown within the Retrospective Programme may be subject to change.
GFF26 will be the 22nd edition of the festival and will spotlight films from Sweden, with the Country Focus theme ‘Take a Chance on Me: Swedish Cinema’. A hand-picked selection will be showcased at the award-winning festival, including UK premieres of political satire Eagles of the Republic about an adored Egyptian actor who takes the lead role in a major government propaganda film; slick horror The Home where strange events unfold after the protagonist takes his mother into a care facility for dementia; and sci-fi Egghead Republic set in an alternative reality where the Cold War didn’t end.
The UK premiere of female-directed drama Live a Little,which follows a young woman’s exploration of her boundaries on an interrailing trip after she wakes up in a man’s bed with no memory of the night before; and the Scottish premiere of the unique and visually stunning Redoubt,about a farmhand who builds a fortress in his home during the Cold War, are also announced today.
Tickets for the Country Focus titles will go on sale with the full GFF26 programme in January.
The festival also revealed a first glimpse of its new brand today, built on GFF’s belief that films are best experienced together, and that Glasgow is the home for all film lovers – be they cinephiles or casual moviegoers, filmmakers or film enthusiasts. GFF is an international celebration of film known for supporting and championing new voices alongside showcasing the best new titles before their general release. GFF’s new brand, by Glasgow-based creative studio Tangent, will fully roll out over the coming months and reflects the festival’s position as Scotland’s biggest and friendliest gathering for film.
Paul Gallagher, Head of Programme for Glasgow Film, said: “The idea for this year’s retrospective began as I reflected on the legacy and influence of the late Robert Redford. With his classic All the President’s Men serving as a starting point, ‘Truth to Power’ focuses on filmmakers who have taken on daunting targets – power, corruption and injustice – and created all-time classic films in the process; films that are not only hugely entertaining but retain sharp relevance to this day.”
GFF is Scotland’s flagship film festival and is run by Glasgow Film, a charity which also operates Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow Film Festival is made possible by support from Screen Scotland, awarding National Lottery funding, and Glasgow Life.
GFF25 welcomed a host of huge film stars to the city, including James McAvoy, Toni Colette, Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, and Tim Roth.
