By Rachel Cronin.
As the city prepares for another no-doubt successful celebratory season of cinema, it has become clear that this year will be a bittersweet Glasgow Film Festival. After 15 years, we have to say our farewells to Allan Hunter, longstanding GFF co-director.
A well-reputed journalist and film programmer, Hunter is a film critic for Screen International. He worked previously as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the annual French and Italian Film Festivals and is a voting member of BAFTA and the London Film Critics’ Circle. Working with GFF as Co-director since 2007, Hunter has had a hand in nursing the festival from its humble beginnings into the internationally recognised event it is today.
His pre-screening introductions are never complete without his signature animated anecdotes and quirky comments that have developed into an audience favourite over the years. There’s no doubt he’ll be sorely missed in future festivals to come.
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‘As it is Allan’s last festival, the moment is tinged with sadness for me,’ explains Allison Gardner, who makes up the other half of the GFF Co-directors. ‘I cannot properly articulate how much I have loved working alongside him. His knowledge, enthusiasm and patience are legendary, and I will be bereft without him. However, I am looking forward to guiding GFF to a new phase that will continue to delight audiences and be a beacon of film light to our burgeoning film industry.’
‘It has been one of the great privileges of my career to be part of the Glasgow Film Festival for the past 15 years,’ added Hunter himself. ‘It has been humbling to witness how the Festival has grown and to discover just how much it is cherished by our incredible audiences. I will miss wonderful colleagues and the best audiences in the world, but I look forward to watching the festival continue to grow and prosper.’
Glasgow Film Festival returns 1-12 March 2023. The full programme of films, events and retrospectives will be available online from 25 January. Find out more at https://glasgowfilm.org/
