The Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is coming of age this year with its 21st edition, and today revealed a first peek at its retrospective line-up films focusing on growing up. Running from Wednesday 26 February–Sunday 9 March, tickets for every film mentioned below will be completely free and will be available from the box office on the day of each screening. 

Officially titled ‘Our Time Is Now: Coming Of Age In The Movies’, films in the strand include Elia Kazan’s 1945 classic A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, which focuses on a teenager growing up in 1900s Brooklyn; Pather Panchalli, an undisputed masterpiece from Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray following a young man’s dreams of leaving behind his life of poverty; and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring the late Dame Maggie Smith as an eccentric and liberated schoolteacher whose ideas of life and love influence her students.

The 1981 rom-com Gregory’s Girl (main picture) will add a Scottish flavour to the line-up, whilst Shane Meadows’ chronicle of a young boy’s experience of skinheads in the north of England will inject some grit into the coming-of-age experience. As will Boyz N The Hood, a tale of guns, drugs and violence in South Central LA (with an amazing soundtrack to boot). In stark contrast to Boyz, Greta Gerwig’s Ladybird and Amy Heckerling’s Fast Times At Ridgemont High will show two very different types of teenage angst in America. 

Capping off the strand will be Turkish drama Mustang, which follows five sisters living under their family’s strict rules, and Julia Durcournau’s wild body horror Raw, a darkly funny take on growing up.

Allison Gardner, CEO of Glasgow Film, and director of GFF, said, ‘This year’s retrospective films cover the highs and lows of being a young adult, and all the experiences that go with coming-of-age. 

‘As well as classic Scottish titles, Gregory’s Girl and The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, there’s drama, comedy, crime and horror in the collection of films. The retrospective screenings are an essential part of Glasgow Film Festival as they offer all audiences, no matter their circumstances, the chance to watch films for free, and to see films as they are best enjoyed: on a big screen with fellow film fans around you.’

The full GFF 2025 programme will be announced on Tuesday 21 January.  

Glasgow Film Festival, various venues, Wednesday 26 February–Sunday 9 March.