Gail Tolley

Scottish festivals 2013 - An A-Z of the best summer festivals

The best festivals of music, film, food, cycling and more taking place in Scotland 2013

When it comes to festivals, Scotland really doesn’t hold back. From Orkney to Byres Road, muddy fields to stately homes, the growing number of them cater to all tastes, styles and budgets. Our A-Z guide profiles Scotland’s best summer jamborees, the…

Profile: Scott Graham, director of Shell

Graham's debut is an impressive and atmospheric 'road side movie' starring Chloe Pirrie

Born Aberdeen, Scotland, 1974 Background Glasgow-based filmmaker Scott Graham was inspired by American films of the 1970s for his melancholic first feature. Shell is a portrait of a girl living in a remote petrol station in the north of Scotland…

Hot 100 2012: 10-2

John Tiffany, Andy Murray and Luke Fowler among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Apocalypse Archives: Ben Wheatley, director of Sightseers

The filmmaker tells us the top five films he'd save at the end of the world

Mad Max II (George Miller, 1981) ‘Apart from it being one of my favourite films it would give me lots of tips on how to survive after the apocalypse. Particularly fashion tips about Mohicans and wearing chaps on motorbikes. There’s loads of good top…

Dummy Jim tells story of deaf-mute Scotsman who cycled to the Arctic Circle

The film will have its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013

Local filmmaker Matt Hulse has spent 13 years creating Dummy Jim, a part-fiction, part-documentary, impressionistic portrait of James Duthie, a deaf-mute Scotsman who cycled 6000 miles to the Arctic Circle and back.

The Village at the End of the World

Sensitively-made documentary about remote village life in Greenland

Niaqornat is a tiny settlement in north west Greenland. Accessible only by helicopter or boat, home to just over 50 people and surrounded by ice and snow for much of the year, it’s truly deserving of the title of ‘the village at the end of the world’.

McCullin

Straight up documentary about legendary war photographer Don McCullin

Sometimes a fascinating subject matter is enough in itself to carry a documentary, as is the case in McCullin, a film by Jacqui and David Morris about the British war photographer Don McCullin. Growing up in the impoverished neighbourhood of Finsbury…

Chasing Ice

Documentary on envirnonmental change by National Geographic photographer

For all the talk of climate change and its impact on the planet, actually visualising how our planet is changing is often a challenge. With his project, the Extreme Ice Survey, National Geographic photographer James Balog aims to put the very real…

Hot 100 2012: 19-11

David Greig, Karen Gillan and Chris Hoy among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Manchester - city-break destination and home to the International Festival

Gail Tolley explores Manchester and sums up what you absolutely can't miss

Culture fans don’t really need an excuse to visit Manchester. What with Morrissey, Joy Division, the Hacienda and those Gallagher brothers, the city’s long been known as a hub of creativity. But if you’ve never properly explored this northern town, the…

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013: Day planner

List film editor Gail Tolley guides you through the highlights of the 2013 EIFF programme

Finding it difficult to choose from the 146 films showing at Edinburgh Film Festival this year? Film Editor Gail Tolley guides you through the highlights

Adam Buxton presents: The Best of BUG

The comedian’s music video-themed show is still going strong

Who’d have thought there was so much comedic scope in music videos and the inane YouTube comments they attract? But scope there undeniably is, as Adam Buxton has proved with his hugely successful show BUG. A bimonthly event at the British Film Institute…

Gloria Swanson and Baby Peggy to feature in Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema

The silent film stars are part of a programme that includes music from Minima and The Dodge Brothers

Gloria Swanson is for many people the epitome of the silent film star. She is remembered not just for her many roles in early cinema (Male and Female, Why Change Your Wife) but also as ageing silent screen actress Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder’s sublime…

Lore

Beautifully-shot, World War II-set drama explores character raised within Nazi ideology

Nine years after her sensitive debut Somersault, about a teenage runaway in Australia, director Cate Shortland brings us her second feature Lore, adapted from a short story by Rachel Seiffert. Newcomer Saskia Rosendhal plays the titular character in…

Glasgow Film Festival 2013: Programme highlights

Including The Place Beyond the Pines, Aftershock and Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing

Simon Munnery: Fylm-Makker A new, highly inventive live show from comedian Simon Munnery. Getting its first outing at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Fylm-Makker now comes to Glasgow as part of a UK-wide tour. It’s an innovative mix of music, animation…

George Kuchar celebrated at 2013 Glasgow Film Festival

Screenings of films by "Warner Brothers of the underground" filmmaker

It’s hard to ignore an event titled 'A Laxative of Love for the Constipated Cinefile’. The line, taken from the dedication in the autobiography of filmmaking brothers George and Mike Kuchar reads in full: 'Dedicated to every motley crew of no-budget…

The best films of 2012

Featuring The Master, Shame, Berberian Sound Studio, Tabu and Skyfall

1 The Master Five years after 2007’s multi-award-winning There Will Be Blood there was more than a little anticipation for Paul Thomas Anderson’s next project. The Master is the director’s tale of an enigmatic leader of a cult-like group called The…

Hot 100 2012: 29-20

Chvrches, Cora Bissett and Grant Morrison among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Hot 100 2012: 49-40

FOUND, Paul Brannigan and Kerry Hudson among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Hot 100 2012: 59-50

Billy Connolly, Optimo and Kevin Bridges among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Hot 100 2012: 69-60

Rachel Sermanni, Limmy and Peter Capaldi among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

Hot 100 2012: 89-80

Daniel Sloss, Canongate and Julie Fowlis among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

The Ring

Thrilling sound performance in the dark

There’s not much to see in David Rosenberg’s performance The Ring, in fact there’s nothing at all: almost the whole show takes place in complete darkness. Entering a dimly lit room, each audience member is given a set of headphones through which plays a…

Hogmanay holidays in Scotland

New Year breaks and getaways in Perthshire, The Borders and Dumfries & Galloway

If you’re looking to escape the Hogmanay street parties or simply get away over the winter break, Scotland has opportunities galore. Whether you want to bring in the New Year in a West Coast castle or snuggle up in a Perthshire log cabin, Scotland is…

Writer/director Martin McDonagh on Seven Psychopaths

While film fans might be wondering where Martin McDonagh has been in recent years, theatre aficionados won’t be. A successful playwright before he embarked on filmmaking (he has won two Laurence Olivier awards and been nominated for four Tony awards)…