Peter Mullan makes surprise appearance on red carpet at Glasgow Film Festival

Peter Mullan walked the red carpet at Glasgow Film Festival for the UK premiere of The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford. Not included in the official lineup for tonight’s event, Mullan was a surprise guest at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Rose Street, where he joined the film's Scottish director Sean Dunn for a Q&A at the sold-out premiere.

Peter Mullan stars in Sean Dunn’s blackly comic tale of tour guide Kenneth, who dresses as his ancestor, the famous philosopher and inventor Sir Douglas Weatherford, and takes pride in his history. Things change when the village where he works becomes the location for a hit fantasy show… leading his beloved visitor centre to also undergo a fantastical transformation.

As fans flock to visit, Kenneth’s sanity starts to slip and he begins to become obsessed with the show’s good-looking star Oscar (Jakob Oftebro). Shot entirely on location in Scotland, in Balerno, Dalmeny Estate, Dundas Castle and Prestonhall, Dunn’s feature debut feature offers a keen exploration of the grey area where history and fantasy meet.

Still to come at the Glasgow Film festival, BAFTA-winning Glaswegian writer-director Lynne Ramsay will receive the Cinema City Honorary Award on 6 March at a special In Conversation event, From Page to Pulse.

The filmmaker, who grew up in Maryhill, made her feature film debut in 1999 with the Glasgow-shot Ratcatcher, which won the prestigious BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. Throughout the last three decades Lynne has become renowned for her distinctive visual style and powerful storytelling, having directed Hollywood titles that include We Need to Talk About Kevin, Die My Love, and You Were Never Really Here.

The event, part of the festival’s annual Industry Focus strand, will see the director take a deep dive into her unparalleled approach to adaptation, spanning writers from Alan Warner to Ariana Harwicz, and her unique methods of translating literary material into profoundly visual, emotionally charged cinema. The conversation will be hosted by BAFTA-nominated Glasgow filmmaker Adura Onashile (Girl).

Launched in 2024, GFF’s Cinema City Honorary Award recognises filmmakers who have made an outstanding contribution to cinema. In the 1930s, Glasgow was home to more cinemas per person than anywhere else in the UK and became affectionately known as the Cinema City. Glasgow’s passion for film has burned brightly ever since, with Glasgow Film Theatre at its heart.

Previous recipients of the award are three-time Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen and homegrown Hollywood star James McAvoy. McAvoy will also appear at GFF26, treading the red carpet at the festival’s closing gala for the UK premiere of his directorial debut, California Schemin' to close this year’s festival.

Paul Gallagher, GFF Head of Programme, said: “Lynne Ramsay is one of a very small number of filmmakers who have the seemingly miraculous power of taking a unique vision in their minds and creating it onscreen exactly as they imagined. Her films have changed our understanding of what cinema can do and be. We are delighted to recognise her genius by giving her Glasgow Film Festival’s highest honour with this year’s Cinema City Award.”

The 22nd edition of GFF is hosting 126 films, including 16 World, European and International premieres, 68 UK premieres, and 18 Scottish premieres, with titles from 44 countries and six continents.