What to see at Glasgow Short Film Festival 2026

It’s mid-March which means it’s time for Glasgow Short Film Festival, Scotland’s biggest celebration of pint-sized pictures. GSFF’s regular strands are well-loved: the Scottish Competition and Young Scottish Filmmaker Prize strands are launchpads for local talent; the Bill Douglas Award offers a competitive platform for international filmmakers; the For Shorts & Giggles and Scared Shortless strands cater to fans of comedy and horror. GSFF’s curation and values have earned them a reputation as a home for politically and formally leftfield films, from moving image work to animation. Here’s a list of shorts, strands, and special events we’re looking forward to this week.

Leyla Josephine Coll-O’Reilly returns to GSFF with Four Seconds Flat; we raved about Groom a few years back. Four Seconds Flat continues Coll-O’Reilly’s exploration of power imbalances: where Groom looked at violations of employer/employee and adult/child boundaries, Four Seconds Flat sees a couple’s playfighting tip over into something more threatening.

Leonardo Martinelli’s Samba Infinito follows a street cleaner during Rio’s Carnival and features a cameo appearance by legendary brasileiro Gilberto Gil. Martinelli’s A Bird Called Memory was a highlight of GSFF24 and Samba Infinito looks set to build on his affinity for the musical.

Rehab Nazzal’s Vibrations from Gaza is part of the Visible Cinema: RCS Curates Deaf Shorts strand. Nazzal’s documentary lets deaf children in Gaza speak for themselves about the deafening impact of Israel’s bombs, feeling explosions rather than hearing them, and the noise pollution aspect of being constantly surveilled by drones.

The Clyde Reflections programme brings together a selection of old and new work about the River Clyde, pairing archive work from 1939, 1970, and 2003 with contemporary work from Chris Leslie. Leslie’s contributions to the programme include vignettes about the Glasgow Magnet Fishers and the now-defunct Renfrew Ferry.

Anton McPhilemy’s Ritchie is about a young man who, in hopes of funding a move to Stirling, places a bet that his local team Alloa Athletic will beat Celtic. Cumbernauld filmmaker McPhilemy makes use of Alloa locations like the docks and the wasteground where the Leisure Bowl used to stand, evoking the town’s post-industrial milieu and the reasons a young person might seek to leave. Fingers crossed this is the start of a Wee County new wave.

Alex Nevill’s Notes from Brook House is a fragmentary 16mm film that uses the immigration detention centre in the grounds of Gatwick Airport as a springboard to look at the chasm between how migration is perceived in the UK versus the reality.

Animation is a huge part of GSFF, from its Sunday morning Family Shorts strand to more mature fare across the rest of the programme. just above the tear duct on each side, the latest work from Irish twin filmmakers Éiméar and Cáit McClay, uses archival research and their uncanny 3D renderings to interrogate the historical use of psychiatric institutions in Ireland.

Finnish animator Jenny Jokela last graced GSFF with Sweet Like Lemons and returns this year with Dollhouse Elephant. Jokela’s work, all bright colours, brush strokes, and fantastical elements, is a pleasure to take in.

Aside from their extensive shorts programmes, GSFF always offers space for more experimental long-form films. This year’s festival opener is Downriver, a Tiger, presented in collaboration with the Catalan Film Festival. Víctor Diago’s Glasgow-set film follows Júlia, a young photographer from Barcelona whose failure of sight leads her on a metaphysical journey through the depths of Glasgow and its history. 

Adam Lewis Jacob’s You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, Do You? reflects on the Bradford Resource Centre, a hub for political and community organising in the city from 1974 onwards. Using the aftermath of a 2024 flood, in which a group of people entered the damaged BRC building in an attempt to rescue its vast archive, as his starting point, Lewis Jacob ruminates on the ebb and flow of social movements and the slippery nature of archiving.

Using their experience of running screenings and workshops in HMP & YOI Polmont, GSFF will be hosting a Saturday morning roundtable on film as a tool of emancipation for those in the justice system. Filmmakers and other practitioners of arts in the justice system will discuss their experiences, with work from panelist Harry Lawson screening separately later that day. Lawson’s Stepney Western is a collaborative work made with horse-riding teenagers in inner-city Newcastle who’ve struggled in mainstream education but thrive in an Alternative Provision programme.

Glasgow Short Film Festival takes place from 18th to 22nd March.

Full GSFF 2026 programme and book tickets here

Main image credit: Ingrid Mur