During the first 2022 Festival screening at Glasgow Film Theatre, we learned about the cinema’s historic connection with France from one of its patrons.
Originally called The Cosmo, the cinema opened on 18 May 1939 with a screening of French director Jean DuVivier’s Un Carnet de Bal(Christine).
The Cosmo promised its audiences a programme of ‘continental fiction films revivals of British and American fiction films documentary films cartoons and news reels there was only one qualification – they must be of first rate quality.’
Flyer for the first ever screening at The Cosmo (1939)
Queues around the block for The Cosmo cinema in the 1960s.
Cosmo was short for cosmopolitan and the cinema lived up to its reputation.
It continued to show screenings throughout World War II despite the scarce availability of films. It continued its forward-thinking mission post-war, becoming the first UK cinema to show a French film made during the Occupation as well as showing German wartime productions such as MĂĽnchhausen.
During World War II the Cosmo also screened free films for members of the French navy stationed at Greenock, as a sign of solidarity.
The Cosmo became Glasgow Film Theatre in 1973 but the mission of showing cosmopolitan cinema remains. This year, the French Film Festival UK opened the Glasgow programme with two early previews of new French films François Ozon Peter Von Kant and Eric Gravel’s Full Time to enthusiastic audiences.
The French Film Festival UK has paired up with new natural wine bar Zero/Zero to offer dinner for two to our Edinburgh-based Festival-goers.
Located on South Clerk Street, the newly opened bar is offering:
Choice of Cheese board by IJ Mellis or a Charcuterie board by East Coast Cured (vegan option available) plus a bottle of wine to share.*
TO ENTER: 
Simply follow Zero/Zero and French Film Festival on Instagram or Twitter, like and share the releveant competition post / or tag a friend you’d bring with you in the post comments section.
Twitter: @BARZEROZERO / @FRFILMFESTUK
Instagram: @ZERO.ZEROWINE / @FRFILMFESTUK
A winner will be picked from all qualifying entries on 30 November midday.
Zero/Zero means nothing added, nothing taken away. We fully believe in this philosophy of wine making, we offer wines in their purest form, wines as they were meant to be and most importantly wines that are alive. We are a laid back neighbourhood spot where everyone is welcome. With cheese, charcuterie and bar snacks on offer there is something for everyone at Zero/Zero.
*T&CS apply __ Terms and conditions:
Entrants must be 18 or over and resident within an EH postcode.
No limit on number of people tagged.
All actions must be taken to be a valid entry.
Competition closes on 30 November at midday and the winner will be contacted privately via social media.
Dinner voucher is valid until June 2023, excluding certain key dates (please contact Zero/Zero wines to book your meal). please note Zero/Zero Wines is closed Mondays.
From 11 November, the French Film Festival UK arrives in Scotland, starting with our UK premiere of Maigret in Edinburgh, followed by a packed programme at The Dominion Cinema, Summerhall and the Institut français d’Écosse in the capital, as well as GFT in Glasgow, DCA in Dundee, Eden Court, Inverness and a number of local cinemas from St Andrews to Shetland!
See below to find the nearest Scottish venue to you and browse their programme:
As journalists, Richard Mowe and I were lucky to attend. It was a night to remember—Philippe Noiret was named European Actor for his roles in Bertrand Tavernier’s La Vie et rien d’autre (Life and Nothing But) and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso. Theo Angelopoulos’ Landscape in the Mist was chosen as best film. Presenter Hanna Schygulla brought fellow presenter Pedro AlmodĂłvar a chunk of stone from the Berlin Wall, which had fallen just two weeks earlier. There was a goosebump moment when a hushed auditorium listened to an audio message of welcome from Marlene Dietrich. She lived just a few streets away, and had glimpsed the preparations for the ceremony from her window. The following year, the awards would be held in Glasgow.
Left – Right: Jean-Paul Rappeneau with Festival Founder Richard Mowe in 2007; Agnès Varda at the 1995 Festival.
The powerful sense of a shared community that night left us both pondering why so many European films never saw the light of day in Britain. There were countless French and Francophone films that might only have made a solitary appearance at a festival and then disappeared from view. There were some notable exceptions as audiences flocked to Jean de Florette,Au revoir les enfants (Goodbye, Children) or Cyrano de Bergerac – but those were just the highly visible tip of a much more substantial national industry. There was a feeling that something should be done about it. Perhaps, we should start an event celebrating French and French-language cinema. That was how the French Film Festival UK began.
It took a little time to convince others that this was a good idea. Sponsors, venues, sales agents and filmmakers came on board – all of them have been vital partners in the Festival ever since. Later, Richard headed back to Paris to visit Jeanne Moreau, wooing her with flowers and charm as he invited her to become the patron of the Festival. She accepted.
The first Festival was held in 1992 in Glasgow and Edinburgh, opening with the devilish Josiane Balasko comedy Ma vie est un enfer (My Life Is Hell). It was to be a Festival without barriers – showcasing commercial success and arthouse promise, big titles and fresh discoveries. Focusing on short films and education work encouraged a younger generation to broaden their horizons and try something different.
Looking back, there is such a jumble of memories from the Festival’s earliest years. Who can forget Agnès Varda draped like Cleopatra across the front-row seats at Filmhouse in Edinburgh, relaxed and contently horizontal as she took questions from an audience who had just watched L’une chante, l’autre pas (One Sings, the Other Doesn’t). Or Bertrand Tavernier storming around the country like a touring rock star and reviving memories in Glasgow of Death Watch, the film he made there with Romy Schneider and Harvey Keitel.
Access to French cinema has grown easier – more films secure British distribution and more classics than ever are being restored and revived. The core values of the Festival remain the same – a grand and glorious celebration of French and Francophone cinema in all its rich variety and guises. Here’s to the next 30 years!
Allan Hunter is co-director of the Glasgow Film Festival, a former co-director of the French Film Festival UK and the Italian Film Festival UK, a biographer, and a journalist contributing to many international film publications.
Anaïs is 30 and broke. She has a lover, but she’s not sure she loves him anymore. She meets Daniel, who immediately falls for her. But Daniel lives with Émilie – whom Anaïs also falls for. This is the story of a restless young woman. And the story of a profound desire.
Dir: Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
Cast Anaïs Demoustier, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Denis Podalydès France | 2020 | 98 mins French with English subtitles
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
Winner, Jury Award (Best First Feature Narrative), Melbourne Queer Film Festival (2021) Nominated, Queer Palm & Golden Camera, Cannes Film Festival (2021)
Inseparable Lise and Lola spend the carefree summer of their 18th birthdays together with friends on a beach in the Mediterranean town of Marseille. Celebrating the beginning of the rest of their lives, they soon realise that nothing lasts forever when someone is lost in the water.
Cast Agathe Talrich, Marcia Feugeas, Matthieu Lucci France | 2021 | 75 mins French with English subtitles
Awards & Festivals
🏆 Winner, Special Jury Prize (Filmmakers of the Present), Locarno International Film Festival (2021)
Notre-Dame on Fire offers a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping events that took place on 15 April 2019, when the cathedral suffered the biggest blaze in its history. The film retraces how men and women put their lives on the line to accomplish a heroic awe-inspiring rescue.
This July,TV5MONDEplus celebrates the National Days of Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland. They’ll be taking a look at local history and cultures as well as exploring some stunning scenery. Best of all the programmes are free to watch and screened with English subtitles available. Read on to find out more.
How to watch TV5MONDEplus
Exclusively on the App and on tv5mondeplus.com. Programmes that move with the times, on-demand and are 100% free.
Sign up to our Newsletter
If you’re a fan of French films, why not sign up to our newsletter?
We’ll bring you our recommendations of the best Francophone titles, either on demand or in the cinema. Whether you’re looking for a short film, or a full length feature there’s something for everyone.
Étienne, an often-out-of-work but endearing actor, runs a theatre workshop in a prison, where he brings together an unlikely troupe of prisoners to stage Samuel Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot. When he is allowed to take the colourful band of convicts on a tour outside the prison, Étienne finally has the chance to thrive. Each date is a new success and a unique relationship grows between this ad hoc group of actors and their director. But soon comes the final performance in Paris.
Cast Kad Merad, Marina Hands, Laurent Stocker France | 2020 | 106 mins French with English subtitles
—
Awards & Festivals
🏆 Official Selection, French Film Festival UK (2021)
🏆 Winner, Best European Comedy,European Film Awards (2020)
🏆 Nominated, Palme d’Or,Cannes Film Festival (2021)
—
Watch the trailer
Subscribe to the French Film Festival UK newsletter
We’ll bring you our recommendations of the best Francophone titles, either on demand or in the cinema. We’ll also keep you up to date with all the latest happening with the French Film Festival UK which will takes place in November and December.
In association with Film Hub Scotland & Screen Scotland