Glasgow Film Theatre

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The Glasgow Film Theatre on Rose Street, Glasgow
The Glasgow Film Theatre on Rose Street, Glasgow

The Glasgow Film Theatre or GFT is an independent cinema in Rose Street, (by Sauchiehall Street), Glasgow.

The theatre is situated in a 'B' listed modernist European building with a post art deco interior. The building's design was by Glaswegian architects James McKissack and W J Anderson, and was influenced by the Dutch Modernist architect by Willem Marinus Dudok. The current lobby was designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia in 1968.[1]

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[edit] History

The GFT's predecessor, the Cosmo, opened with 850 seats in the same building in 1934, and was Scotland's first (and the UK's second, after the Curzon, Mayfair) ever arts cinema. It was opened on 18th May 1939 by brothers George and Vincent Singleton, of Glasgow's famous cinema-chain family. The opening screening was of Julien Duvivier’s Un Carnet de Bal (1937), and European cinema was central to its programming. In 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was broadcast live - the first television performance in a Glasgow cinema.

In May 1974, the Scottish Film Council purchased the Cosmo and reopened it as the Glasgow Film Theatre.[2] The opening film was Federico Fellini’s film Roma (1972). In reference to the previous name of the Glasgow Film Theatre, the downstairs bar was named Café Cosmo. In 1986 the GFT became an independent charity, and in 1988, benefited from a second cinema opening in time for Glasgow's year as European City of Culture (1990).

The GFT still project using traditional film, but have now embraced modern digital film technology[3]

[edit] Films

The GFT plays an important part in the cultural life of the city centre, showing a wide variety (around 450 per year) of international video and television productions in addition to arthouse, documentary, and mainstream films.

In addition to daily screening of films, the GFT is host to a number of clubs and activities that meet regularly every month:

  • The Monorail Film Club holds monthly screenings of new and classic films, holding a discussion afterwards in Café Cosmo.
  • The Screenwriters' Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month.
  • The Film Discussion Group meets in the upstairs bar on the second Wednesday of each month.
  • The Skinny Film Quiz meets monthly in Café Cosmo.

The GFT is also an annual participant in the Glasgow Film Festival and in 2007 has been a participant in the BBC's Summer of British Film.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Glasgow Film Theatre / Cosmo. Scottish Cinemas and Theatres Project. Retrieved on 2007-11-03.
  2. ^ "Glasgow Film Theatre", The Glasgow Story. Retrieved on 2007-11-03. 
  3. ^ Behind the Scenes - the interior and projection room

[edit] External links