We’re delighted to host several post-screening discussions with filmmakers and invited guests during this year’s International Film Programme, which runs from 3rd-6th May at CCA Glasgow, GFT and Flourish House. Highlights include a Skype Q&A with Oscar-winner Orlando von Einsiedel, director Robbie Fraser joining us for Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes screenings throughout Scotland, and our celebration of local talent in Scottish Connections, which will be followed by a panel discussion with all featured directors. Often proving as enlightening as the films themselves, we hope that these conversations continue after the screenings and stay with you well beyond that.
We support the Scotland-wide release of Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes with a series of post-screening panel discussions featuring director Robbie Fraser and invited guests at CCA Glasgow, Filmhouse, An Lanntair and Eden Court. The film celebrates the remarkable life of renowned mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, who had to recover his identity after suffering delirium.
Then, on Saturday 4th May, Oscar-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel will join us for a Skype Q&A following our screening of Evelyn at GFT, a poetic and deeply personal film that explores the fabric of grief, the stories we tell ourselves and the enduring impact of love. Also at GFT, Irene’s Ghost will be followed by a Q&A with director Iain Cunningham, Catherine Carver from Action on Postpartum Psychosis and Clare Thompson from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.
Evelyn by Orlando von Einsiedel, Book Tickets
At CCA Glasgow, Victoria Thompson, director of I Love You¸ will attend the Dramatic Shorts programme, a selection of provocative, experimental and international cinema that will explore how relationships can be a source of much-needed strength, as well as adding to the pressures of living with mental ill health. Our Documentary Shorts programme features diverse individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness, and will be followed by a Q&A with Asylum co-director Jefta Varwijjk and Model Childhood director Tim Mercier.
On Sunday 5th May, our screenings will take place at Flourish House, beginning with Eternity Has No Door of Escape. A compelling documentary that retraces the tumultuous history of outsider art, the screening will followed by a discussion and object handling session led by Claire Coia and Tony Scott from the Open Museum and Dr Cheryl McGeachan from the University of Glasgow. The following Community Counts programme will explore the diverse approaches taken to support people in their recovery across Scotland and Ireland, and will be followed by a Q&A with directors Aoise Tutty and Sitar Rose and documentary subjects from An Unbeaten Path and An Open Door.
Portuguese visual artist and researcher Jose Carlos Teixeira will join us for the Radical Voices programme, where he’ll discuss his experimental short On Exile, fragments in search of meaning, in which ten people share their stories about living with depression, and choose music to represent their cathartic journey. Male suicide has long been prominent in the music industry, and the powerful pairing of The Song and the Sorrow + We Are All Here explores the impact it can have on those who are left behind. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with We Are All Here director Hannah Currie and clinical psychologist Dr Simon Stuart.
An Open Door by Aoise Tutty, screening as part of Community Counts. Book Tickets
On Monday 6th May we return to CCA Glasgow, where our film programme concludes with an emphasis on Scottish talent, featuring animation documentaries and dramas from those who were born, educated or working here. Smite Me Now uses dance and music to explore the ethics, sadness and taboos surrounding suicide, and will be followed by a discussion with director Paul Michael Henry, Angie Dight of Mischief La bas and Dr Amy Chandler of the University of Edinburgh.
Our Scottish Connections programme features a diverse range of stories, including that of a family divided between Skye and England, a young man who makes subconscious sacrifices to keep his anxiety at bay, and the chance encounter between a Scottish filmmaker and a Syrian artist. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with all featured directors: Jacob Topen, Lucy Joan Barnes, Kirsty Strain, Steven Fraser, Sophia Carr-Gomm, Gordon Collins, Linda McDonald Cairns and Dan Castro.
Echoes That Remain by Kirsty Strain, screening as part of Scottish Connections. Book Tickets.
To make our film programme more accessible, we have also introduced sliding scale ticket pricing at most screenings. You can choose what you pay based on your circumstances, which we hope means that everyone can come along to as many features and shorts programmes as they have time for. Let us know which events you’ll be attending by connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and using this year’s hashtag: #SMHAF19