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| Here's lookin' at you kid: Ingrid Bergman heads the lineup of female-centric films at GFF15 |
Every year GFF celebrates classic movie star, one who's contributions to cinema are still valued to this day; and this year is no exception as the team have put together a selection of films and documentaries in celebration of Ingrid Bergman's career.
Bergman is best known for her role in the classic Casblanca opposite Humphrey Bogart, and Notorious with Cary Grant; both of which will appear as part of the festival. But she was already a star when Hollywood came calling, with the film A Woman's Face kick-starting the celebrations. There will also be a documentary looking as Ms Bergman as a feminist icon as well as an exhibition at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall throughput the festival's run.
Along side Ingrid Bergman, GFF are showing a biographical film of novelist Xiao Hong, a chinese woman who's own life was marred by tragedy and the control of men, which she managed to escape making her own way in the world. At 19 she ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, but her fiance tracked her down but left her alone and pregnant in Beijing.
After avoiding being sold to a brothel she found a safe haven with a newspaper editor and eventually began writing short stories before going on to write The Field of Life and Death. Through her writing she documented one of history's most turbulent eras but her work has sadly been overshadowed by male writers of the time. The film The Golden Era stars Tang Wei as Hong, directed by Ann Hui it brings the remarkable life of an extraordinary woman to light.
As Hong was a working woman in 1930's China, GFF also showcases the importance of the power suit in representing the modern woman. For one day they will showcase this piece of fashion with the films Mildred Pierce and Working Girl, and will be accompanied by a panel discussing its representation and whether or not times have indeed moved away from the iconic look.
And if that's not good enough, Kate Winslet steps back to the times of Louis XIV as Sabine de Barra, chosen to make the designs for the Gardens at the Palace of Versailles a reality in A Little Chaos. Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams stars in coming of age story The Falling, set in 1969 as we follow two teenage girls on the verge of womanhood. And Silent star Colleen Moore shines in the restored classic Why Be Good? Other films featuring female-centric performances include The Ninth Cloud, Pale Moon, Blind, 1001 and many others.
As well as the fictional, there are a couple of non-fiction treats such as Queens of Syria, a documentary following a group of syrian women who have escaped and come together to create their own version of the Greek tragedy The Trojan Women, a poignant look into the consequences of war with Syria; Dreamcatcher follows Brenda Myers-Powell, whose early life led to drugs and prostitution before turning her life around and founding the Dreamcatcher foundation that inspires to help women in hard situations turn their lives around.
There are so many great films and documentaries at this years festival, go along and be a part of it.
For more information go here: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/whats_on
