Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has announced the first titles for its 2026 edition, taking place from 25 February to 8 March, promising a powerful blend of timeless classics, contemporary world cinema and bold storytelling from across the globe.
Scotland’s biggest film festival has revealed its highly anticipated Retrospective Programme and Country Focus, offering audiences an early glimpse at what’s to come in the festival’s 22nd edition.
Retrospective: “Truth to Power”
GFF26’s retrospective theme, “Truth to Power”, celebrates cinema as an act of resistance, spotlighting ten classics from the 1930s to today that challenge authority and champion the courage to stand up against systems of control.
Among the highlights are Stanley Kubrick’s iconic satire ‘Dr Strangelove’ (1964), where military incompetence drives the world to the brink of nuclear disaster; Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated ‘Selma’ (2014), chronicling Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s historic 1965 marches for equal voting rights; and the 50th anniversary screening of ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976), the definitive political thriller starring and produced by the late Robert Redford, charting the journalistic exposure of the Watergate scandal.
Also featured are ‘In the Name of the Father’ (1993), starring Daniel Day-Lewis as an Irishman fighting to clear his wrongful terrorism conviction; Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000), with Julia Roberts’ Oscar-winning turn as a legal clerk who takes on corporate corruption; and ‘The Battle of Algiers’ (1966), Gillo Pontecorvo’s searing portrayal of Algeria’s fight for independence from French colonial rule.
The retrospective screenings are free to attend, with no need to pre-book. Festivalgoers can head to Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) at 10.30am each day during the festival to collect a ticket and enjoy a classic on the big screen. (Films in the Retrospective Programme are subject to change.)
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Country Focus: “Take a Chance on Me – Swedish Cinema”
GFF26’s Country Focus will shine a spotlight on Sweden, under the banner “Take a Chance on Me: Swedish Cinema.” The strand will showcase a hand-picked selection of exciting titles from one of Europe’s most distinctive national cinemas, offering UK audiences exclusive first looks at standout new work.
Highlights include the UK premiere of ‘Eagles of the Republic,’ a biting political satire about an adored Egyptian actor who finds himself starring in a government propaganda film; ‘The Home,’ a sleek psychological horror that unfolds as strange events occur after a man moves his mother into a dementia care facility; and ‘Egghead Republic,’ a bold sci-fi imagining of an alternate world where the Cold War never ended.
The Focus will also feature the UK premiere of ‘Live a Little,’ a female-directed drama following a young woman’s exploration of her boundaries while interrailing after waking up in a stranger’s bed with no memory of the night before; and the Scottish premiere of Redoubt, a visually striking Cold War drama about a farmhand who fortifies his home against imagined threats.
Tickets for the Country Focus titles will be available when the full GFF26 programme is revealed in January.
About Glasgow Film Festival
Now in its 22nd year, Glasgow Film Festival stands as Scotland’s flagship celebration of cinema, organised by Glasgow Film, the charity that also operates the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT).
The festival is made possible through support from Screen Scotland, awarding National Lottery funding, and Glasgow Life.
The full Glasgow Film Festival 2026 programme will be announced on Wednesday, 21 January.
