Hipsters take a hit in While We’re Young, the opening film of the 11th annual Glasgow Film Festival. The Scottish festival, which runs from 18 February to 1st March, kicks off with the European premiere of Noah Baumbach’s cautionary comedy about a settled fortysomething couple who misguidedly play friends with two fedora wearing, urban hipsters. Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried play the cool kids leading a couple of ageing creatives, played by Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts, astray.
Other UK premieres include Still Alice, with Oscar nominated actress Julianne Moore in the lead as a woman with early on-set Alzheimer’s; the film co stars Kristen Stewart, whose other big film for 2015, Cloud of Sils Maria also gets its British debut in Glasgow.
Powerful females are celebrated throughout the festival: the newly created Audience Award shortlist is split 50/50 between male and female directors – a nod, the organisers say, to early career female directors increasingly finding ways to get their work out. Shortlisted directors include Desiree Akhavan for Appropriate Behaviour, a comedy of inappropriate manners in contemporary New York, and Ana Lily Amirpour for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, about a lonely, hijab-wearing female vampire.
Shoulder pads get a look in two in ‘Power Suit Yourself’, a one-day event examining powerful women and the clothes they wear on film. The day will include a screening of 80s comedy classic Working Girl talks on feminism and fashion, and ends with a 1980s karaoke night.
The festival includes a celebration of Swedish icon Ingrid Bergman, in a strand commemorating the actress’s centenary. It will include a talk entitled ‘Ingrid Bergman: Feminist Icon’ by journalist and film critic Ulrika Knutson.
Tickets for the festival are on sale now. Glasgowfilm.org/festival
Credits
Text Colin Crummy