Some news that went under the radar during the great Covid contraction/spoon collapse of October, was the first films of the GFF were announced – yaldi!
Country Focus for ’23 will be Spain, with a really nice selection of new movies. There’s On The Fringe, starring Luis Tosar, who gave that spectular performance in Maixabel, playing opposite Penelope Cruz, telling the story of an activist lawyer trying to stop ordinary people from being evicted from their homes, only for his own life to start to fray and unravel under the strain. Prison 77 looks at prison reform in the aftermath of Franco’s fascist rule. And Lullaby, dealing with the a young mother’s personal journey.
2023’s Retrospective strand will be In The Driving Seat, focusing on women’s voyages of self-discovery. There’s The Piano, the absolutely smouldering classic starring Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel. A great chance to see the timeless romance Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Also showing is It Happened One Night, with Colette Colbert starring opposite Clark Gable in Frank Capra’s odd-couple rom-com about a headstrong heiress. And the original ride-or-die story, Bonnie and Clyde.
GFF is also running a strand shining a light on the works of Lee Grant, a socially conscious actor/director who was blacklisted in Hollywood in the era of McCarthyism. The strand will feature the documentaries she made under Regan’s tenure as President, like Down and Out in America, exposing the lie of the economic resurgence, by examining the recession leaving folk destitute and homeless in a time when the motto was Greed Is Good. In The Willmar 8, she follows the strike of a group of women workers at a bank in a small Minnesota town, who persist despite the decidely tepid support from the rest of their tightknit community. Her film Battered laid bare the reality of millions of women experiencing domestic abuse behind the closed doors. She made What Sex Am I? in 1985, giving a platform to the stories of trans people, and questioning why acceptance in society should be based on how closely one adheres to their assigned gender. Looks fascinating.
The sad news though is that Allan Hunter is retiring, so this will be his last GFF. Pure scunnered, him and Allison have been like the twin pillars of the festival every year I’ve been going, and it just won’t be the same without him. I loved hearing him giving his film recommendations during introductions in that gentle, soft-spoken voice of his. I loved his enthusiasm for the free films and classics. I remember him fondly saying that seeing us all lined up at 10am to come see Tarkovsky’s Stalker had warmed his heart. I loved his friendly rivalry with Allison over whose pics for the line-up would prove most popular. It just won’t the same.
Either way, GFF23 looks set to be a memorable festival, cannae wait!